Vehicle end data processing system and vehicle

Abstract

The application relates to a vehicle-end data processing system and a vehicle, and relates to the technical field of vehicles; the system comprises a remote communication module, a vehicle-domain controller and at least one area controller; the remote communication module is in communication connection with the vehicle-domain controller, and the vehicle-domain controller is in communication connection with the at least one area controller; the vehicle-domain controller receives software upgrade data packets issued by the cloud through the remote communication module, so as to realize the upgrade of at least one of the vehicle-domain controller, the area controllers, vehicle components respectively hung by the vehicle-domain controller and the area controllers; compared with the reception and processing of the software upgrade data packets issued only through the T-Box, centralized management and control of the related upgrade data of the vehicle-domain controller and the area controllers are realized, the vehicle-domain controller can trigger the software upgrade related to each area controller respectively, multi-domain synchronous upgrade is realized, efficient collaborative execution of the upgrade task is realized, and therefore the OTA upgrade time of the whole vehicle is shortened.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of vehicle technology, and in particular to a vehicle-side data processing system and a vehicle. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of intelligent connected vehicles, the number of Electronic Control Units (ECUs) in vehicles has surged. Traditional OTA architectures, based on independent management by T-Boxes (Telematics Boxes), face problems such as low upgrade efficiency, difficulties in cross-domain collaboration, and fragmented security mechanisms. In related technologies, upgrade packages are typically received by the T-Box and distributed to each ECU one by one, lacking unified scheduling and status awareness capabilities, making it difficult to support high-security firmware updates and multi-domain synchronous upgrades. Therefore, a new OTA (Over-The-Air) architecture is urgently needed to achieve centralized management and efficient collaborative execution of upgrade tasks. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Therefore, it is necessary to provide a vehicle-side data processing system and vehicle that can ensure centralized control and efficient collaborative execution of upgrade tasks.

[0004] In one aspect, a vehicle-side data processing system is provided, including a remote communication module, a vehicle domain controller, and at least one area controller;

[0005] The remote communication module is configured to communicate with the vehicle domain controller, and the vehicle domain controller communicates with at least one of the area controllers.

[0006] The vehicle domain controller is configured to receive software upgrade data packets sent from the cloud via the remote communication module, so as to upgrade at least one of the vehicle domain controller, each of the area controllers, and the vehicle components connected to each of the vehicle domain controllers.

[0007] In this embodiment, by setting up a vehicle domain controller in the vehicle-side data processing system, when receiving software upgrade data packets from the cloud via the remote communication module, it can not only upgrade the vehicle domain controller itself and the vehicle components connected to the vehicle domain controller, but also upgrade the regional controllers and the vehicle components connected to each regional controller. Compared with related technologies, which require receiving upgrade packets through a T-Box and distributing them one by one to each ECU in the vehicle, this improves the centralized management capability of upgrade control based on at least the vehicle components electrically connected to each regional controller in the OTA architecture. Furthermore, the vehicle domain controller can trigger the relevant software upgrades of each regional controller separately, realizing multi-domain synchronous upgrades to achieve efficient collaborative execution of upgrade tasks, thereby helping to reduce the OTA upgrade time of the whole vehicle.

[0008] In one embodiment, the system further includes a smart driving domain controller and a cockpit domain controller; the remote communication module is also communicatively connected to the smart driving domain controller and the cockpit domain controller, respectively.

[0009] The intelligent driving domain controller and the cockpit domain controller are configured to receive software upgrade data packets sent from the cloud via the remote communication module, so as to upgrade at least one of the vehicle components connected to the intelligent driving domain controller, the cockpit domain controller, the intelligent driving domain controller, and the cockpit domain controller respectively.

[0010] In this embodiment, the remote communication module can receive software upgrade data packets related to the intelligent driving domain controller and cockpit domain controller in the vehicle sent from the cloud, and send the relevant software upgrade data packets to the intelligent driving domain controller and cockpit domain controller respectively, which helps to improve the efficiency of sending software upgrade data packets to each domain controller. Furthermore, based on the direct communication connection between the remote communication module and the intelligent driving domain controller, cockpit domain controller and vehicle domain controller respectively, the software upgrade data packets can be directly sent to the intelligent driving domain controller, cockpit domain controller and vehicle domain controller respectively, which helps to further improve the efficiency of software upgrade packet sending, thereby improving the OTA efficiency of the whole vehicle.

[0011] In one embodiment, any one of the intelligent driving domain controller, the cockpit domain controller, and the vehicle domain controller, upon receiving the software upgrade data packet, performs an upgrade action for the corresponding domain controller based on the software upgrade data packet;

[0012] When the domain controller determines that the corresponding upgrade action has been completed, it instructs the domain controller to upgrade at least one of the vehicle components based on the software upgrade data packet.

[0013] In this embodiment, when any one of the intelligent driving domain controller, cockpit domain controller, and vehicle domain controller receives a software upgrade data packet, it first performs an upgrade of its own software data. Then, after its own software upgrade is completed, it sends the software upgrade signals of other vehicle components corresponding to the software upgrade data packet, which are used to achieve communication connections between the domain controllers, to the remaining vehicle components to be upgraded. Based on this, the timeliness of software upgrades for each domain controller in the vehicle-side data processing system can be controlled to be higher than the timeliness of software upgrades for vehicle components that communicate with each controller. By upgrading each domain controller first, it is beneficial to ensure that it has the ability to drive and schedule new versions of vehicle components, which is more conducive to ensuring the smoothness and safety of vehicle use.

[0014] In one embodiment, the cockpit domain controller is also communicatively connected to the intelligent driving domain controller and the vehicle domain controller, respectively; the cockpit domain controller is also configured to generate upgrade guidance data for at least one of the intelligent driving domain controller and the vehicle domain controller, and transmit the upgrade guidance data to the matched intelligent driving domain controller and / or the vehicle domain controller;

[0015] The upgrade guidance data is used to instruct the corresponding intelligent driving domain controller and / or the vehicle domain controller to perform an upgrade action.

