System, method and medium for simulating fault of vehicle

Abstract

The present disclosure provides systems, methods, and media for simulating a fault of a vehicle. The system includes a switch group apparatus including a plurality of switches and an on-off state of each switch being changeable by a manual operation of a user, and a transparent gateway apparatus including at least one processor and at least one storage device. The switch group device can be coupled to the transparent gateway device and provide a level signal representing an on-off state of each switch to the transparent gateway device, and a memory of the transparent gateway device stores a correspondence relationship between at least one combination of the on-off states of the plurality of switches and a fault occurring on a first electronic control unit (ECU) side of the vehicle. After the transparent gateway device is coupled between a first ECU and a second ECU of the vehicle, the processor executes instructions to cause the processor to: forward a signal between the first ECU and the second ECU; determining whether a simulation fault occurs or not according to the combination of the opening and closing states of the plurality of switches and the stored corresponding relation; and in response to determining that the simulated fault has occurred, modifying a signal forwarded from the first ECU to the second ECU.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to systems, methods, and media for simulating failure of a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] With the development of automotive electronic control systems, the vehicle's electronic control unit (ECU) can detect faults in various systems of the vehicle and send fault information. After receiving the fault information, other ECUs in the vehicle will perform corresponding fault handling operations, such as notifying the driver of the fault and taking countermeasures to reduce the risk caused by the fault.

[0003] Therefore, during the vehicle testing process, it is necessary to simulate whether the corresponding device of the vehicle (for example, other ECUs) can correctly perform the fault handling operation when the vehicle ECU finds a fault and sends a fault message. Therefore, a system and method that can conveniently and flexibly simulate vehicle faults is needed. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the above technical problems, the present disclosure proposes a method, system and medium.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a system for simulating a fault of a vehicle is provided, comprising: a switch group device, comprising a plurality of switches and the on / off state of each switch can be changed by manual operation of a user, and a transparent gateway device, comprising at least one processor and at least one storage device, the at least one storage device storing instructions and the at least one processor being capable of executing the instructions. The switch group device can be coupled to the transparent gateway device and provide the transparent gateway device with a level signal representing the on / off state of each switch, and the memory of the transparent gateway device stores a correspondence between at least one combination of the on / off states of the plurality of switches and a fault occurring on the first electronic control unit ECU side of the vehicle. After the transparent gateway device is coupled between the first ECU and the second ECU of the vehicle, the at least one processor executes the instructions so that the at least one processor performs the following operations: forwarding a signal between the first ECU and the second ECU; determining whether a simulated fault occurs according to the combination of the on / off states of the plurality of switches represented by the received level signal and the stored correspondence; and in response to determining that a simulated fault occurs, modifying the signal forwarded from the first ECU to the second ECU.

[0006] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for simulating a fault of a vehicle is provided, comprising: forwarding a signal between a first electronic control unit ECU and a second ECU of the vehicle through a transparent gateway device coupled between the first ECU and the second ECU, wherein a switch group device including a plurality of switches is coupled to the transparent gateway device and provides a level signal representing the open and closed state of each switch to the transparent gateway device, the open and closed state of each switch can be changed by manual operation of a user, and the transparent gateway device is configured to store a correspondence between at least one combination of the open and closed states of the plurality of switches and a fault occurring on the first ECU side; determining by the transparent gateway device whether a simulated fault occurs based on the combination of the open and closed states of the plurality of switches represented by the received level signal and the stored correspondence; and in response to determining that a simulated fault occurs, modifying by the transparent gateway device the signal forwarded from the first ECU to the second ECU.

[0007] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product is provided, characterized in that it contains instructions, and when the instructions are executed by a processor, the method according to the present disclosure is executed.

[0008] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium is provided, characterized in that instructions are stored therein, and when the instructions are executed by a processor, the method according to the present disclosure is executed.

[0009] Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The accompanying drawings, which constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

[0011] The present disclosure may be more clearly understood from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0012] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a system for simulating a failure of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0013] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing a usage scenario of a system for simulating a vehicle failure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0014] Figure 3 Another schematic diagram showing a usage scenario of a system for simulating a vehicle failure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0015] Figure 4A flow chart of a method 400 for simulating a failure of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] The following description is provided to enable those skilled in the art to make and use the embodiments, and is provided in the context of a particular system and its requirements. Various modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and systems without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments. Therefore, the embodiments are not limited to the embodiments shown, but are to be given the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.

