Second pulse signal driving circuit and vehicle

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a PPS signal driving circuit and a vehicle. The PPS signal driving circuit of the present disclosure comprises an MCU, an adjustable logic power supply, an NPN triode, two PNP triodes and a plurality of resistors. The PPS signal driving circuit of the present disclosure is formed by discrete devices, different driving output voltages can be configured according to needs, and the actual needs of sensor diversification and flexible deployment in the automatic driving system can be adapted, while the hardware cost is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of autonomous driving technology, and in particular to a second pulse signal drive circuit and a vehicle. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, autonomous driving technology has been widely applied in various industries such as transportation, logistics, and special operations. In an autonomous driving system, vehicles need to be equipped with multiple types of sensors, including LiDAR, cameras, inertial measurement units, and millimeter-wave radar. The domain controller performs many tasks such as environmental perception, vehicle localization, behavior decision-making, path planning, and control based on the data collected in real time by these sensors.

[0003] To ensure time synchronization between various sensors and domain controllers, an automatic driving system needs to be equipped with a pulse per second (PPS) signal drive circuit. This circuit provides a unified, stable, and high-precision time reference for all parts of the automatic driving system (including various sensors and domain controllers), thereby enabling high-precision time synchronization output from the automatic driving system.

[0004] Currently, integrated driver integrated circuits (ICs) are mainly used to implement the PPS signal driving circuit for vehicles. For example, Chinese patent application number 202510242991.2 discloses a millimeter-wave radar positioning and timing integrated system, which generates a locally synchronized PPS signal through an independent module, the instantaneous frequency generation unit. Another example is Chinese patent application number 202510009546.1, which discloses a high-reliability precision timing device, also using an independent module, the instantaneous code generation module, to generate the local PPS signal. Although integrated driver ICs can reduce the number of components and simplify the circuit structure, they have significant shortcomings in driving capability and configuration flexibility, making it difficult to adapt to the diverse and flexible deployment requirements of sensors in autonomous driving systems, while also increasing hardware costs. Utility Model Content

[0005] In view of this, the present disclosure provides a second pulse signal driving circuit and a vehicle.

[0006] According to a first aspect of this disclosure, a second pulse signal driving circuit is provided, the second pulse signal driving circuit comprising: a microcontroller MCU, an adjustable logic power supply, a PPS signal input terminal, an NPN transistor, a first PNP transistor, a second PNP transistor, a first resistor, a second resistor, a third resistor, a fourth resistor, a fifth resistor, a sixth resistor, a diode, and a PPS signal output terminal; The adjustable logic power supply is connected to the MCU. The emitter of the first PNP transistor is connected to the adjustable logic power supply. The base of the first PNP transistor is connected to the emitter of the second PNP transistor through the fifth resistor. The collector of the first PNP transistor is connected to the base of the second PNP transistor and then to the collector of the NPN transistor through the fourth resistor. The collector of the NPN transistor is connected to both the adjustable logic power supply and the emitter of the first PNP transistor through the first resistor. The emitter of the NPN transistor is grounded. The base of the NPN transistor is connected to the PPS signal input terminal through the second resistor and then to ground through the third resistor. The anode of the diode is connected to the collector of the second PNP transistor. The cathode of the diode is connected to the PPS signal output terminal and then to ground through the sixth resistor.

[0007] In some embodiments of the first aspect of this disclosure, one end of the second resistor is connected to the PPS signal input terminal, and the other end of the second resistor is connected to the base of the NPN transistor.

[0008] In some embodiments of the first aspect of this disclosure, one end of the third resistor is connected to the base of the NPN transistor, and the other end of the third resistor is grounded.

[0009] In some embodiments of the first aspect of this disclosure, one end of the fifth resistor is connected to the emitter of the second PNP transistor and the other end is connected to the base of the first PNP transistor.

[0010] In some embodiments of the first aspect of this disclosure, one end of the sixth resistor is connected to both the PPS signal output terminal and the cathode of the diode, and the other end of the sixth resistor is grounded.