[0016] In this embodiment, for the software upgrade data packet received by the intelligent driving domain controller, the cockpit domain controller can generate relevant upgrade guidance data to trigger, authorize, and configure the intelligent driving domain controller and its communication-connected target vehicle components to enter upgrade mode. Similarly, for the software upgrade data packet received by the vehicle domain controller, the cockpit domain controller can also generate relevant upgrade guidance data to trigger, authorize, and configure the vehicle domain controller and its communication-connected target vehicle components to enter upgrade mode. That is, the cockpit domain controller can control the safe startup, process coordination, and permission verification of the cockpit domain controller itself, the intelligent driving domain controller and its communication-connected vehicle components, the vehicle domain controller and its communication-connected vehicle components, and the area controller during the software upgrade process, ensuring that the correct ECU starts and completes the controlled software update under safe and compliant conditions.

[0017] In one embodiment, when the cockpit domain controller receives asset collection data reported by at least one of the intelligent driving domain controller and the vehicle domain controller, it transmits the asset collection data to the cloud via the remote communication module.

[0018] In this embodiment, the cockpit domain controller can be used to collect vehicle asset data collected by the intelligent driving domain controller and / or the vehicle domain controller, and report the collected asset data to the cloud through a remote communication module. This realizes centralized reporting and processing of asset data, which is conducive to improving data value density and reusability, as well as improving the efficiency of vehicle operation data analysis through the reported asset data.

[0019] In one embodiment, the vehicle domain controller is configured to receive the software upgrade data packet for the region controller from the remote communication module, determine the software upgrade signal corresponding to each of the region controllers based on the software upgrade data packet, and send each of the software upgrade signals to the corresponding region controllers in parallel.

[0020] In this embodiment, when the vehicle domain controller receives a software upgrade data packet for the regional controller from the cloud via the remote communication module, it can perform data parsing and conversion processing on the software upgrade data packet to obtain the software upgrade signal corresponding to each regional controller. Then, the vehicle controller can distribute the obtained software upgrade signals to the corresponding regional controllers respectively, and can adopt a method of sending each software upgrade signal to the corresponding regional controllers in parallel to improve the efficiency of sending software upgrade signals to multiple regional controllers, thereby improving the OTA efficiency of the whole vehicle.

[0021] In one embodiment, at least one of the vehicle components attached to the area controller includes the vehicle's laser projection headlights;

[0022] At least one of the area controllers implements an upgrade for the laser projection headlights based on the received software upgrade signal.

[0023] In this embodiment, by setting the vehicle's laser projection headlights to communicate directly with the area controller, the communicating area controller can be used to implement software upgrades for the laser projection headlights. This eliminates the need to configure a separate headlight domain controller for the laser projection headlights' software upgrades, which helps reduce the number of controllers in the vehicle's data processing system, improves the functional integration of the vehicle's data processing system, and thus helps reduce the cost required for vehicle software upgrades.

[0024] In one embodiment, the remote communication module is electrically connected to one of the area controllers, and the area controller is electrically connected to the vehicle domain controller;

[0025] The remote communication module transmits the software upgrade data packet to the vehicle domain controller based on the electrically connected area controller.

[0026] In this embodiment, the actual electrical connection relationship between the remote communication module, a regional controller, and the vehicle domain controller in the circuit architecture is as follows: the regional controller is directly electrically connected to both the remote communication module and the vehicle domain controller. Based on this circuit architecture, when the remote communication module receives a software upgrade data packet, it can transmit the software upgrade data packet to the directly electrically connected vehicle domain controller through the directly electrically connected regional controller. This avoids the need to add electrical connection wiring between the remote communication module and the vehicle domain controller, which helps reduce the number of physical wirings used in the vehicle, thereby reducing the vehicle's manufacturing cost and overall weight.

[0027] In one embodiment, each of the area controllers is configured to send, in parallel, software upgrade signals corresponding to the relevant software upgrade data packets to at least two vehicle component network segments with communication connections.

[0028] In this embodiment, when each area controller receives a corresponding software upgrade signal, it can send the software upgrade signal in parallel to multiple vehicle component network segments that the area controller is connected to. This is beneficial to improving the efficiency of the area controller in sending software upgrade signals to the multiple vehicle component network segments it is connected to, and also to improving the upgrade speed of the vehicle components connected to each area controller, thereby improving the overall vehicle OTA efficiency.

[0029] In one embodiment, each of the area controllers is configured to send, in stages, the software upgrade signal corresponding to the relevant software upgrade data packet to each of the vehicle components in the same vehicle component network segment with communication connection.

[0030] In this embodiment, by setting the area controller to send relevant software upgrade signals to each vehicle component in the same vehicle component network segment in a step-by-step manner, it is beneficial to ensure the accuracy of the software upgrade signals received by each vehicle component in the same vehicle component network segment, reduce signal transmission chaos, and also reduce the number of communication cables required between each vehicle component in the same vehicle component network segment and the area controller, thereby reducing line complexity.

[0031] In a second aspect, a vehicle is provided, including the vehicle-side data processing system described in any one of the first aspects.

[0032] In this embodiment, by applying the vehicle-side data processing system provided in this application to the vehicle, it is beneficial to the centralized management and control of vehicle software upgrades and the efficient collaborative execution of upgrade tasks, which helps to reduce the OTA upgrade time of the whole vehicle and improve the user experience of the vehicle.

[0033] The vehicle-side data processing system and vehicle provided in this application, by setting up a vehicle domain controller in the vehicle-side data processing system, can, upon receiving software upgrade data packets from the cloud via a remote communication module, not only upgrade the vehicle domain controller itself and the vehicle components connected to the vehicle domain controller, but also control the upgrades of each area controller and the vehicle components connected to each area controller. Compared to related technologies that require receiving upgrade packets via a T-Box and distributing them one by one to each ECU in the vehicle, this improves the centralized management capability of upgrade control based at least on the vehicle components electrically connected to each area controller in the OTA architecture. Furthermore, the vehicle domain controller can trigger the relevant software upgrades of each area controller separately, achieving multi-domain synchronous upgrades to achieve efficient collaborative execution of upgrade tasks, thereby helping to reduce the OTA upgrade time of the entire vehicle. Attached Figure Description

[0034] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the conventional technology, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the conventional technology will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0035] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an optional architecture for a vehicle-side data processing system, provided as one embodiment.