[0017] In the related art, in order to simulate the situation where the ECU of the vehicle finds a fault and sends out a fault message, an existing solution is to add hardware including relays, potentiometers, switches, etc. in the signal transmission line of the ECU to simulate faults such as line short circuit, open circuit, potential change, etc. However, once the corresponding hardware equipment of this hardware simulation solution is designed and manufactured, the simulated fault corresponds to the control switch of the hardware equipment one by one and cannot be changed, resulting in a single and fixed test content. In addition, this hardware simulation solution cannot change the parameters transmitted in the signal transmission line, and the test content is relatively simple. Another existing solution in the related art is to connect a bus hardware box to the signal transmission line of the ECU, connect the bus hardware box with a computer, and use the corresponding software running on the computer to read and modify the signal transmitted by the bus hardware box. However, this software simulation solution requires the tester to use a computer on the vehicle, which has high requirements for the tester and generates a large workload. In addition, this software simulation solution is often carried out during the driving of the vehicle or even under some relatively dangerous driving conditions. Not only does it need to place a computer in the cockpit, but it may also need to install a computer stand. These devices will increase the risk factor of the test and threaten the safety of the tester.

[0018] In view of the above problems, a system and method are needed that can conveniently and flexibly simulate vehicle failures.

[0019] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a system for simulating a failure of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0020] like Figure 1As shown, the system 100 for simulating a vehicle failure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a transparent gateway device 110 and a switch group device 120. The transparent gateway device 110 includes at least one processor 111 and at least one storage device 112, the at least one storage device 112 stores instructions and the at least one processor 111 is capable of executing the instructions. The switch group device 120 includes a plurality of switches 121-124. Each switch in the switch group device 120 has a corresponding on-off state, that is, an open and closed state. The on-off state of each switch can be changed by manual operation of the user. For example, each switch 121-124 can be a toggle switch, a rocker switch, a button switch, a key switch, etc., and the user can manually operate the switch to make the switch enter and maintain an open or closed state.

[0021] like Figure 1 As shown, the switch group device 120 can be coupled to the transparent gateway device 110. For example, the switch group device 120 can be connected to the transparent gateway device 110 through a connector commonly used in the art (e.g., a 9-pin D-type connector). The switch group device 120 can provide a level signal of the on / off state of each switch to the transparent gateway device 110, thereby providing a signal representing a combination of the on / off states of the plurality of switches 121-124.

[0022] In this embodiment, by only sending a combined level signal representing the open and closed states of each switch to the transparent gateway device 120, the control method of the system for simulating vehicle failures can be simplified, and there is no need to send control signals to the transparent gateway device through complex software in the connected host computer or computer during the test.

[0023] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, if the transparent gateway device 120 includes M switches, the level signal provided when the Nth switch is in the open state is 2 N-1 , 1≤N≤M, then the level signals provided by all switches are added as a signal indicating the on / off status of multiple switches and provided to the transparent gateway device 110. For example, the level signal of the first switch in the open state is 2 0 (i.e., 1), the level signal of the second switch open state is 2 1 (i.e., 2), the level signal of the third switch in the open state is 2 2 (ie, 4), the level signal of the fourth switch open state is 2 3(i.e., 8). When the user turns on all four switches by manual operation, the sum of their level signals is "15". When the transparent gateway device 120 receives the level signal "15", it can be determined that the above four switches are all in the open state. Similarly, if the transparent gateway device 120 receives the level signal "3", it can be determined that the user manually operates the first switch and the second switch to be in the open state, and the third and fourth switches are in the closed state. Similarly, if the transparent gateway device 120 receives the level signal "10", it can be determined that the second switch and the fourth switch are in the open state, and the first and third switches are in the closed state. Those skilled in the art will understand that three switches can produce 8 combinations of open and closed states, while four switches can produce 16 combinations of open and closed states.

[0024] In this embodiment, by setting the signal of the open state of each switch, only a level signal representing the sum of the signals provided by each switch can be sent to the transparent gateway device 120, without sending the open and closed state of each switch separately, thereby facilitating signal transmission to the transparent gateway device 120.

[0025] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one combination of the on-off states of a plurality of switches corresponds to a fault occurring on the first electronic control unit ECU side of the vehicle. The first ECU is an ECU of the vehicle that is prepared to simulate a fault, that is, a device under test (DUT). The user can select a fault to be tested from the faults that may occur on the first ECU side, and define a combination of the on-off states of the switches for each fault to be tested. For example, the combination of the on-off states of the switches may refer to turning on only one of the plurality of switches, or may be a combination of turning on two or more of the plurality of switches. For example, turning on only the first switch may correspond to a fault on the first ECU side, and turning on the first switch and the third switch may correspond to another fault on the first ECU side.

[0026] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, by providing combinations of on-off states of a plurality of switches, the number of combinations may be greater than the number of switches, thereby indicating more fault types with fewer switches.