[0011] In some embodiments of the first aspect of this disclosure, the adjustable logic power supply is connected to the MCU via an I2C bus.

[0012] In some embodiments of the first aspect of this disclosure, the MCU includes a register, the values ​​of the lower four bits of which correspond to the output voltage of the adjustable logic power supply.

[0013] According to a second aspect of this disclosure, a vehicle is provided, the vehicle including a system clock source, a domain controller, a sensor group and the aforementioned second pulse signal driving circuit, the sensor group including one or more sensors, the second pulse signal input terminal of the second pulse signal driving circuit being connected to the system clock source, and the second pulse signal output terminal of the second pulse signal driving circuit being connected to the domain controller and each sensor in the sensor group respectively.

[0014] In some embodiments of the second aspect of this disclosure, the sensor group includes one or more of the following sensors: a camera, a lidar, a millimeter-wave radar, and an inertial measurement unit.

[0015] As can be seen from the above technical solutions, the PPS signal driving circuit of this disclosure embodiment is formed using discrete components, and different driving output voltages can be configured as needed. While improving the output driving capability, it does not increase the cost. It can adapt to the actual needs of the diverse and flexible deployment of sensors in autonomous driving systems, while reducing hardware costs. Attached Figure Description

[0016] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this disclosure or the prior art, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this disclosure. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the second pulse signal driving circuit provided in the embodiments of this disclosure; Figure 2 This is a structural example diagram of a vehicle provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0018] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this disclosure, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0019] The terminology used in the embodiments of this disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of this disclosure. The singular forms “a,” “the,” and “the” as used in the embodiments of this disclosure and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0020] As mentioned earlier, PPS signal driving circuits implemented using integrated driver ICs have significant shortcomings in terms of driving capability and configuration flexibility. Specifically, integrated driver ICs typically have a limited operating voltage range, with their maximum driving voltage usually not exceeding 5.5V. If a high-level PPS signal, such as 12V, is required, the entire driver IC must be replaced with one that supports a higher operating voltage. This not only necessitates a complete redesign of the hardware circuitry but also increases hardware costs due to the higher cost of high-voltage driver ICs. Furthermore, it is difficult to adapt to the diverse and flexible deployment requirements of sensors in autonomous driving systems.

[0021] In view of this, the present disclosure provides a PPS signal driving circuit and a vehicle, wherein the PPS signal driving circuit is formed using discrete components and can be configured with different drive output voltages as needed, thereby improving the output driving capability without increasing the cost, adapting to the actual needs of diverse and flexible sensor deployment in autonomous driving systems, and reducing hardware costs.

[0022] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the PPS signal driving circuit 100 provided in an embodiment of this disclosure is shown. The second pulse signal driving circuit 100 provided in an embodiment of this disclosure may include: a microcontroller MCU, an adjustable logic power supply, a PPS signal input terminal PPS_IN, an NPN transistor Q1, a first PNP transistor Q2, a second PNP transistor Q3, a first resistor R1, a second resistor R2, a third resistor R3, a fourth resistor R4, a fifth resistor R5, a sixth resistor R6, a diode D1, and a PPS signal output terminal PPS_OUT.

[0023] The adjustable logic power supply is connected to the MCU. The emitter of the first PNP transistor Q2 is connected to the adjustable logic power supply. The base of the first PNP transistor Q2 is connected to the emitter of the second PNP transistor Q3 through the fifth resistor R5. The collector of the first PNP transistor Q2 is connected to the base of the second PNP transistor Q3 and to the collector of the NPN transistor Q1 through the fourth resistor R4. The collector of the NPN transistor Q1 is connected to both the emitter of the first PNP transistor Q2 and the adjustable logic power supply through the first resistor R1. The emitter of the NPN transistor Q1 is grounded. The base of the NPN transistor Q1 is connected to the PPS signal input terminal PPS_IN through the second resistor R2 and grounded through the third resistor R3. The collector of the second PNP transistor Q3 is connected to the PPS signal output terminal PPS_OUT through the diode D1. The anode of the diode D1 is connected to the collector of the second PNP transistor Q3, and the cathode is connected to the PPS signal output terminal PPS_OUT and grounded through the sixth resistor R6.

