Method for self-incremental communication with an integrated circuit identifier having a chain connection structure and integrated circuit communication device for carrying out the method

Abstract

Integrated circuit communication device having the following features: several integrated circuits with a first to Nth integrated circuit, where N is an integer greater than 2, wherein these circuits are arranged adjacent to each other; and a controller connected to the first integrated circuit; where, if the controller in sleep mode receives a wake-up signal and then sends it to the first integrated circuit, the wake-up signal is then sent bidirectionally to the two adjacent integrated circuits from the first to the Nth integrated circuit.

Description

Field of the InventionThe present invention relates to a method for self-incrementing communication with a link structure (or link structure. This is a common chain connection structure (integrated circuit identifier). IC ID: Integrated Circuit IDentification) and an integrated circuit communication device for carrying out the method. More particularly, it relates to a communication method and an integrated circuit communication apparatus for performing the same, which can reduce electric currents to be consumed by a plurality of integrated circuits for communication by a bidirectional communication method. (Hereinafter, an integrated circuit is referred to as IC for short, if necessary.)Prior ArtSince digital techniques are latest introduced into most vehicles and the number of electronic products mounted on the vehicles is increased in an uncounted for manner, there is a raised need for the vehicle systems to be driven in consideration of the various sizes inside and outside the vehicles. In this case, an electronic control unit ("Engl". ECU: Electronic Control Unit) for a vehicle thus used for controlling the functions of an internal combustion engine as well as all parts such as drive and steering systems, etc.Within such an electrical control unit for a vehicle, at least one integrated circuit is provided, so that the electrical control unit can carry out the functions for controlling the vehicle. For this purpose, the electrical control device is supplied with electrical energy by an external voltage supply (e.g. battery).However, when a plurality of integrated circuits are provided in the electronic control apparatus, there arises a problem that a considerable electric current must be consumed to perform each function.To minimize the amount of electric current that the plurality of integrated circuits consume, a method is employed in which the plurality of integrated circuits are converted to a sleep mode. In order to allow the integrated circuits which are in the sleep mode to be activated again, the integrated circuits which are several tens of times must be woken up and an identification number should be given to each integrated circuit, resulting in a problem that even more battery power is consumed.Therefore, a technology for minimizing an electric current consumed in the operation for activating communication with the integrated circuits whose number is several dozens is required, and the present invention thus relates to such a technology.KR 10 2009 030 136 A is known. Furthermore, US 2014 / 0091770 A1 is to be mentioned, which shows a multi-BMS identifier assignment system. This multi-BMS identifier assignment system includes a master BMS and N slave BMSs (N is an integer greater than or equal to 2) connected to a serial communication network and a parallel communication network.DE 10 2013 008 455 A1 relates to an electrical or electronic system and in particular to a system having a bus and a method for transmitting data via a bus system.DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTIONObject of the InventionThe present invention is based on the technical object to be achieved to provide a method and an apparatus for communication with integrated circuits which can rapidly convert the plurality of integrated circuits which are in the sleep mode into a normal mode in which communication with the plurality of integrated circuits is made possible.The technical objects of the present invention should not be limited to those mentioned above, and the other technical objects not mentioned can be clearly understood from the following description by a person skilled in the art.Solution of the Object of the InventionIn order to achieve the technical objects, according to an embodiment of the present invention, it may be provided that an integrated circuit communication device includes a plurality of integrated circuits including first to N-th integrated circuits (hereinafter, an integrated circuit is referred to as an IC for short, where N is an integer greater than 2, these circuits being arranged adjacent to each other; and a controller connected to the first IC; wherein when the controller in the sleep mode receives a wake-up signal and thereafter transmits it to the first IC, then the wake-up signal is bidirectionally transmitted to the two integrated circuits arranged adjacent to each other from the first to N-th ICs.According to one exemplary embodiment, it may be provided that the plurality of integrated circuits may be set such that, if the controller receives a wake-up signal in a state in which the initial identification numbers of the circuits are each set to 0 before the controller receives a wake-up signal, then the identification numbers of the integrated circuits are each increased by 1.According to an embodiment, it may be further provided that, if at least one of the plurality of integrated circuits receives the wake-up signal in a state