[0036] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of an optional architecture for a vehicle-side data processing system provided in another embodiment;

[0037] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an optional upgrade sequence for a vehicle-side data processing system, provided as an embodiment.

[0038] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating one possible central control screen interface for an embodiment.

[0039] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of an optional vehicle provided for one embodiment.

[0040] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0041] 10. Remote communication module; 20. Vehicle domain controller; 30. Area controller; 31. Area controller VIU1; 32. Area controller VIU2; 33. Area controller VIU3; 40. Cloud; 50. Intelligent driving domain controller; 60. Cockpit domain controller. Detailed Implementation

[0042] To facilitate understanding of this application, a more complete description will be provided below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate embodiments of the present application. However, the present application can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that the disclosure of this application will be thorough and complete.

[0043] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application.

[0044] The terms "first," "second," etc., used herein may be used to describe various elements, but these elements are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, without departing from the scope of this application, a first resistor may be referred to as a second resistor, and similarly, a second resistor may be referred to as a first resistor. Both the first resistor and the second resistor are resistors, but they are not the same resistor.

[0045] It is understood that the term "connection" in the following embodiments should be understood as "electrical connection," "communication connection," etc., if the connected circuits, modules, units, etc., have electrical signal or data transmission with each other.

[0046] It is understandable that "at least one" refers to one or more, and "multiple" refers to two or more. "At least a part of an element" refers to part or all of an element.

[0047] When used herein, the singular forms of “a,” “an,” and “the” may also include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the terms “comprising / including” or “having,” etc., specify the presence of the stated features, wholes, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof, but do not preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, wholes, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof. Meanwhile, the term “and / or” as used in this specification includes any and all combinations of the associated listed items.

[0048] As described in the background section, in related technologies, the T-Box typically receives the upgrade package from the cloud and distributes it to each ECU in the vehicle one by one. This lacks unified scheduling and status awareness capabilities, making it difficult to support high-security firmware updates and multi-domain synchronous upgrades.

[0049] To address the technical challenges of OTA systems in supporting high-security firmware updates and multi-domain synchronous upgrades, this application provides a vehicle-side data processing system and vehicle capable of ensuring centralized management and efficient collaborative execution of upgrade tasks.

[0050] In one exemplary embodiment, please refer to Figure 1 This application provides a vehicle-side data processing system, including a remote communication module 10, a vehicle domain controller 20, and at least one area controller 30; the remote communication module 10 is configured to connect to the vehicle domain controller 20, and the vehicle domain controller 20 is connected to at least one area controller 30; the vehicle domain controller 20 is configured to receive software upgrade data packets sent from the cloud 40 through the remote communication module 10, so as to realize the upgrade of at least one of the vehicle domain controller 20, each area controller 30, and each vehicle component connected to the vehicle domain controller 20 and each area controller 30 respectively.

[0051] Among them, the vehicle-side data processing system is a whole-vehicle OTA system, which is used to combine with the cloud 40 with the communication connection to realize the upgrade of various domain controllers and vehicle components in the vehicle.

[0052] The Vehicle Domain Controller (VDC) 20 can be configured to connect to multiple CAN / CANFD network segments, responsible for integrated control of vehicle powertrain and chassis functions. The VDC 20 is responsible for downloading and storing software upgrade data packages related to itself and its connected components, uploading management logs, and performing self-flashing of software upgrades to upgrade its own software, as well as the area controllers 30 and ECUs within its domain. CAN (Controller Area Network) is a controller area network, and CANFD (Controller Area Network with Flexible Data-Rate) is a controller area network with flexible data rates.

[0053] Among them, the Vehicle Interface Unit (VIU) 30 can download and upgrade software packages for itself and the ECUs under its domain, supports self-upgrade and rollback, and upload the domain logs.

[0054] The remote communication module (T-Box) 10, also known as the remote data module, serves as an intelligent communication module. It provides a network interface for connecting the cloud (40) and vehicle data, and can download relevant data packets from the cloud (40) to at least the vehicle domain controller (20). It supports the requirement of one authorization per vehicle. The remote communication module 10 is the module in the vehicle OTA system that directly communicates with the cloud (40), acting as a communication middleware between the cloud (40) and other domain controllers.

[0055] Among them, Cloud 40, also known as the cloud platform, integrates the OTA management platform and is responsible for the management of vehicle models, vehicles, software, policies, logs, permissions, vehicle-side integration, upgrade data statistics, etc.

[0056] The software upgrade data package is not limited to software upgrades for vehicle domain controllers and vehicle components; it can also be used to upgrade some hardware in the vehicle when needed.

[0057] In this embodiment, by setting up the vehicle domain controller 20 in the vehicle-side data processing system, when receiving the software upgrade data packet sent from the cloud 40 through the remote communication module 10, in addition to upgrading the vehicle domain controller 20 itself and the vehicle components connected to the vehicle domain controller 20, it can also achieve upgrade control of each area controller 30 connected to the communication and the vehicle components connected to each area controller 30. Compared with related technologies, which require receiving the upgrade packet through the T-Box and then distributing it to each ECU in the vehicle one by one, this improves the centralized management and control capability of the upgrade control of at least the vehicle components electrically connected to each area controller 30 in the OTA architecture. Moreover, the vehicle domain controller 20 can trigger the relevant software upgrades of each area controller 30 respectively, realizing multi-domain synchronous upgrades, so as to achieve efficient collaborative execution of upgrade tasks, thereby helping to reduce the OTA upgrade time of the whole vehicle.

[0058] In an exemplary embodiment, the remote communication module 10 is electrically connected to a region controller 30, and the region controller 30 is electrically connected to the vehicle domain controller 20; the remote communication module 10 transmits software upgrade data packets to the vehicle domain controller 20 based on the electrically connected region controller 30.

[0059] The remote communication module 10 and the first area controller 31 in the area controller 30 can be directly electrically connected via the vehicle bus, and the first area controller 31 and the vehicle domain controller 20 can be directly electrically connected via the vehicle bus; the vehicle bus may include at least one of Ethernet wiring and controller area network bus.