[0024] The output voltage of the adjustable logic power supply can be controlled by the MCU, so that the PPS signal output terminal PPS_OUT outputs enhanced PSS signals with different voltages to meet the needs of the vehicle domain controller and different types of sensors.

[0025] The PPS_IN input terminal serves as the input to the PPS signal driver circuit 100 and can be used to connect an external system clock source to receive the raw PPS signal from the system clock source. In specific applications, the system clock source can include, but is not limited to, a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver as the primary clock source, a disciplined oscillator as a backup clock source, or the internal clock of a domain controller as an auxiliary clock source. The voltage of the raw PPS signal is determined by the currently used system clock source.

[0026] The PPS_OUT output terminal is used to output the enhanced PPS signal, amplified and shaped by the PPS signal driver circuit 100. In practical applications, the PPS_OUT output terminal can be externally connected to various sensors, domain controllers, and other devices on the vehicle that require time synchronization, providing a stable and reliable clock reference for these devices. Here, the voltage of the enhanced PPS signal is determined by an adjustable logic power supply, thus adapting to the different needs of various devices on the vehicle. The voltage of the enhanced PPS signal can be, but is not limited to, 3.3V, 5V, 12V, etc.

[0027] See Figure 1 In the PPS signal driving circuit provided in this embodiment, NPN transistor Q1 and second PNP transistor Q3 jointly control the output of the enhanced PPS signal. When a high-level signal is connected to the PPS signal input terminal PPS_IN, the collector of the second PNP transistor Q3 will output a high-level pulse signal, which is then output through diode D1.

[0028] In practical applications, the models of NPN transistor Q1, the first NPN transistor Q2, and the second PNP transistor Q3 can be flexibly selected as needed. For example, NPN transistor Q1 can be SMMBT2222ALT1G, and the first PNP transistor Q2 and the second PNP transistor Q3 can be PBSS304PZ,135.

[0029] See Figure 1 The second resistor R2 has one end connected to the PPS signal input terminal PPS_IN and the other end connected to the base of NPN transistor Q1, serving as a base current-limiting resistor for NPN transistor Q1. The second resistor R2 can protect NPN transistor Q1 and the PPS signal drive circuit from burnout due to overcurrent. It can also be used to control the base current of NPN transistor Q1, thereby improving the reliability of its switching control.

[0030] See Figure 1One end of the third resistor R3 is connected to the base of the NPN transistor Q1, and the other end is grounded. The third resistor R3 is a pull-down resistor for the base of the NPN transistor Q1. When there is no signal input at the PPS_IN signal input terminal, the third resistor R3 can provide a certain level to the base of the NPN transistor Q1 to prevent the NPN transistor Q1 from malfunctioning.

[0031] See Figure 1 One end of the fifth resistor R5 is connected to the emitter of the second PNP transistor Q3, and the other end is connected to the base of the first PNP transistor Q2. The first PNP transistor Q2, the second PNP transistor Q3, and the fifth resistor R5 form an overcurrent protection circuit. During operation, when an external load, such as a domain controller or sensors in a vehicle, experiences a short circuit, the voltage drop across the fifth resistor R5 due to the short-circuit current causes the first PNP transistor Q2 to turn off, effectively creating an open switch. This, in turn, shuts down the second PNP transistor Q3, thus effectively preventing damage to the circuit caused by an external short circuit.

[0032] See Figure 1 One end of the sixth resistor R6 is connected to both the PPS signal output terminal PPS_OUT and the cathode of diode D1, and the other end is grounded. As a pull-down resistor, the sixth resistor R6 can ensure that the PPS signal output terminal PPS_OUT is in a known and definite low level state when there is no external drive.

