Method for transferring a data element between a first control unit of a vehicle and a second control unit of the vehicle, computer-readable medium, system and vehicle

Abstract

Method (100) for transmitting a data element between a first control unit (202) of a vehicle and a second control unit (204) of the vehicle, wherein the first control unit (202) and the second control unit (204) are coupled to each other via at least two communication channels (214, 218), the method (100) comprising: Determining (102) a communication channel indicator of a first communication channel (214) of the at least two communication channels (214, 218) by the first control unit (202), wherein the communication channel indicator is representative of available transmission resources of the first communication channel (214); Receiving (104) a data element from a data source (208) by the first control unit (202); Determine (106) a priority of the data element depending on a vehicle application associated with the data element; and If the communication channel indicator of the first communication channel (214) indicates that the available transmission resources of the first communication channel (214) are insufficient for the transmission of the data element and the priority of the data element falls below a predefined priority threshold: Storing (108) the data element in a buffer (226) of the first control unit (202) for a specified time interval; If the communication channel indicator of the first communication channel (214) indicates that the available transmission resources of the first communication channel (214) are sufficient for the transmission of the data element and / or the priority of the data element exceeds a predefined priority threshold: Assigning (110) one or more communication channels (214, 218) of the at least two communication channels (214, 218) of the first control unit (202) depending on the vehicle application belonging to the data element; and Transfer (112) of the data element via the assigned one or several communication channels (214, 218) from the first control unit (202) to the second control unit (204).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for transmitting a data element between a first control unit of a vehicle and a second control unit of the vehicle. The invention further relates to a computer-readable medium for transmitting a data element between a first control unit of a vehicle and a second control unit of the vehicle, a system for transmitting a data element between a first control unit of a vehicle and a second control unit of the vehicle, and a vehicle comprising the system for transmitting a data element between a first control unit of a vehicle and a second control unit of the vehicle.

[0002] Current vehicles are equipped with a multitude of control units (ECUs) used to control and regulate various vehicle functions. Various bus technologies based on a cable connection are known from the state of the art for networking the numerous control units in a vehicle. If high data rates, for example, data rates in the range of 1 Gbit / s or several Gbit / s, are required between two or more control units, cable-based networking of the numerous control units can lead to additional costs and / or additional installation space requirements, as the cables used for this often require additional shielding, which requires additional installation space.

[0003] US 2016 / 0 352 533 A1 describes a method for enabling wireless communication within the vehicle between a plurality of electronic control units. An example method includes determining, by a first electronic control unit in a vehicle, a wait time for a message to be transmitted over a wireless channel to a second electronic control unit in the vehicle. The first electronic control unit performs a first availability check by determining the availability of the radio channel. In response to the first availability check indicating that the wireless communication channel is available, the method includes delaying transmission of the message by the wait time. The method further includes performing a second availability check by the first electronic control unit after the wait time has expired.In response to the second availability check indicating that the wireless communication channel is still available, the method includes sending the message for receipt by the second electronic control unit.

[0004] US 2017 / 0 257 227 A1 describes a wired / wireless hybrid communication system and a wired / wireless hybrid communication method. Of the communication data types transmitted and received between communication devices provided in a vehicle, wired communication is used for high-priority communication data, and wireless communication is used for low-priority communication data. Specifically, wired communication data and wireless communication data, divided according to the priority defined for each communication data type, are transmitted separately via wired communication and wireless communication, and the wired communication data and wireless communication data received separately on the receiving side are combined to reconstruct the communication data.

[0005] US 2019 / 0068510 A1 describes a wired / wireless combined communication system and a wired / wireless combined communication method. The system and method perform control to use wired communication for high-priority communication data and wireless communication for low-priority communication data among the types of communication data sent and received between communication devices provided in a vehicle.Specifically, the wired / wireless combined communication system and the wired / wireless combined communication method transmit wired communication data and wireless communication data separately divided into wired communication and wireless communication based on the priority set for each type of communication data, and couple the wired communication data and the wireless communication data separately received at a receiving side to reconstruct the communication data.