[0060] Here, "communication connection" and "electrical connection" are different. "Communication connection" refers to the path or mechanism for transmitting information (data, signals) between two or more devices, which can be wired or wireless, physical or logical; "electrical connection" refers to the physical path of current or electrical signals realized through conductors (such as metal wires, circuit board traces). Therefore, in the embodiments provided in this application, the first area controller 31 is electrically connected to the remote communication module 10 and the vehicle domain controller 20 respectively through conductors; however, the remote communication module 10 is communicationally (logically) connected to the vehicle domain controller 20, and the vehicle domain controller 20 is communicationally (logically) connected to the first area controller 31.

[0061] In this embodiment, the actual electrical connection relationship of the remote communication module 10, a regional controller 30, and the vehicle domain controller 20 in the circuit architecture is as follows: the regional controller 30 is directly electrically connected to both the remote communication module 10 and the vehicle domain controller 20. Based on this circuit architecture, when the remote communication module 10 receives a software upgrade data packet, it can transmit the software upgrade data packet to the directly electrically connected vehicle domain controller 20 through the directly electrically connected regional controller 30. This avoids the need to add electrical connection wiring between the remote communication module 10 and the vehicle domain controller 20, which helps to reduce the number of physical wirings used in the vehicle, thereby helping to reduce the manufacturing cost and overall weight of the vehicle.

[0062] In one exemplary embodiment, please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The vehicle-side data processing system also includes a smart driving domain controller 50 and a cockpit domain controller 60; the remote communication module 10 is also connected to the smart driving domain controller 50 and the cockpit domain controller 60 respectively; the smart driving domain controller 50 and the cockpit domain controller 60 are configured to receive software upgrade data packets sent from the cloud 40 through the remote communication module 10, so as to upgrade at least one of the vehicle components attached to the smart driving domain controller 50, the cockpit domain controller 60, and the smart driving domain controller 50 and the cockpit domain controller 60 respectively.

[0063] The Intelligent Driving Domain Controller (Mobile Data Center, MDC) 50 can be configured as a node for multiple cameras, millimeter-wave radar, ultrasonic radar, and lidar of the vehicle below it; it can integrate an intelligent driving domain upgrade control module to perform software upgrades on itself and the ECUs under the domain; it supports self-upgrade and rollback, and uploads the domain logs.

[0064] The Cockpit Domain Controller (CDC) 60 can be configured as the controller for the instrument cluster, head-up display, and external amplifier of the vehicle, directly controlling the central control screen, rear-seat displays, facial recognition cameras, and in-vehicle monitoring cameras. It also supports wireless Bluetooth connectivity with optional components such as child seats, second-row screen remote controls, and microphones. The CDC 60 can integrate an OTA manager service module, responsible for controlling the entire vehicle's OTA process, downloading and storing software packages, managing log uploads, and enabling self-flashing of software upgrades to upgrade itself and the ECUs within its domain.

[0065] For example, vehicle OTA upgrades mainly include two parts: downloading software packages and upgrading software based on those packages. The cloud platform, as the central node for OTA upgrades, is responsible for managing and scheduling all vehicle upgrade tasks. When a new software version is released, the cloud platform generates OTA tasks and pushes these OTA tasks to the vehicle's terminal via a T-Box. Since some domain controllers are unable to function during software package-based upgrades, this can cause vehicles to be unable to drive during certain OTA upgrade phases. Therefore, this application uses a T-Box to distribute the software upgrade data packets sent from the cloud 40 to each domain controller, which improves the distribution efficiency of the software upgrade data packets. Furthermore, by configuring the vehicle domain controller 20 to upgrade each communication-connected area controller 30 and the vehicle components connected to each area controller 30 upon receiving the software data packets, the OTA upgrade efficiency can be further improved.

[0066] Figure 2 The term "data package download" shown indicates the download of the software upgrade data package. That is, the remote communication module 10 can download the software upgrade data package via the cloud 40, and the intelligent driving domain controller 50, cockpit domain controller 60, and vehicle domain controller 20 can each download the software upgrade data package via the remote communication module 10.

[0067] In this embodiment, the remote communication module 10 can receive software upgrade data packets related to the intelligent driving domain controller 50 and the cockpit domain controller 60 in the vehicle sent by the cloud 40, and send the relevant software upgrade data packets to the intelligent driving domain controller 50 and the cockpit domain controller 60 respectively, which helps to improve the efficiency of sending software upgrade data packets to each domain controller.

[0068] For example, in the vehicle-side data processing system provided in this application, the remote communication module 10 is directly connected to the intelligent driving domain controller 50, the cockpit domain controller 60, and the vehicle domain controller 20, respectively. Therefore, when the remote communication module 10 receives a software upgrade data packet for the vehicle from the cloud 40, it can, based on the direct communication connections between the remote communication module 10 and the intelligent driving domain controller 50, the cockpit domain controller 60, and the vehicle domain controller 20, directly send the software upgrade data packet to each of these domain controllers. This improves the efficiency of sending the software upgrade data packet to each domain controller, thereby improving the overall vehicle OTA efficiency. Furthermore, this also allows each ECU in the vehicle to receive the relevant software upgrade signal through the connected domain controllers. Compared to receiving and sending the software upgrade data packet to each ECU solely through the T-Box, this achieves distributed reception and processing of the software upgrade data packet, thus reducing the overall vehicle OTA upgrade time.

[0069] In this embodiment, the intelligent driving domain controller 50, the cockpit domain controller 60, and the vehicle domain controller 20 are simultaneously connected to the cloud 40 via the remote communication module 10. This enables the software upgrade data packets sent from the cloud 40 to be distributed by the intelligent driving domain controller 50, the cockpit domain controller 60, and the vehicle domain controller 20 to the respective ECUs with communication connections after passing through the remote communication module 10. This achieves the separate reception, processing, and distribution of software upgrade data packets related to the ECUs with communication connections through each domain controller. Compared to receiving, processing, and distributing software upgrade data packets only through the T-Box, this decentralized reception and processing of software upgrade data packets helps to reduce the OTA upgrade time for the entire vehicle.