[0033] In practical applications, the resistance values ​​and models of the first resistor R1, second resistor R2, third resistor R3, fourth resistor R4, fifth resistor R5, and sixth resistor R6 can be flexibly selected according to actual needs. For example, the first resistor R1 can be a fixed resistor with a resistance of 10KΩ, the second resistor R2 can be a fixed resistor with a resistance of 10KΩ, the third resistor R3 can be a fixed resistor with a resistance of 100KΩ, the fourth resistor R4 can be a fixed resistor with a resistance of 4.7KΩ, the fifth resistor R5 can be a fixed resistor with a resistance of 22KΩ, and the sixth resistor R6 can be a fixed resistor with a resistance of 100KΩ.

[0034] See Figure 1 The anode of diode D1 is connected to the collector of the second PNP transistor Q3, and the cathode serves as the PPS signal output terminal PPS_OUT. For example, diode D1 can be a PMEG6045ETP or other alternative models.

[0035] Furthermore, the adjustable logic power supply can be connected to the MCU via I2C. The MCU may include registers, and the values ​​of the lower four bits of the registers correspond to the output voltage of the adjustable logic power supply. Thus, the MCU can control the output voltage of the adjustable logic power supply by manipulating the registers.

[0036] Specifically, the MCU can control the adjustable logic power supply to output different voltages by writing a specific value to a register at a specified address (e.g., 0x11). The register has multiple bits, and the "lower 4 bits" of the register can be set to represent the voltage. When the MCU writes a first set value (e.g., F0) to the "lower 4 bits" of the register, the output voltage of the adjustable logic power supply is 3.3V; when the MCU writes a second set value (e.g., F1) to the "lower 4 bits" of the register, the output voltage of the adjustable logic power supply is controlled to be 5V; and when the MCU writes a third set value (e.g., F2) to the "lower 4 bits" of the register, the output voltage of the adjustable logic power supply is controlled to be 12V. By default, the value written to the "lower 4 bits" of the register is the first set value. Therefore, the output voltage of the adjustable logic power supply can be easily controlled via the register in an editable manner, thereby adjusting the voltage of the enhanced PPS signal output by the PPS signal drive circuit to adapt to the needs of different devices in the vehicle.

[0037] In specific applications, the types of MCUs and adjustable logic power supplies can be flexibly selected as needed. For example, the MCU can be, but is not limited to, an STM32 or an ARM microcontroller. The adjustable logic power supply can be, but is not limited to, adjustable power supplies from Texas Instruments (TI) or MPS.

[0038] As can be seen from the above, the PPS signal driving circuit provided in this embodiment is formed using discrete components and can be configured with different drive output voltages as needed. This can improve the driving capability of the PPS signal driving circuit without increasing hardware costs, making it adaptable to the actual needs of diverse and flexible sensor deployment in autonomous driving systems, while reducing hardware costs.

[0039] See Figure 2 This disclosure also provides a vehicle, which may include a system clock source 210, a domain controller 220, a sensor group and the aforementioned PPS signal driving circuit 100. The system clock source 210 is connected to the PPS signal input terminal of the PPS signal driving circuit 100, and the PPS signal output terminal of the PPS signal driving circuit 100 is connected to the domain controller 210 and each sensor in the sensor group, respectively, to provide a high-precision clock reference for the domain controller 220 and each sensor in the sensor group.

[0040] See Figure 2 The sensor group may include one or more of the following sensors: camera 233, lidar 232, millimeter-wave radar 234, and inertial measurement unit 231.

[0041] For example, the domain controller 220 may be one or more of the following types, including but not limited to: powertrain domain controller, chassis domain controller, body domain controller, smart cockpit domain controller, and autonomous driving domain controller. Alternatively, the vehicle's domain controller may be implemented as one of the following types: Level 2 domain controller, Level 3 domain controller, and Level 4 domain controller.