where its identification number is set to be more than 1, it may unidirectionally transmit the wake-up signal not to an IS that has transmitted the wake-up signal but to another IS that is disposed adjacent thereto. According to one exemplary embodiment, it may furthermore be provided that the first to Nth integrated circuits are connected via a concatenation connection (engl. Thus, the chain connection) can be connected to one another.According to another embodiment of the present invention for achieving the technical objects, as another aspect, there may be provided an integrated circuit communication method by which an integrated circuit communication device including first to Nth integrated circuits arranged adjacently to each other (N being an integer greater than 2) that performs communication with the integrated circuits is provided, the method comprising the steps of: a first transmitting step of transmitting a wake-up signal to a first IC; a second transmitting step of simultaneously bidirectionally transmitting the wake-up signal transmitted in the first transmitting step to a controller and a second IC, the controller and the second IC being arranged adjacently to the first IC; a third transmitting step of simultaneously bidirectionally transmitting the wake-up signal transmitted in the second transmitting step to the first and third ICs, the first and third ICs being disposed adjacent to the second IC; and a further step of simultaneously bidirectionally transmitting the wake-up signal transmitted in the third transmitting step to two integrated circuits each disposed adjacent to each other from the first to the Nth ICs.According to an exemplary embodiment, it can also be provided that the first transmission step further comprises a first detection step for increasing the identification number of the first IS by 1 on the basis of the wake-up signal transmitted in the first transmission step, and the second transmission step further comprises a second detection step for increasing the identification number of the second IS by 1 on the basis of the wake-up signal transmitted in the second transmission step.According to one exemplary embodiment, it can also be provided that the third transmission step further comprises a third identification step for increasing the identification number of the third IC by 1 and also for additionally increasing the identification number of the first ICs by 1 on the basis of the wake-up signal transmitted in the third transmission step.According to an embodiment, it may also be provided that, after the third transmitting step, the number of integrated circuits arranged adjacent to the third IC is checked and it is thus determined that the number of integrated circuits arranged in such a way is only one, then the method according to the invention further comprises a fourth transmitting step for transmitting the wake-up signal transmitted in the third transmitting step to the second IC arranged adjacent to the third IC and also for unidirectional transmission of the wake-up signal to the controller connected to the first IC.According to one exemplary embodiment, it can also be provided that the fourth transmission step further comprises a fourth identification step for additionally increasing the identification number of the second ISs by 1 on the basis of the wake-up signal transmitted in the fourth transmission step.According to one exemplary embodiment, it can also be provided that the method according to the invention after the fourth transmission step also comprises a fifth transmission step for unidirectional transmission of the wake-up signal to the first IS connected to the second IS.According to one exemplary embodiment, it can also be provided that the fifth transmission step further comprises a fifth identification step for additionally increasing the identification number of the first ISs by 1 on the basis of the wake-up signal transmitted in the fifth transmission step.According to an embodiment, it may also be provided that the method according to the invention after the fifth detection step further comprises a step of deciding whether or not the identification number is set by counting the number of wake-up signals received by means of the controller and thus comparing the number of wake-up signals counted with the number of total integrated circuits.Effect of the InventionTherefore, with the present invention, an effect can be obtained that, by the bidirectional communication with a plurality of integrated circuits which are in the sleep mode, the time required for conversion to a normal mode can be shortened.With the present invention, another effect can also be obtained that the transmission directions of the wake-up signals are set different from each other depending on the identification numbers of the respective integrated circuits, so that an electric current consumed in the process of communication between the plurality of integrated circuits can be reduced.The effects of the present invention should not be limited to those mentioned above, and the other, non-mentioned effects will be clearly understood from the following description by those skilled in the art.Brief Description of the DrawingsThe following are shown: FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method for state conversion of a network for operating a plurality of integrated circuits according to the prior art; FIG. 2 shows a structure of an integrated circuit communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method of state converting a network for operating multiple integrated circuits according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 ashows a time period