[0027] The memory of the transparent gateway device 110 stores the correspondence between at least one combination of the on-off states of multiple switches and the faults occurring on the ECU side of the first electronic control unit of the vehicle. After receiving the level signal representing the combination of the on-off states of multiple switches 121-124 from the switch group device 120, the transparent gateway device 110 can determine the fault on the first ECU side of the user-specified simulation based on the correspondence between at least one combination of the on-off states of multiple switches stored represented by the received level signal and the faults occurring on the first ECU side of the vehicle. For example, the transparent gateway device 110 can determine the combination of the on-off states of the switches based on the received level signal, and then store a lookup table or database. By searching the lookup table or database with the combination of the on-off states of multiple switches received, the fault on the first ECU side of the user-specified simulation can be obtained.

[0028] Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a usage scenario of a system for simulating a vehicle failure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2 As shown, the transparent gateway device 110 of the system 100 for simulating a fault of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be coupled between the first ECU 210 and the second ECU 220 of the vehicle. Consistent with the above description, the first ECU 210 of the vehicle is an ECU of the vehicle that is prepared to simulate a fault, and the second ECU 220 is an ECU that receives information indicating a fault that is sent from the first ECU 210.

[0029] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the connection line between the first ECU 210 and the second ECU 220 may be disconnected and the disconnected connection lines may be respectively connected to corresponding interfaces of the transparent gateway device 110. The transparent gateway device 110 may forward signals between the first ECU 210 and the second ECU 220.

[0030] like Figure 2As shown, the switch group device 120 is coupled to the transparent gateway device 110. In the initial normal working state, the switches of the switch group device 120 are all kept in the closed state. At this time, the switch group device 120 provides the transparent gateway device 110 with the state that all switches are kept closed. The transparent gateway device 110 determines that there is no fault on the first ECU side according to the corresponding relationship between the combination of the open and closed states of the switches and the fault occurring on the first ECU side, and directly forwards the signal between the first ECU and the second ECU. In other words, in the normal working state, the transparent gateway device 110 can directly forward the signal from the first ECU 210 to the second ECU 220 and directly forward the signal from the second ECU 220 to the first ECU 210. When forwarding data directly, the transparent gateway device 110 can process the forwarded data as needed, such as adjusting the check field and rolling counter of the data frame, so as to ensure the correct forwarding of the data. As a result, the first ECU 210 and the second ECU 220 cannot see the transparent gateway device 110, and no corresponding modification and setting are required.

[0031] In addition, the user can change the on / off state of the switches 121-124 of the switch group device 120 according to the pre-designed simulated fault and the corresponding relationship between the combination of the on / off state of the switches and the fault occurring on the first ECU side. Afterwards, the switch group device 120 provides the level signal representing the combination of the on / off state of the switches to the transparent gateway device 110. The transparent gateway device 110 in turn determines that a fault has occurred on the first ECU side and determines the type of the fault according to the corresponding relationship between the combination of the on / off state of the switches represented by the level signal and the fault occurring on the first ECU side. Therefore, in the state of fault simulation, the transparent gateway device 110 can modify the signal forwarded from the first ECU 210 to the second ECU according to the fault occurring. For example, the transparent gateway device 110 can modify the variable value in the signal forwarded from the first ECU to the second ECU to the variable value corresponding to the simulated fault. For example, the signal sent from the first ECU to the second ECU may include a data frame, and the transparent gateway device 110 may modify the data field in the data frame so as to replace the normal variable value with the variable value of the fault. Those skilled in the art can understand that the variable value corresponding to the simulated fault can be a variable value that directly indicates the occurrence of a fault (for example, a current signal outside a threshold range, a speed signal outside a threshold range, etc.), or a variable value that can indirectly determine the occurrence of a fault through the variable value (for example, an upper threshold of a current signal, an upper threshold of a speed signal), etc. In addition, the transparent gateway device 110 can add a fault message to the signal forwarded from the first ECU to the second ECU. For example, the transparent gateway device 110 can add an error frame to the signal sent from the first ECU to the second ECU, and the error frame is used to indicate that the ECU has detected an error. After modifying the signal, the transparent gateway device 110 can further process the data of the signal as needed, such as adjusting the check field and rolling counter of the data frame, and performing data padding, so as to ensure the correct forwarding of the data.

[0032] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when simulating a fault, the signal to be modified may include multiple parameters reflecting the fault. For example, the modified signal may include multiple current values, multiple thresholds, and detection results of multiple detectors that change when a fault occurs. The detectors include current detectors, voltage detectors, speed detectors, acceleration detectors, temperature detectors, and the like.