[0070] The remote communication module 10 can be configured to not process the received software upgrade data packets, but to directly send them to the intelligent driving domain controller 50, cockpit domain controller 60 and vehicle domain controller 20 respectively. Alternatively, the remote communication module 10 can be configured to parse and split the received software upgrade data packets to obtain sub-software upgrade data packets corresponding to the intelligent driving domain controller 50, cockpit domain controller 60 and vehicle domain controller 20 respectively, and then send each sub-software upgrade data packet to the corresponding domain controller.

[0071] In one exemplary embodiment, refer to Figure 2The remote communication module 10 is electrically connected to the first area controller 31 (VIU1) in the area controller 30. The first area controller 31 is electrically connected to the vehicle domain controller 20, the second area controller 32 (VIU2) and the third area controller 33 (VIU3) in the area controller 30, and the second area controller 32 is also electrically connected to the vehicle domain controller 20, the third area controller 33, the intelligent driving domain controller 50 and the cockpit domain controller 60.

[0072] For example, when the remote communication module 10 receives a software upgrade data packet sent from a remote end, which involves data upgrades for each area controller 30, vehicle domain controller 20, intelligent driving domain controller 50, and cockpit domain controller 60, the remote communication module 10 can transmit the software upgrade data packet to the vehicle domain controller 20 through the first area controller 31, which is directly electrically connected. The vehicle domain controller 20 can then perform software upgrades for itself and other area controllers (e.g., area controllers VIU1, VIU2, and VIU3). At the same time, the vehicle domain controller 20 can further transmit the software upgrade data packet to the intelligent driving domain controller 50 and the cockpit domain controller 60 through the second area controller 32, so that the intelligent driving domain controller 50 and the cockpit domain controller 60 can perform their own software upgrades. In this way, the remote communication module 10 can transmit software upgrade data packets to the vehicle domain controller 20, the intelligent driving domain controller 50, and the cockpit domain controller 60 based on the vehicle's original electrical connection architecture. This avoids the need to add electrical connection wiring between the remote communication module 10 and the vehicle domain controller 20, the intelligent driving domain controller 50, and the cockpit domain controller 60, which helps to reduce the number of physical wirings used in the vehicle, thereby reducing the vehicle's manufacturing cost and overall weight.

[0073] In one exemplary embodiment, please continue to refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The vehicle domain controller 20 is used to receive software upgrade data packets for the area controller 30 from the remote communication module 10, determine the software upgrade signals corresponding to each area controller (e.g., including area controller VIU1, area controller VIU2 and area controller VIU3) based on the software upgrade data packets, and send each software upgrade signal to the corresponding area controller in parallel.

[0074] The vehicle domain controller 20 may be configured with a processor, which may specifically include an MCU (Microcontroller Unit) or a SoC (System on Chip). Upon receiving a software upgrade data packet, the vehicle domain controller 20 can parse and process the software upgrade data packet based on the configured processor to obtain the software upgrade signals related to the software upgrade data packet. If the data carried in the software upgrade data packet is only for software upgrades of the area controllers (e.g., area controllers VIU1, VIU2, and VIU3) and / or their subordinate vehicle components, the software upgrade signals may include, for example, multiple software upgrade signals for each area controller.

[0075] For example, such as Figure 2 As shown, when the vehicle domain controller 20 is communicatively connected to three area controllers (VIU1, VIU2, and VIU3), the processor of the vehicle domain controller 20 can, for example, parse three software upgrade signals based on the received software upgrade data packets. These three signals correspond to software upgrades performed on each area controller (e.g., area controller VIU1, area controller VIU2, and area controller VIU3) and / or the vehicle components attached to each area controller.

[0076] In this embodiment, when the vehicle domain controller 20 receives a software upgrade data packet for the regional controller 30 from the cloud 40 via the remote communication module 10, it can perform data parsing and conversion processing on the software upgrade data packet to obtain the software upgrade signal corresponding to each regional controller (e.g., regional controller VIU1, regional controller VIU2, and regional controller VIU3). Then, the vehicle controller can distribute the obtained software upgrade signals to the corresponding regional controllers respectively, and can adopt a method of sending each software upgrade signal to the corresponding regional controllers in parallel to improve the efficiency of sending software upgrade signals to multiple regional controllers 30, thereby improving the OTA efficiency of the whole vehicle.

[0077] In an exemplary embodiment, the software upgrade data packet received by the vehicle domain controller 20 may include, for example, upgrade data for both the vehicle domain controller 20 and each area controller 30, as well as upgrade data for vehicle components attached to both. In this case, the software upgrade signal obtained by parsing the software upgrade data packet may include, for example, multiple software upgrade signals for both the vehicle domain controller 20 and each area controller 30, so that each software upgrade signal can be used to upgrade the software of the vehicle domain controller 20 and each area controller 30, and / or to upgrade the software of vehicle components attached to at least one of the vehicle domain controller 20 and each area controller 30.

[0078] For example, such as Figure 2 As shown, when the vehicle domain controller 20 is communicatively connected to three area controllers 30 (VIU1, VIU2 and VIU3), the processor of the vehicle domain controller 20 can parse four software upgrade signals based on the software upgrade data packet. That is, one software upgrade signal for software upgrade of the vehicle domain controller 20 and / or its downstream components, and three software upgrade signals corresponding to software upgrade of each area controller 30 and / or its downstream components.

[0079] For example, the software upgrade data packet received by the vehicle domain controller 20 may include upgrade data for both the vehicle domain controller 20 and each area controller 30, as well as the components connected to both, but is not limited thereto; the software upgrade data packet received by the vehicle domain controller 20 may also only involve software upgrade data for some domain controllers and / or some vehicle components.

[0080] In one exemplary embodiment, please refer to Figure 2 At least one area controller 30 is attached to vehicle components including the vehicle's Digital Light Processing (DLP) headlights; at least one area controller 30 is used to perform upgrades for the DLP headlights based on received software upgrade signals.

[0081] Among them, laser projection headlights are used to provide customized light projection in front of the vehicle, enabling human-machine interaction in multiple scenarios. Upgrades to laser projection headlights may involve aspects such as optimizing optical control algorithms, adding or optimizing projection content and interactive functions, updating hardware drivers and underlying firmware, updating user configurations and personalization settings, and upgrading communication protocols.