required on the basis of a state conversion of a network between a plurality of integrated circuits according to the prior art; and FIG. 4 bshows a time period required on the basis of a state conversion of a network between a plurality of integrated circuits according to the one exemplary embodiment of the present invention.Preferred Embodiments of the InventionThe preferred embodiments of the present invention will be explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The advantages and features of the present invention and the methods for achieving the same will be made clear with reference to the exemplary embodiments explained in more detail below together with the associated drawings. However, the present invention should not be limited to the embodiments described below, but may be embodied in various forms, and these described embodiments are provided only to complete the description of the present invention and fully notify a person having skill in the art of the scope of the invention, and the present invention is defined only by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals designate like constituent elements throughout this specification. Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in this specification may be used as corresponding meanings commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art.Moreover, the terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should not be understood as ideal or exaggerated unless clearly and specifically defined. That is, the terms used in this specification are only intended to explain the embodiments, and the present invention should not be limited thereby. In this specification, the singular expressions include the plural meanings as well, unless specifically mentioned from the context.With regard to the terms such as "comprising" or "comprising" and / or "comprising" or "comprising", etc. used in this specification, it should not be understood that mentioned / -e / -es component, step, motion and / or element exclude the presence or complementarity of one / -er or more components, steps, motions and / or elements.The present invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the attached drawings.FIG. 1 shows a flow chart for illustrating a method for state conversion of a network for operating a plurality of integrated circuits according to the prior art.Referring to FIG. 1, conventionally, by receiving a wake-up signal from the outside, a controller 50 that was in the sleep mode sequentially transmits this wake-up signal to a first 10, a second 20, and a third integrated circuit 30 (hereinafter, abbreviated as IS, if necessary), with these three circuits being in the sleep mode (S 101, S 102, S 103).Thus, the first 10, second 20, and third ICs 30 have been awakened by the wake-up signal, but the identification numbers for performing the functions of the respective integrated circuits still have an unadjusted state, and therefore the controller 50 sends a signal for adjusting the identification number to the first 10, second 20, and third ICs 30, respectively.That is, the controller 50 sends a signal for setting an identification number to the first IS 10 and thereafter receives from this first IS 10 a first response signal indicating that the setting of the identification number has been completed (S105), and also sends a signal for setting an identification number to the second IS 20 via the first IS 10 as well as to the first IS 10 (S106, S107), and thereafter receives from the second IS 20 a second response signal thereto (S108, S109), and after the completion of the setting of the identification number with respect to the second IS 20, the identification number of each IS is set via the same operation also at the third IS 30 (S110-S115).Through such an operation, the first IS 10, the second IS 20, and the third IS 30 are converted into a normal mode in which the setting of the respective identification numbers has been completed.However, in the method by which a network state of a plurality of integrated circuits that are in the sleep mode is converted into a normal mode as in FIG. 1, there may be a problem that, as the number of ICs is increased, a considerable time is then required not only but also an amount of data used for communication between a controller 50 and the plurality of integrated circuits is large.FIG. 2 shows a configuration of an integrated circuit communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention.Referring to FIG. 2, it can be seen that the integrated circuit communication device 100 according to the one embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of integrated circuits (i.e., first IC 10, second IC 20, third IC 30,..., Nth IC (N is an integer greater than 2)) and a controller 50, and it is natural that it may further include additional components for achieving the other objects of the present invention.In this case, the plurality of integrated circuits can carry out the various functions which are used for controlling an electronic control unit in the vehicle. For example, they may each represent an integrated circuit for detection provided in a battery management system. Thus, each of the plurality of integrated circuits is connected to the plurality of battery modules (not shown) so as to be able to detect an electric voltage of a battery cell included in each of the plurality of battery modules.Further, the plurality of integrated circuits may be interconnected via a interconnect. That is, the first IC 10 is connected to the controller 50 and the second IC 20, the second IC 20 is connected to the first IC 10 and the third IC 30, and the third IC 30 is connected to the second