[0033] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the transparent gateway device 110 forwards and modifies the signal by the processor in the transparent gateway device 110 running the program instructions stored in the storage device to be independently executed, and the signal is changed according to the program instructions written by the user and the forwarding function of the data frame or protocol data unit (PDU) based on the signal is realized through the algorithm written by the program instructions. Before forwarding the received data frame, the transparent gateway device 110 calls the program instructions (such as the frame transmission user function) stored in the storage device to modify the data, so as to achieve the purpose of changing the signal from the first ECU in real time.

[0034] After receiving the information indicating that the first ECU 210 has failed, the second ECU 220 can perform the corresponding fault response operation. By detecting whether the second ECU 220 has performed the correct fault response operation, it can be determined whether the vehicle can correctly handle the unexpected situation of the first ECU 210 failing. For example, the first ECU 210 can be the ECU of the vehicle's electronic power steering (EPS) system, and the simulated fault that occurs in the first ECU 210 may be excessive steering assistance (for example, the current of the power motor exceeds the current upper limit threshold). In this case, the transparent gateway device modifies the upper limit threshold of the power motor current sent by the first ECU 210 to a value smaller than the current value of the power motor current. After the second ECU 220 receives the upper limit threshold of the power motor current and the current value of the power motor current, it can be determined that the first ECU 210 has a fault of excessive steering assistance. The second ECU 220 can be the ECU of the central control instrument panel of the vehicle. After receiving the above fault message from the first ECU 210, the second ECU 220 can display the EPS fault warning indicator on the central control instrument panel, thereby indicating that an EPS system fault has occurred. In addition, the second ECU 220 may also be an ECU of a central controller of the vehicle, which may send a command to the EPS system to increase the steering damping of the steering wheel or to reduce the steering ratio (i.e., the ratio of the steering angle of the steering wheel to the steering angle of the wheels). The user who is driving the vehicle may detect whether the second ECU 220 has performed a correct fault response operation by observing the fault warning indicator light on the instrument panel and by feeling the steering damping or steering ratio of the steering wheel during steering.

[0035] According to the above embodiments, the technical solution of the present disclosure can be applied to the case where a transparent gateway device is directly connected between two ECUs.

[0036] Figure 3 Another schematic diagram of a use scenario of a system for simulating a vehicle failure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 3 As shown, the transparent gateway device 110 of the system 100 for simulating a fault of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be coupled between the first ECU 310 and the data bus 320 of the vehicle. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the connection line between the first ECU 310 and the data bus 320 may be disconnected and the disconnected connection line may be connected to both sides of the transparent gateway device 110. The transparent gateway device 110 may forward signals between the first ECU 310 and the data bus 320. Figure 3 As shown, the data bus 320 is further coupled to the second ECU 330 and the third ECU 340 and can therefore send signals from the first ECU 310 to the second ECU 330 and the third ECU 340. Consistent with the above description, the first ECU 310 of the vehicle is an ECU of the vehicle that is prepared to simulate a fault, and the second ECU 330 is an ECU that receives information indicating a fault sent from the first ECU 310. Therefore, with the help of the data bus 320, the transparent gateway device 110 can forward signals between the first ECU 310 and the second ECU 330. Other operations of the transparent gateway device 110, the first ECU 310, and the second ECU 330 are as follows: Figure 2 The operations described are similar and will not be repeated here.

[0037] According to the above embodiments, the technical solution of the present disclosure can be applied to the case where a transparent gateway device is connected between an ECU and a corresponding bus.

[0038] Figure 4 A flow chart of a method 400 for simulating a failure of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0039] like Figure 4 As shown, in step 410, a signal is forwarded between the first ECU and the second ECU through a transparent gateway device coupled between the first electronic control unit ECU and the second ECU of the vehicle. Figure 2 As discussed, a switch group device including a plurality of switches is coupled to a transparent gateway device and provides a level signal indicating the open and closed states of each switch to the transparent gateway device.

[0040] Then, in step 420, the transparent gateway device determines whether a simulated fault occurs according to the combination of the open and closed states of the multiple switches represented by the received level signals and the stored corresponding relationship. Figure 2 As discussed, the transparent gateway device determines the combination of the open and closed states of multiple switches according to the received level signal, and determines that a fault has occurred on the first ECU side and determines the type of fault according to the correspondence between the combination of the open and closed states of the switches and the fault occurring on the first ECU side.

[0041] Thereafter, in step 430, the signal forwarded from the first ECU to the second ECU is modified by the transparent gateway device in response to determining that a simulated fault has occurred. Figure 2 As discussed, in a normal working state where it is determined that no simulated fault has occurred, the transparent gateway device 110 may directly forward a signal from the first ECU 210 to the second ECU 220 and directly forward a signal from the second ECU 220 to the first ECU 210. In a state where it is determined that a simulated fault has occurred, the transparent gateway device 110 may modify the signal forwarded from the first ECU 210 to the second ECU according to the fault that has occurred.