[0082] In this embodiment, by setting the vehicle's laser projection headlights to communicate directly with the area controller 30, the communicating area controller 30 can be used to implement software upgrades for the laser projection headlights. This eliminates the need to configure a separate vehicle headlight domain controller for the laser projection headlights' software upgrades, which helps reduce the number of controllers in the vehicle-side data processing system, improves the functional integration of the vehicle-side data processing system, and thus helps reduce the cost required for vehicle software upgrades.

[0083] This application does not limit the specific area controller 30 for the communication connection of the laser projection headlights, and the choice can be made based on requirements; it is also possible to configure the laser projection headlights to communicate with two area controllers 30 simultaneously. For example, if the area controllers 30 include an area controller VIU1 located in the driver's seat, an area controller VIU2 located in the passenger seat, and an area controller VIU3 located in the rear cabin, the laser projection headlights can be configured to communicate with either VIU1 or VIU2. This helps to reduce the length of the communication connection cables between the laser projection headlights and the area controllers 30, thereby reducing wiring costs and complexity.

[0084] In one exemplary embodiment, please continue to refer to Figure 2 Upon receiving a software upgrade data packet, any one of the intelligent driving domain controller 50, cockpit domain controller 60, and vehicle domain controller 20 shall execute the corresponding domain controller upgrade action based on the software upgrade data packet; and when the domain controller determines that the corresponding upgrade action has been completed, it shall instruct at least one vehicle component under the domain controller to upgrade based on the software upgrade data packet.

[0085] For example, for the three domain controllers, namely the intelligent driving domain controller 50, the cockpit domain controller 60, and the vehicle domain controller 20, this application configures each domain controller to complete its own data upgrade first upon receiving a software upgrade data packet, and then implement the data upgrade of its subordinate components and other area controllers 30 with communication connections.

[0086] Since the domain controller is essentially the "brain" of the corresponding functional domain, responsible for coordinating and managing multiple sub-components of the relevant functional domain, if the sub-components are upgraded first while the domain controller version lags behind, problems such as communication protocol mismatch, functional logic conflict, and security mechanism failure may occur.

[0087] In this embodiment, when any one of the intelligent driving domain controller 50, cockpit domain controller 60, and vehicle domain controller 20 receives a software upgrade data packet, it first performs an upgrade of its own software data. Then, after its own software upgrade is completed, it sends the software upgrade signals of other vehicle components corresponding to the software upgrade data packet, which are used to realize the communication connection of the domain controllers, to the other vehicle components to be upgraded. Based on this, the timeliness of software upgrades of each domain controller in the vehicle data processing system can be controlled to be higher than the timeliness of software upgrades of vehicle components that communicate with each controller. By upgrading each domain controller first, the failure of individual nodes can be avoided as much as possible to prevent the entire vehicle from being paralyzed. This helps to ensure that it has the ability to drive and schedule new versions of vehicle components, and is more conducive to ensuring the smoothness and safety of vehicle use.

[0088] In one exemplary embodiment, please refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3 Each area controller 30 is used to send software upgrade signals corresponding to relevant software upgrade data packets in parallel to at least two vehicle component network segments with communication connections.

[0089] like Figure 2 As shown, for example, the area controller VIU1 includes both a vehicle component network segment connected to the DLP and another vehicle component network segment connected to the CAN node; or as... Figure 3 As shown, the area controller VIU1 includes connected power and network segments, chassis main network segments, and other network segments.

[0090] For example, when the area controller VIU1 has two or three vehicle component network segments in its communication connection, and the received software upgrade signal involves data upgrades for at least two vehicle component network segments, the area controller 30 can send the relevant software upgrade signal to at least two vehicle component network segments simultaneously, instead of sending the software upgrade signal to each vehicle component network segment in a time-division manner.

[0091] In this embodiment, when each area controller 30 receives a corresponding software upgrade signal, it can send the software upgrade signal in parallel to multiple vehicle component network segments that the area controller 30 is connected to. This is beneficial to improving the efficiency of sending software upgrade signals from the area controller 30 to the multiple vehicle component network segments it is connected to, and also beneficial to improving the upgrade speed of the vehicle components connected to each area controller 30, thereby improving the overall vehicle OTA efficiency.

[0092] For example, any one of the intelligent driving domain controller 50, the cockpit domain controller 60, and the vehicle domain controller 20 can also be used to send software upgrade signals corresponding to relevant software upgrade data packets in parallel to at least two vehicle component network segments with communication connections.

[0093] In one exemplary embodiment, please refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3 Each area controller 30 is used to send the software upgrade signal corresponding to the relevant software upgrade data packet to each vehicle component in the same vehicle component network segment with communication connection in stages.

[0094] like Figure 3As shown, in the chassis auxiliary network segment connected to the area controller VIU2, an RBU (Redundant Brake Unit) and other ECUs (shown in ellipses in the figure) can be connected in series. When the software upgrade signal received by the area controller VIU2 involves both an upgrade signal for the RBU and an upgrade signal for another ECU in the same network segment, the area controller VIU2 can first transmit its relevant software upgrade signal to the RBU through the chassis auxiliary network segment, and then transmit its relevant software upgrade signal to the other ECU through the chassis auxiliary network segment.

[0095] In this embodiment, by setting the area controller 30 to send relevant software upgrade signals to each vehicle component in the same vehicle component network segment in a step-by-step manner, it is beneficial to ensure the accuracy of the software upgrade signals received by each vehicle component in the same vehicle component network segment, reduce signal transmission chaos, and also reduce the number of communication lines required between each vehicle component in the same vehicle component network segment and the area controller 30, thereby reducing line complexity.

[0096] In one exemplary embodiment, please refer to Figure 2 The cockpit domain controller 60 is also communicatively connected to the intelligent driving domain controller 50 and the vehicle domain controller 20, respectively. The cockpit domain controller 60 is also used to generate upgrade guidance data for at least one of the intelligent driving domain controller 50 and the vehicle domain controller 20, and transmit the upgrade guidance data to the matching intelligent driving domain controller 50 and / or vehicle domain controller 20. The upgrade guidance data is used to instruct the corresponding intelligent driving domain controller 50 and / or vehicle domain controller 20 to perform upgrade actions.