IC 20 and a fourth IC (not shown), so that each IC may have two integrated circuits disposed adjacent to it.In this way, the respective integrated circuits each have two integrated circuits arranged adjacent to them, so that each IC can transmit a wake-up signal bidirectionally and thus a faster state conversion of a network can be made possible via a bidirectional communication. Here, the state conversion of the network means that each IS is converted from the sleep mode to the normal mode in which an identification number is set at each IS.The controller 50 may receive a wake-up signal from the outside earliest and then send it to a plurality of integrated circuits. More specifically, the controller 50 is connected to the first IS 10 so as to be able to transmit the wake-up signal to the first IS 10, and the wake-up signal may be transmitted thereafter from the first IS 10 to the Nth IS in sequence.Further, after the controller 50 sends the wake-up signal to the first IC 10, it may receive a wake-up signal from the first IC 10 with respect to the first IC 10 to the Nth IC, so that it may decide whether or not the plurality of integrated circuits have been converted to the normal mode depending on the number of the wake-up signal.Heretofore, the structure of the integrated circuit communication device according to the one embodiment of the present invention has been schematically explained. According to the present invention, the plurality of integrated circuits connected to each other via the interconnection connection perform the bidirectional communication, so that the state conversion of the network is fast, from which an effect can be derived that the amount of electric current consumed for converting the communication between the integrated circuits can be reduced. An efficient method by which the plurality of integrated circuits are converted into the normal mode in which a number has been given to them, respectively, is explained below.FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method for state converting a network for operating multiple integrated circuits according to an embodiment of the present invention.This is only a preferred embodiment for achieving the objects of the present invention, and it is natural that some steps may be deleted or added and also that any step may be performed in a state of being included in another step.On the other hand, before explaining FIG. 3, it is noted that although the integrated circuits in FIG. 3 are expressed such that their number is three, their number may be larger or smaller than three. For example, if the integrated circuits each represent an IC for detecting the electric voltage of a battery module, the number of the integrated circuits may be different depending on the number of the battery modules, and the number of the integrated circuits may also be the same as that of the battery modules. For convenience of explanation only, it is hereinafter assumed that the number of integrated circuits is three.Further, for convenience of explanation of the invention, it is shown in the figures such that, depending on the operation of the integrated circuit communication device, bidirectional transmission of a signal (data) of an IS is represented as S20#-1, increment of an identification number of an IS is represented as S20#-2, and unidirectional transmission of a signal (data) of an IS is represented as S20#-3.First, if the controller 50 that was in the sleep mode receives a wake-up signal from the outside, it sends the wake-up signal to the first IS 10 (S 201- 1). At the same time, the first IC 10 increments its identification number from 0 to 1 upon receipt of the wake-up signal (S 201- 2). That is, the wake-up signal is transmitted to at least one IC within the integrated circuit communication device 100, and thus a further step (S 201) in which the identification number of the IC that has received the wake-up signal is increased by 1 may be performed.After step S 202, the first IS 10 whose identification number has been increased from 0 to 1 simultaneously bidirectionally sends the wake-up signal to the controller 50 and the second IS 20 with the capacitor and the second IS disposed adjacent to the first IS 10 (S 202- 1). At the same time, the second IS 20 receives the wake-up signal and thus increments its identification number from 0 to 1 (S 202- 2).On the other hand, the controller 50 may count the respective wake-up signals, and if the wake-up signal counted by the controller 50 is '1', the controller 50 may judge that the wake-up of the first IC 10 has been completed and the identification number has been set to 1.After step S 202 (S 202- 1, S 202- 2), the second IS 20 whose identification number has been increased from 0 to 1 simultaneously transmits the wake-up signal bidirectionally to the first IS 10 and the third IS 30, the first and third ISs being disposed adjacent to the second IS 20 (S 203- 1). At the same time, the third IS 30 that has received the wake-up signal increments its identification number from 0 to 1 and the first IS 10 increments its identification number from 1 to 2 (S203-2).After step S 203 (S 203- 1, S 203- 2), since the identification number of the third IC 30 is increased from 0 to 1 and the identification number of the first IC 10 is increased from 1 to 2, the respective integrated circuits can perform different communication steps, respectively.More specifically, it is arranged that if the number of integrated circuits disposed adjacent to the third IC 30 is two, then the third IC 30 simultaneously bidirectionally transmits the wake-up signal to the two integrated circuits (S 204- 1), while the first IC 10 