[0042] Through the above embodiments of the present disclosure, the signal sent by the first ECU 210 can be modified by program instructions in the transparent gateway device 110 to simulate the occurrence of a fault, so that a relatively complex test can be performed. In addition, in the present disclosure, the operation of the transparent gateway device is controlled by an analog level signal input by a simple switch group device, thereby avoiding the use of a complex computer and a computer stand, reducing the workload of the user, and reducing the risk factor of the test and the threat to the safety of the tester.

[0043] The system and method for simulating vehicle failures disclosed in the present invention directly applies a comprehensive test device combining software and hardware to the whole vehicle. Before the test, the test software for simulating failures is stored (burned) into the transparent gateway device by the host computer. Different button combination control methods are used to change the parameters of the signal during the failure simulation process, avoiding reliance on the host computer to change the simulated failure. Therefore, by applying the system disclosed in the present invention, the vehicle regulation verification experiment is more intuitive and convenient.

[0044] In addition, in the present disclosure, the program instructions in the transparent gateway device are configurable, so that the test items of the system for simulating vehicle failures of the present disclosure can be flexibly changed, thereby increasing the flexibility of the device.

[0045] Return to Figure 1 ,like Figure 1 As shown, the system 100 for simulating a fault of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure further includes a host computer 130. The host computer 130 is configured to be coupled to the transparent gateway device 110 when the transparent gateway device 110 is not coupled between the first ECU and the second ECU and to send a configuration command to the transparent gateway device 110. According to the configuration command, the transparent gateway device 110 can modify the correspondence between at least one combination of the on and off states of the plurality of switches 121-124 and the fault to be simulated occurring on the first ECU side.

[0046] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the host computer 130 is disconnected from the transparent gateway device before the transparent gateway device is coupled between the first ECU and the second ECU. Figure 1 The connection between the middle host computer 130 and the transparent gateway device 110 is represented by a dotted line, thereby indicating that the connection is removable.

[0047] Therefore, in a state where the transparent gateway device is not coupled between the first ECU and the second ECU, the transparent gateway device can be coupled to the host computer and receive a configuration command from the host computer. Figure 4 According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the method 400 may further include step 405, in which the transparent gateway device modifies the correspondence between at least one combination of the on and off states of the plurality of switches and the fault to be simulated occurring on the first ECU side according to the configuration command.

[0048] By providing the host computer 130, the test items of the system for simulating vehicle failures can be changed more flexibly, thereby increasing the flexibility of the device. In addition, disconnecting the host computer from the transparent gateway device before the transparent gateway device is coupled between the first ECU and the second ECU can avoid the troubles and security threats caused to the user by using the host computer during the test process.

[0049] Reference Figure 4 According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method 400 for simulating a vehicle fault may further include step 440, in which, in response to determining that a simulated fault has occurred, the transparent gateway device determines whether the simulated fault has been resolved based on a combination of the on-off states of a plurality of switches and the stored correspondence. After completing the test of the simulated fault, the user may manually adjust the switches 121-124 in the switch group device 120, for example, switching each switch to a closed state, thereby providing no level signal or a 0 level signal to the transparent gateway device 110, so that the transparent gateway device 110 determines that no fault has occurred on the first ECU side. In this case, the transparent gateway device 110 determines that the simulated fault has been resolved.

[0050] Thereafter, in step 450 , in response to the simulated fault being resolved, the transparent gateway device 110 stops modifying the signal forwarded from the first ECU to the second ECU. Therefore, the transparent gateway device 110 directly forwards the signal between the first ECU and the second ECU.

[0051] At this time, the user can determine whether the second ECU 220 has performed a correct fault removal operation. For example, the user can detect whether the second ECU 220 has performed a correct fault removal operation by observing whether the fault warning indicator light on the instrument panel is removed and by feeling the steering damping or steering ratio of the steering wheel when turning.

[0052] Through the above steps, it can be verified whether the vehicle can be restored to a normal state after the fault is eliminated, thereby detecting the vehicle's fault recovery capability.