[0097] in, Figure 2 The “OTA process guidance” shown corresponds to the “upgrade guidance data” here. The cockpit domain controller 60 configured in this application can be used to perform upgrade guidance control for vehicle OTA upgrades. Specifically, it can be configured to generate upgrade guidance data associated with the intelligent driving domain controller 50 and / or the vehicle domain controller 20 through the cockpit domain controller 60, and send the upgrade guidance data to the intelligent driving domain controller 50 and / or the vehicle domain controller 20.

[0098] For example, refer to Figure 4Vehicle users can proactively confirm or initiate upgrade operations on the vehicle's infotainment system (such as the central control screen or CDC). For example, when the system asks the owner "Do you want to start the vehicle OTA?", if the owner selects "Start now," the system will dynamically generate a set of metadata and security credentials for initiating and authorizing the subsequent firmware flashing process. This metadata and security credentials constitute the upgrade guidance data. If the owner selects "Remind me later," the system will ask the owner again "Do you want to start the vehicle OTA?" after a preset time period, or after the owner has driven the vehicle and then returned to a parked state.

[0099] The upgrade guide data is different from the software upgrade data packet. Instead, it is used to inform, for example, the intelligent driving domain controller 50 and / or the vehicle domain controller 20, that it is now possible to start performing relevant upgrade operations based on the received software upgrade data packet.

[0100] In this embodiment, for the software upgrade data packet received by the intelligent driving domain controller 50, the cockpit domain controller 60 can generate relevant upgrade guidance data to trigger, authorize, and configure the intelligent driving domain controller 50 and its communication-connected target vehicle components to enter upgrade mode. Similarly, for the software upgrade data packet received by the vehicle domain controller 20, the cockpit domain controller 60 can also generate relevant upgrade guidance data to trigger, authorize, and configure the vehicle domain controller 20 and its communication-connected target vehicle components to enter upgrade mode. That is, the cockpit domain controller 60 can control the safe startup, process coordination, and permission verification of the cockpit domain controller 60 itself, the intelligent driving domain controller 50 and its communication-connected vehicle components, the vehicle domain controller 20 and its communication-connected vehicle components, and the area controller 30 during the software upgrade process, ensuring that the correct domain controllers and ECUs start and complete the controlled software update under safe and compliant conditions.

[0101] In an exemplary embodiment, the cloud 40 can be used to send an "OTA mode activation" command to the vehicle-side data processing system, targeting at least the remote communication module 10, cockpit domain controller 60, intelligent driving domain controller 50, and vehicle domain controller 20. This command can be sent by the vehicle manufacturer or by the vehicle user via a vehicle mobile application. Upon receiving the "OTA mode activation" command, the vehicle-side data processing system can simultaneously initiate software upgrade processes related to the remote communication module 10, cockpit domain controller 60, intelligent driving domain controller 50, and vehicle domain controller 20. This enables simultaneous software upgrade control for at least the remote communication module 10, cockpit domain controller 60, intelligent driving domain controller 50, and vehicle domain controller 20, improving the overall vehicle OTA efficiency. Specifically, "simultaneously initiating software upgrade processes related to the remote communication module 10, cockpit domain controller 60, intelligent driving domain controller 50, and vehicle domain controller 20" means simultaneously initiating self-upgrades for the remote communication module 10, cockpit domain controller 60, intelligent driving domain controller 50, and vehicle domain controller 20.

[0102] In one exemplary embodiment, please refer to Figure 2 When the cockpit domain controller 60 receives asset collection data reported by at least one of the intelligent driving domain controller 50 and the vehicle domain controller 20, it transmits the asset collection data to the cloud 40 through the remote communication module 10.

[0103] The asset data collected may include the part numbers and versions of various components in the vehicle. This information can be used to determine whether the relevant components need to be upgraded and to determine whether the upgrade of the relevant components has been successful.

[0104] In this embodiment, the cockpit domain controller 60 can be used to collect vehicle asset data collected by the intelligent driving domain controller 50 and / or the vehicle domain controller 20, and report the collected asset data to the cloud 40 through the remote communication module 10. This realizes centralized reporting and processing of asset data, which is conducive to improving data value density and reusability, as well as improving the efficiency of vehicle operation data analysis through the reported asset data.

[0105] in, Figure 2 Any of the VDC, VIU, CDC, and MDC in the system can be used to attach CAN nodes, LIN nodes, etc., as needed.

[0106] Please refer to the appendix. Figure 3This demonstrates an optional upgrade sequence for a vehicle-side data processing system, where "OTA mode activation" indicates that an OTA upgrade for the entire vehicle is triggered. After OTA mode activation, CDC, VDC, MDC, and T-Box can simultaneously enable self-upgrades. Once any of the CDC, VDC, MDC, and T-Box has completed its self-upgrade, parallel flashing of its downstream ETH (Ethernet), CAN, and LIN (Local Interconnect Network) segments can begin immediately without waiting, thereby enabling the upgrade of the downstream ECU or area controller 30.

[0107] For example, the CDC can simultaneously flash the attached LVDS (Low-Voltage Differential Signaling) and CAN nodes; the VDC can simultaneously upgrade VIU1, VIU2, and VIU3; and the MDC can simultaneously upgrade the LiDAR 1 on the Ethernet segment and the ultrasonic controller on the CAN segment. After the attached network segments are flashed (upgraded), a zone reset is performed on the T-Box, MDC, VDC, and CDC. This zone reset means cutting off the power supply area for a restart, i.e., cutting off the power supply to the area where the target threshold controller is located, achieving a physical power outage. After power is restored, the threshold controller is completely restarted at the hardware level, clearing abnormalities such as memory state, register configuration, and software deadlocks, thereby restoring the system to normal function.

[0108] Compared to traditional OTA upgrade solutions that rely on a single upgrade control module (T-Box / CDC) for the entire vehicle, the OTA architecture provided in this application enables faster OTA upgrades and can support rapid upgrades of all CAN / LIN nodes within the vehicle. For example, as shown... Figure 3 As shown, after testing by the applicant, a full-vehicle OTA upgrade for a single vehicle was achieved in no more than 30 minutes.