unidirectionally transmits (S 204- 3) the wake-up signal not to the second IC 20 that has received the wake-up signal but to the controller 50 disposed adjacent to the first IC 10, and concurrently the second IC 20 that has received the wake-up signal increases its identification number from 1 to 2 (S 204- 2).That is, if an IC in the integrated circuit communication device receives the wake-up signal in a state where its identification number is 0, it simultaneously transmits the wake-up signal bidirectionally to two integrated circuits disposed adjacently thereto, respectively, while if it receives the wake-up signal in a state where its identification number is 1, it transmits the wake-up signal unidirectionally not to the IC that transmitted the wake-up signal but to the other IC disposed adjacently thereto.After step S204 (S204-1, S204-2, S204-3), the second IS 20 sends the wake-up signal to the first IS 10 adjacent thereto unidirectionally because it receives the wake-up signal from the third IS 30 (S205-3) as the previous first IS 10 even in a state where its identification number is not 0 and at the same time the first IS 10 that received the wake-up signal increases its identification number from 2 to 3 (S205-2).After the step S205 (S205-2, S205-3), the first IS 10 whose identification number has been increased from 2 to 3 unidirectionally transmits the wake-up signal to the controller 50 (S206-3) disposed adjacent thereto rather than the second IS 20 which transmitted the wake-up signal.Finally, from the time point when it sent the wake-up signal, the controller 50 counts the number of wake-up signals received by the first IC 10, and then compares the number of the counted wake-up signals with the number of the entire integrated circuits, so that it can decide whether or not the entire integrated circuits have been woken up and thus converted into the normal mode in which an identification number is given to them, respectively.That is, when all three integrated circuits are present and the number of wake-up signals received by the first IC 10 is three as in FIG. 3, the controller 50 may determine that the plurality of integrated circuits have been properly converted to the normal mode, while if not, then the controller determines that communication between the integrated circuits has been abnormal, thereby being able to generate an error signal.Heretofore, the method of state converting a network for operating a plurality of integrated circuits according to the one embodiment of the present invention has been explained. Since an integrated circuit (IC) according to the present invention can be set in its identification number simultaneously with the reception of a wake-up signal without sequentially passing through three steps such as sleep, idle, and normal modes, the time period for converting the network communication can be shortened, so that the power consumption in the start operation of communication of the integrated circuit communication device 100 can be reduced.On the other hand, the method of communication with an IC according to the present invention can be performed more quickly and easily than the conventional method as described above, and therefore, the time for state conversion of the network between the entire integrated circuits can be shortened, as a matter of the contents of FIGS. 4 aand 4 b. FIG. 4 ashows a time period required based on state conversion of a network between multiple integrated circuits according to the prior art, while FIG. 4 bshows a time period required based on state conversion of a network between multiple integrated circuits according to the one exemplary embodiment of the present invention.Referring to FIG. 4 a, a conventional integrated circuit communication device is configured such that a wake-up signal transmitted by a controller 50 can enter a first IS 10, a second IS 20, and a third IS 30 (S 101, S 102, S 103), and after completion of transmission of the wake-up signal, the controller 50 can perform setting of the identification number and determination of this setting with respect to each of the first IS 10, THE SECOND IS 20, and the third IS 30 (S 104-S 115). Thus, the total period of 4 seconds may take for the controller 50 to convert three integrated circuits from a sleep mode to a normal mode.However, referring to FIG. 4 b, an integrated circuit communication device 100 according to the present invention may be configured such that a wake-up signal sent by a controller 50 enters a first 10, a second 20, and a third IC 30 and increments an identification number for the respective circuits, respectively, and thus bidirectional communication is performed between each IC and an IC disposed adjacent thereto, so that the setting of the identification number can be completed, and the controller 50 finally counts the number of wake-ups so that it can determine the setting of the identification number. That is, since the conversion to the normal mode is completed within a period (1 ms) in which a wake-up signal is transmitted, the integrated circuit communication device 100 according to the present invention can effectively execute the state conversion of the network.As described above, the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been explained with reference to the accompanying drawings, but it is to be understood that those skilled in the art may practice the invention in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention. It should thus be understood that the above-described exemplary embodiments are on all sides only exemplary and are thus not evaluated as restrictive.List of reference characters100 Integrated Circuit Communication Device 10 First Integrated Circuit (first IC) 20 Further Integrated Circuit (second IC) 30 Third Integrated Circuit (third IC) 50 Controller