[0053] Back to Figure 4 According to the method 400 for simulating a fault of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, between step 430 and step 440, step 435 may also be included, in which, in response to determining that a simulated fault occurs, a signal from the second ECU is modified by a transparent gateway device to remove a message reflecting the simulated fault and provide the modified signal to the first ECU. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the message reflecting the fault of the first ECU in the signal from the second ECU includes at least one of a message in which the second ECU confirms that a fault has occurred and a message instructing the first ECU to perform a troubleshooting operation. After receiving the fault message from the first ECU side, the second ECU may send a confirmation message to the first ECU as feedback, thereby indicating that the fault message sent by the first ECU has been received. In addition, the second ECU may send an instruction to the first ECU to instruct the first ECU to perform an operation to eliminate the fault. In this case, if the message reflecting the fault of the first ECU sent by the second ECU is directly forwarded to the first ECU, the first ECU may perform a troubleshooting operation in order to eliminate the fault that did not actually occur after knowing that a simulated fault has occurred, and such a troubleshooting operation may affect the safety of the user driving the vehicle. Therefore, the transparent gateway device may modify the signal from the second ECU to remove the message reflecting the simulated fault and provide the modified signal to the first ECU.

[0054] Through the above steps, it is possible to avoid the first ECU being aware of the simulated fault and performing erroneous operations when a simulated fault occurs, thereby maintaining the normal operation of the first ECU.

[0055] In the process of simulating the failure of the vehicle, from the user's perspective, the operation that the user needs to perform is to first couple the transparent gateway device to the host computer, and configure the correspondence between at least one combination of the open and closed states of multiple switches stored in the transparent gateway device and the fault to be simulated on the first ECU side through the host computer. Afterwards, the user disconnects the transparent gateway device from the host computer and couples the transparent gateway device between the first ECU and the second ECU of the vehicle. The switch group device can be coupled to the transparent gateway device in this step or before. Afterwards, the user uses the vehicle to perform a simulated fault test. Specifically, the user can toggle the switch of the switch group device according to the pre-designed fault simulation plan, thereby indicating that a fault has occurred on the first ECU side. Afterwards, the user can determine whether the vehicle can properly handle the unexpected situation of the failure of the first ECU210. Subsequently, the user can toggle the switch of the switch group device to eliminate the fault and observe whether the vehicle can return to normal after the fault is eliminated. In addition, the user can also toggle the switch of the switch group device to select another fault, thereby testing another fault condition. After the simulated fault test of the vehicle, the user can remove the transparent gateway device from the vehicle and connect it to another vehicle for the same test. In addition, the user may also remove the transparent gateway device from the vehicle and connect it to the host computer to modify the content of the simulated fault test performed by the transparent gateway device.

[0056] In this way, users can simulate vehicle failures conveniently and flexibly without affecting user safety.

[0057] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, although not shown in the drawings, the switch group device and the transparent gateway device may be powered via a power cord having a plug connected to a vehicle-mounted 12V voltage.

[0058] In other embodiments of the present disclosure, in response to determining that a simulated fault occurs, the transparent gateway device 110 may stop forwarding signals from the first ECU to the second ECU, thereby simulating a situation where a connection between the first ECU and the second ECU is interrupted. Thus, a situation where a circuit breaker fault occurs in the first ECU can be simply simulated.

[0059] In the present disclosure, the transparent gateway device can be coupled with the first ECU and the second ECU through common interfaces and protocols in the automotive field. For example, common protocols may include CAN (Control Area Network) protocol, LIN (Local Interconnect Network) protocol, CAN FD (CAN with Flexible Data Rate) protocol, CAN XL (Extended Length) protocol, FlexRay protocol, Ethernet protocol, etc. Common interfaces are interfaces corresponding to these protocols. Similarly, Figure 3 The bus 320 shown in the figure may also adopt a common bus in the automotive field, such as a CAN bus, a LIN bus, a CAN FD bus, a CAN XL bus, a FlexRay bus, an Ethernet bus, etc.

[0060] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the transparent gateway device may be connected to the first ECU and the second ECU through different interfaces and protocols, thereby expanding the applicability and application scope of the technical solution of the present disclosure.

[0061] Those skilled in the art can understand that in the embodiment of the present disclosure, steps 405 , 435 , 440 , and 450 of method 400 are optional steps.

[0062] The transparent gateway device can be connected to the first ECU and the second ECU through different interfaces and protocols, thereby expanding the applicability and application scope of the technical solution of the present disclosure.

[0063] In the above embodiments, Figure 1 In the description, the switch group device 120 includes four switches as an example, but those skilled in the art will appreciate that the switch group device 120 of the present disclosure may provide two switches, three switches, or more than four switches as required. Correspondingly, each switch opening state may be set to 2 N-1 level value and is applied to the above embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0064] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the switch group device 120 may include an enable switch in addition to the switches 121 - 124 , and the enable switch may be used to control whether the switch group device 120 can provide a combination of switch on / off states to the transparent gateway device 110 .