[0042] In specific applications, the vehicles in this disclosure embodiment can be, but are not limited to, various types of equipment such as multiple wheeled mobile robots, wheeled mobile robots, mobile robots, vehicles, aircraft, ships, and intelligent rail rapid transit systems (ART). The vehicles can be, but are not limited to, passenger cars, commercial vehicles (e.g., trucks, buses, vans, etc.), special purpose vehicles (e.g., ambulances, fire trucks, engineering vehicles, rescue vehicles, etc.), agricultural and industrial vehicles (e.g., harvesters, forklifts, etc.), transportation and logistics vehicles (e.g., container trucks, refrigerated trucks, etc.), new energy vehicles (e.g., electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles), and special vehicles (e.g., garbage trucks, water trucks, etc.).

[0043] The vehicles provided in this disclosure can be applied to scenarios such as ports, highways, logistics, mines, farms, closed parks, and urban transportation. They are applicable to many aspects such as logistics distribution, unmanned transportation, last-mile delivery, passenger travel, automated agricultural operations, and automated sanitation. Of course, this disclosure can also be applied to any other scenario involving domain controllers. This disclosure does not limit the application scenarios and applicable fields of this disclosure.

[0044] The technical solutions provided in this disclosure have been described in detail above. Specific examples have been used to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of this disclosure. The descriptions of the embodiments above are only for the purpose of helping to understand the methods and core ideas of this disclosure. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will recognize that, based on the ideas of this disclosure, there will be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope. Therefore, the content of this specification should not be construed as a limitation of this disclosure.

[0045] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this disclosure and is not intended to limit this disclosure. Any modifications or equivalent substitutions made within the spirit and principles of this disclosure should be included within the scope of protection of this disclosure.

Claims

1. A second pulse signal driving circuit, characterized in that, The second pulse signal driving circuit includes: a microcontroller MCU, an adjustable logic power supply, a PPS signal input terminal, an NPN transistor, a first PNP transistor, a second PNP transistor, a first resistor, a second resistor, a third resistor, a fourth resistor, a fifth resistor, a sixth resistor, a diode, and a PPS signal output terminal; The adjustable logic power supply is connected to the MCU. The emitter of the first PNP transistor is connected to the adjustable logic power supply. The base of the first PNP transistor is connected to the emitter of the second PNP transistor through the fifth resistor. The collector of the first PNP transistor is connected to the base of the second PNP transistor and then to the collector of the NPN transistor through the fourth resistor. The collector of the NPN transistor is connected to both the adjustable logic power supply and the emitter of the first PNP transistor through the first resistor. The emitter of the NPN transistor is grounded. The base of the NPN transistor is connected to the PPS signal input terminal through the second resistor and then grounded through the third resistor. The anode of the diode is connected to the collector of the second PNP transistor. The cathode of the diode is connected to the PPS signal output terminal and then grounded through the sixth resistor.

2. The second pulse signal driving circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, One end of the second resistor is connected to the PPS signal input terminal, and the other end of the second resistor is connected to the base of the NPN transistor.

3. The second pulse signal driving circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, One end of the third resistor is connected to the base of the NPN transistor, and the other end of the third resistor is grounded.

4. The second pulse signal driving circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, One end of the fifth resistor is connected to the emitter of the second PNP transistor, and the other end is connected to the base of the first PNP transistor.

5. The second pulse signal driving circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, One end of the sixth resistor is connected to both the PPS signal output terminal and the cathode of the diode, while the other end of the sixth resistor is grounded.

6. The second pulse signal driving circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The adjustable logic power supply is connected to the MCU via an I2C bus.

7. The second pulse signal driving circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The MCU includes a register, and the values ​​of the lower four bits of the register correspond to the output voltage of the adjustable logic power supply.

8. A vehicle, characterized in that, The vehicle includes a system clock source, a domain controller, a sensor group, and a second pulse signal driving circuit according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The sensor group includes one or more sensors. The second pulse signal input terminal of the second pulse signal driving circuit is connected to the system clock source, and the second pulse signal output terminal of the second pulse signal driving circuit is connected to the domain controller and each sensor in the sensor group, respectively.

9. The vehicle according to claim 8, characterized in that, The sensor group includes one or more of the following sensors: camera, lidar, millimeter-wave radar, and inertial measurement unit.

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