[0109] Figure 3 The document only shows that the CDC communicates with instruments and HUD (Head-Up Display) through one network segment and with the projector optical engine through another network segment. However, it does not limit the CDC to only two network segments, nor does it limit the number and type of ECUs that can be connected to a single network segment.

[0110] Figure 3The document only shows that the VIU1 connects to the BMS (Battery Management System) via the power network segment, connects to the IPB (Intelligent Integrated Power Brake) via the chassis main network segment, and connects to some ECUs (not shown) via other network segments. However, it does not limit the VIU1 to only three network segments, nor does it limit the number and type of ECUs connected to a single network segment.

[0111] Figure 3 The document only shows that the VIU2 connects to the RBU via the chassis auxiliary network segment, connects to the ALA (cabin-driver integration domain controller) via the ambient light LIN network segment, and connects to some ECUs (not shown) via other network segments. However, it does not limit the VIU2 to only three network segments, nor does it limit the number and type of ECUs connected to a single network segment.

[0112] Figure 3 The document only shows that the VIU3 connects to the electric door via the vehicle body network segment, connects to the LBMS (Lithium-ion Battery Management System) via the lithium battery network segment, and connects to some ECUs (not shown) via other network segments. However, it does not limit the VIU3 to only three network segments, nor does it limit the number and type of ECUs connected to a single network segment.

[0113] Figure 3 It only shows that the MDC connects to ultrasonic sensors, corner radars, and other network segments via the CAN network segment, and communicates with lidar and others via the Ethernet segment. However, it does not limit the MDC to only two network segments, nor does it limit the number and type of ECUs that can be connected to a single network segment.

[0114] Based on the same inventive concept, please refer to Figure 5 This application also provides a vehicle including the aforementioned vehicle-side data processing system.

[0115] In this embodiment, by applying the vehicle-side data processing system provided in this application to the vehicle, it is beneficial to the centralized management and control of vehicle software upgrades and the efficient collaborative execution of upgrade tasks, which helps to reduce the OTA upgrade time of the whole vehicle and improve the user experience of the vehicle.

[0116] In the description of this specification, references to terms such as "some embodiments," "other embodiments," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. In this specification, the illustrative descriptions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiments or examples.

[0117] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any way. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0118] The embodiments described above illustrate several implementation methods of this application, and while the descriptions are specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of this application. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of this application, and these modifications and improvements all fall within the protection scope of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this application should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A vehicle end data processing system, characterized by, It includes a remote communication module, a vehicle domain controller, and at least one area controller; wherein, the remote communication module is electrically connected to a first area controller in the area controller, and the first area controller is electrically connected to the vehicle domain controller; the vehicle domain controller is electrically connected to a second area controller in the area controller, and the second area controller is electrically connected to a smart driving domain controller and a cockpit domain controller; The remote communication module is configured to communicate with the vehicle domain controller, and the vehicle domain controller communicates with at least one of the area controllers. The vehicle domain controller is configured to receive software upgrade data packets sent from the cloud via the remote communication module, so as to upgrade at least one of the vehicle domain controller, each of the regional controllers, the vehicle domain controller, and the vehicle components connected to each of the regional controllers; wherein, the remote communication module transmits the software upgrade data packets to the vehicle domain controller based on the first regional controller with electrical connection; and the vehicle domain controller transmits the software upgrade data packets to the intelligent driving domain controller and the cockpit domain controller respectively based on the second regional controller with electrical connection.

2. The vehicle end data processing system according to claim 1, characterized by The remote communication module is also communicatively connected to the intelligent driving domain controller and the cockpit domain controller, respectively. The intelligent driving domain controller and the cockpit domain controller are configured to receive software upgrade data packets sent from the cloud via the remote communication module, so as to upgrade at least one of the vehicle components connected to the intelligent driving domain controller, the cockpit domain controller, the intelligent driving domain controller, and the cockpit domain controller respectively.

3. The vehicle-side data processing system according to claim 2, characterized in that, Upon receiving the software upgrade data packet, any one of the intelligent driving domain controller, the cockpit domain controller, and the vehicle domain controller shall perform the corresponding domain controller upgrade action based on the software upgrade data packet. When the domain controller determines that the corresponding upgrade action has been completed, it instructs the domain controller to upgrade at least one of the vehicle components based on the software upgrade data packet.

4. The vehicle end data processing system according to claim 2, characterized by The cockpit domain controller is also communicatively connected to the intelligent driving domain controller and the vehicle domain controller. The cockpit domain controller is also configured to generate upgrade guidance data for at least one of the intelligent driving domain controller and the vehicle domain controller, and transmit the upgrade guidance data to the matching intelligent driving domain controller and / or the vehicle domain controller. The upgrade guidance data is used to instruct the corresponding intelligent driving domain controller and / or the vehicle domain controller to perform an upgrade action.

5. The vehicle-side data processing system according to claim 2, characterized in that, Upon receiving asset collection data reported by at least one of the intelligent driving domain controller and the vehicle domain controller, the cockpit domain controller transmits the asset collection data to the cloud via the remote communication module.

6. The vehicle-side data processing system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The vehicle domain controller is used to receive the software upgrade data packet for the area controller from the remote communication module, determine the software upgrade signal corresponding to each area controller based on the software upgrade data packet, and send each software upgrade signal to the corresponding area controller in parallel.

7. The vehicle-side data processing system according to claim 6, characterized in that, At least one of the vehicle components attached to the area controller includes the vehicle's laser projection headlights; At least one of the area controllers implements an upgrade for the laser projection headlights based on the received software upgrade signal.

8. The vehicle-side data processing system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The vehicle domain controller is responsible for the integrated control of vehicle power and chassis functions.

9. The vehicle-side data processing system according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, Each of the aforementioned area controllers is used to send, in parallel, the software upgrade signal corresponding to the relevant software upgrade data packet to at least two vehicle component network segments with communication connections; Each of the area controllers is used to send the software upgrade signal corresponding to the relevant software upgrade data packet to each of the vehicle components in the same vehicle component network segment with communication connection in stages.

10. A vehicle characterized by comprising: Includes the vehicle-side data processing system as described in any one of claims 1-9.

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