[0065] In the above embodiments, Figure 2 and Figure 3 The case where the number of ECUs in the vehicle to be simulated to have a fault is one is described. A person skilled in the art can also understand that the ECUs to be tested can be multiple ECUs, that is, the first ECU includes multiple ECUs. In this case, the technical solution of the present disclosure can still be applied and will not be repeated here.

[0066] also, Figure 1 The connection line between the transparent gateway device 110 and the switch group device 120 is a solid line, but those skilled in the art can understand that the switch group device 120 only needs to be connected to the transparent gateway device 110 when performing a simulated fault test. That is, before the transparent gateway device 110 is coupled between the first ECU and the second ECU, the switch group device 120 may not be coupled to the transparent gateway device.

[0067] In the above embodiments, the first ECU is an ECU of the EPS system, but those skilled in the art will understand that the first ECU and the second ECU can be set according to the actual situation of the fault to be simulated. For example, the first ECU can also be an ECU of the DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) system, an ECU of the ACSM (Advanced Crash and Safety Management) system, an ECU of the ACC (Active Cruise Control) system, an ECU of the ADAS (Advanced Driving Assistance System) system, etc. The technical solution disclosed in the present invention can be applied to these ECUs, thereby coupling between these ECUs and the corresponding receiving ECUs or buses to simulate the faults occurring on these ECU sides.

[0068] The host computer of the embodiment of the present disclosure can be any machine configured to perform processing and / or calculation, and can be but not limited to a workstation, a server, a desktop computer, a laptop computer or any combination thereof. The host computer may include a processor, an input device, and an output device. The input device can be any type of device capable of inputting information to the host computer, and can include but is not limited to a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen, a microphone, and / or a remote control. The output device can be any type of device capable of presenting information, and can include but is not limited to a display, a speaker, a video / audio output terminal, and / or a printer. The host computer may also include a storage device for storing data, instructions, codes, etc. In addition, the host computer also has a corresponding port coupled to the transparent gateway device.

[0069] The transparent gateway device of the embodiment of the present disclosure may be a specially designed computing device and therefore has a small size. The processor of the transparent gateway device may be any type of processor, and may include but is not limited to one or more general-purpose processors and / or one or more special-purpose processors (such as special-purpose processing chips). The storage device of the transparent gateway device may be a ROM (read-only memory), a RAM (random access memory), a cache memory and / or any other memory chip. The storage device may have data / instructions / codes for implementing the above-mentioned methods and steps. In addition, the storage device also stores the correspondence between at least one combination of the open and closed states of multiple switches and the fault occurring on the ECU side of the first electronic control unit of the vehicle. In addition, the transparent gateway device also has a corresponding port coupled to a host computer, an ECU or a bus.

[0070] From the above embodiments, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure can be implemented by software and necessary hardware, or can be implemented by hardware, firmware, etc. Based on this understanding, the embodiments of the present disclosure can be partially implemented in the form of software. Computer software can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, or a flash memory. Computer software includes a series of instructions that enable a computer (such as a personal computer, a service station, or a network terminal) to run a method according to each embodiment of the present disclosure or a part thereof.

[0071] The disclosure having thus been described, it will be apparent that the disclosure may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the disclosure, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

[0072] Although some specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown in detail by examples, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the above examples are intended to be illustrative only and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. It should be appreciated that some steps in the aforementioned method are not necessarily performed in the order shown in the figure, but they can be performed simultaneously, in different orders or in an overlapping manner. In addition, those skilled in the art can add some steps or omit some steps as needed. Some components in the aforementioned system are not necessarily arranged according to the diagram, and those skilled in the art can add some components or omit some components as needed. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the above embodiments can be modified without departing from the scope and essence of the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the attached claims.

Claims

1. A system for simulating a vehicle failure, comprising: A switch group device including a plurality of switches and the on / off state of each switch can be changed by manual operation of a user, and A transparent gateway device comprises at least one processor and at least one storage device, wherein the at least one storage device stores instructions and the at least one processor is capable of executing the instructions. The switch group device can be coupled to the transparent gateway device and provide the transparent gateway device with a level signal indicating the on / off state of each switch, and the memory of the transparent gateway device stores a correspondence between at least one combination of the on / off states of the plurality of switches and a fault occurring on the first electronic control unit ECU side of the vehicle, and After the transparent gateway device is coupled between the first ECU and the second ECU of the vehicle, the at least one processor executes the instructions so that the at least one processor performs the following operations: forwarding a signal between the first ECU and the second ECU; determining whether a simulated fault occurs according to a combination of the open and closed states of the plurality of switches represented by the received level signals and the stored corresponding relationship; and In response to determining that a simulated fault has occurred, a signal forwarded from the first ECU to the second ECU is modified.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein: The at least one processor is capable of executing instructions to further perform at least one of the following operations: In response to determining that a simulated fault has occurred, modifying a variable value in a signal forwarded from the first ECU to the second ECU to a variable value corresponding to the simulated fault, and In response to determining that the simulated fault has occurred, a fault message is added to a signal forwarded from the first ECU to the second ECU.