Claims

An integrated circuit communication device comprising: a plurality of integrated circuits including first to N-th integrated circuits, N being an integer greater than 2, said circuits being disposed adjacent to each other; and a controller connected to said first integrated circuit; wherein when said controller in said sleep mode receives a wake-up signal and thereafter sends it to said first integrated circuit, said wake-up signal is bidirectionally sent to said two integrated circuits disposed adjacent to each other from said first to N-th integrated circuits.The integrated circuit communication device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of integrated circuits may be set for detection such that when the controller receives a wake-up signal in a state where the initial identification numbers of the circuits are each set to 0 before the controller receives a wake-up signal, then the identification numbers of the integrated circuits are each increased by 1.The integrated circuit communication device according to claim 2, wherein if at least one of the plurality of integrated circuits receives the wake-up signal in a state where its identification number is set to more than 1, it can unidirectionally transmit the wake-up signal not to an integrated circuit that has transmitted the wake-up signal but to another integrated circuit disposed adjacent thereto.The integrated circuit communication device according to claim 1, wherein the first to N-th integrated circuits are connected to each other via a link connection.A self-incremental integrated circuit recognition communication method by which an integrated circuit communication device having first to Nth integrated circuits arranged adjacently to each other, N being an integer greater than 2, performs communication with the integrated circuits, the method comprising the steps of: a first transmitting step in which the circuit communication device transmits a wake-up signal to a first integrated circuit; a second transmitting step in which the circuit communication device transmits the wake-up signal transmitted in the first transmitting step bidirectionally to a controller and a second integrated circuit simultaneously, the controller and the second integrated circuit being arranged adjacently to the first integrated circuit; a third transmitting step in which the circuit communication device bidirectionally transmits the wake-up signal transmitted in the second transmitting step to the first and third integrated circuits simultaneously, the first and third integrated circuits being disposed adjacent to the second integrated circuit; and a further step in which the circuit communication device bidirectionally transmits the wake-up signal transmitted in the third transmitting step to two integrated circuits, each disposed adjacent to one another, of the first to Nth integrated circuits simultaneously.The method according to claim 5, wherein the first transmitting step further comprises a first detecting step of increasing the identification number of the first integrated circuit by 1 based on the wake-up signal transmitted in the first transmitting step, and wherein the second transmitting step further comprises a second detecting step of increasing the identification number of the second integrated circuit by 1 based on the wake-up signal transmitted in the second transmitting step.The method according to claim 6, wherein the third transmitting step further comprises a third detecting step of increasing the identification number of the third integrated circuit by 1 and also additionally increasing the identification number of the first integrated circuit by 1 based on the wake-up signal transmitted in the third transmitting step.The method according to claim 7, wherein, after the third transmitting step, if the number of the integrated circuits adjacently arranged with the third integrated circuit is checked and it is thus determined that the number of the integrated circuits thus arranged is only one, then the method further comprises a fourth transmitting step of transmitting the wake-up signal transmitted in the third transmitting step to the second integrated circuit adjacently arranged with the third integrated circuit and also unidirectionally transmitting the wake-up signal to the controller connected with the first integrated circuit.The method according to claim 8, wherein the fourth transmitting step further comprises a fourth detecting step of additionally incrementing the identification number of the second integrated circuit by 1 based on the wake-up signal transmitted in the fourth transmitting step.The method according to claim 9, wherein after the fourth transmitting step, the method further comprises a fifth transmitting step of unidirectionally transmitting the wake-up signal to the first integrated circuit connected to the second.The method according to claim 9, wherein the fifth transmitting step further comprises a fifth detecting step of additionally incrementing the identification number of the first integrated circuit by 1 based on the wake-up signal transmitted in the fifth transmitting step.The method according to claim 11, wherein after the fifth detecting step, the method further comprises a step of deciding whether or not the identification number is set by counting the number of the received wake-up signals by the controller and thus comparing the number of the counted wake-up signals with the number of the entire integrated circuits.

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