3. The system according to claim 1, further comprising: a host computer configured to be coupled to the transparent gateway device and send a configuration command to the transparent gateway device when the transparent gateway device is not coupled between the first ECU and the second ECU, and to be disconnected from the transparent gateway device before the transparent gateway device is coupled between the first ECU and the second ECU, and The transparent gateway device is further configured such that, in a state of being coupled with the host computer, the at least one processor is capable of executing instructions to further perform the following operations: The correspondence between at least one combination of the on / off states of the plurality of switches and the fault to be simulated occurring on the first ECU side is modified according to the configuration command.

4. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The switch group device includes M switches, each switch does not provide a signal or provides a 0-level signal when it is in a closed state, and the level signal provided by the Nth switch when it is in an open state is 2 N-1 , 1≤N≤M, the level signals provided by the respective switches are added together to serve as a signal representing the open and closed states of the plurality of switches.

5. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The at least one processor is capable of executing instructions to further perform the following operations: In response to determining that a simulated fault occurs, determining whether the simulated fault is resolved based on a combination of the on / off states of the plurality of switches and the stored correspondence relationship; and In response to the simulated fault being resolved, modifying the signal forwarded from the first ECU to the second ECU is stopped.

6. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The at least one processor is capable of executing instructions to further perform the following operations: In response to determining that a simulated fault has occurred, a signal from the second ECU is modified to remove a message reflecting the simulated fault and the modified signal is provided to the first ECU.

7. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The at least one processor is capable of executing instructions to further perform the following operations: In response to determining that the simulated fault has occurred, forwarding of signals from the first ECU to the second ECU is stopped.

8. A method for simulating a vehicle failure, comprising: forwarding signals between the first ECU and the second ECU by a transparent gateway device coupled between the first electronic control unit ECU and the second ECU of the vehicle, Wherein, a switch group device including a plurality of switches is coupled to the transparent gateway device and provides a level signal indicating the on / off state of each switch to the transparent gateway device, the on / off state of each switch can be changed by a manual operation of a user, and the transparent gateway device is configured to store a correspondence between at least one combination of the on / off states of the plurality of switches and a fault occurring on the first ECU side; Determining whether a simulated fault occurs by the transparent gateway device according to a combination of the open and closed states of the plurality of switches represented by the received level signals and the stored corresponding relationship; and In response to determining that a simulated fault has occurred, a signal forwarded from the first ECU to the second ECU is modified by the transparent gateway device.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising at least one of the following: In response to determining that a simulated fault has occurred, modifying, by the transparent gateway device, a variable value in a signal forwarded from the first ECU to the second ECU to a variable value corresponding to the simulated fault, and In response to determining that the simulated fault has occurred, a fault message is added to a signal forwarded from the first ECU to the second ECU by the transparent gateway device.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein: In a state where the transparent gateway device is not coupled between the first ECU and the second ECU, the transparent gateway device is coupled to the host computer and receives a configuration command from the host computer, and before the transparent gateway device is coupled between the first ECU and the second ECU, the transparent gateway device is decoupled from the host computer, The method further comprises: The corresponding relationship between at least one combination of the on / off states of the plurality of switches and the fault to be simulated occurring on the first ECU side is modified by the transparent gateway device according to the configuration command.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein: The switch group device includes M switches, each switch does not provide a signal or provides a 0-level signal when it is in a closed state, and the level signal provided by the Nth switch when it is in an open state is 2 N-1 , 1≤N≤M, the level signals provided by the respective switches are added together to serve as a signal representing the open and closed states of the plurality of switches.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, further comprising: In response to determining that a simulated fault occurs, determining, by a transparent gateway device, whether the simulated fault is resolved according to a combination of the on / off states of the plurality of switches and the stored corresponding relationship; as well as In response to the simulated fault being resolved, modifying the signal forwarded from the first ECU to the second ECU by the transparent gateway device is stopped.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, further comprising: In response to determining that a simulated fault has occurred, a signal from the second ECU is modified by the transparent gateway device to remove a message reflecting the simulated fault and the modified signal is provided to the first ECU.

14. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, further comprising: In response to determining that the simulated fault has occurred, forwarding of signals from the first ECU to the second ECU is stopped through the transparent gateway device.

15. A computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the method according to any one of claims 8 to 14 to be performed.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, which, when executed by a processor, cause the method of any one of claims 8 to 14 to be performed.

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