[0006] DE 10 2015 212 951 A1 describes a communication system for units and control units of a vehicle, the communication system comprising: an unit configured to transmit a plurality of messages to a control unit; a first communication path configured to transmit one message from the plurality of messages between the unit and the control unit; and a second communication path configured to transmit one message from the plurality of messages between the unit and the control unit, wherein the second communication path is redundant to the first communication path, and wherein the unit is configured to transmit the plurality of messages to the control unit alternately via the first communication path or the second communication path.

[0007] DE 10 2013 217 595 A1 describes a method for transmitting data via a transmission medium having at least two physical transmission channels in a motor vehicle, wherein in a first operating mode the at least two physical transmission channels are used together as one logical transmission channel to provide a data transmission at a first data transmission rate, and wherein in a second operating mode the at least two physical transmission channels are used separately as two logical transmission channels to provide a second data transmission at a second data transmission rate and a third data transmission at a third data transmission rate, each of which is lower than the first data transmission rate.

[0008] DE 10 2007 013 511 A1 relates to a motor vehicle with: - a first communication system, which is designed as a main system and to which a plurality of vehicle components of the motor vehicle are coupled for exchanging data during normal operation; - an X-by-wire system, which comprises a detection device for detecting data characterizing a driver's request and a control device with an electrically controllable actuator for controlling an associated system component of the motor vehicle depending on the data characterizing the driver's request, wherein the detection device and the control device are coupled to one another via the first communication system;and - a second communication system, by means of which at least the detection device and the actuator of the X-by-wire system are redundantly coupled to one another for exchanging data, wherein the X-by-wire system is designed to exchange data between the detection device and the actuator via the second communication system during normal operation and via the first communication system in the event of a defect in the second communication system. The invention further relates to a method for operating an X-by-wire system of a motor vehicle.

[0009] US 2016 / 0 219 606 A1 describes a data transmission control system. An information processing device performs data transmission using at least one wireless transmission channel of a high frequency band and one wireless transmission channel of a low frequency band, and performs real-time image transmission with another information processing device according to a Wi-Fi-certified Miracast specification. The information processing device further includes a control unit. This control unit performs control to transmit a Wi-Fi-certified Miracast-relevant control signal to the other information processing device using the wireless transmission channel of the low frequency band.

[0010] It is therefore an object of the invention to efficiently improve communication between at least two control units of a vehicle. In particular, it is an object of the invention to efficiently exchange a data element between at least two control units.

[0011] This object is achieved by the features of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments and further developments of the invention emerge from the dependent claims.

[0012] According to a first aspect, the invention is characterized by a method for transmitting a data element between a first control unit of a vehicle and a second control unit of the vehicle. The method can be a computer-implemented and / or a control unit-implemented method. The vehicle can be a motor vehicle or a motorcycle. In particular, the vehicle can be a partially, highly, or fully automated motor vehicle. The first control unit and the second control unit are coupled to one another via at least two communication channels.

[0013] The method comprises determining a communication channel indicator of a first communication channel of the at least two communication channels by the first control unit, wherein the communication channel indicator is representative of available transmission resources of the first communication channel. The communication channel indicator can additionally or alternatively be representative of a quality of the available transmission resources of the first communication channel. Additionally or alternatively, the communication channel indicator can be representative of the available transmission resources of the at least two communication channels between the first and the second control unit. The method further comprises receiving a data element from a data source by the first control unit. The data source can be another control unit of the vehicle, a mobile terminal coupled to the vehicle, and / or a vehicle-external server.

[0014] The method includes determining a priority of the data element depending on a vehicle application associated with the data element. If the communication channel indicator of the first communication channel indicates that the available transmission resources of the first communication channel are insufficient for transmitting the data element and the priority of the data element falls below a predetermined priority threshold, the method stores the data element in a buffer of the first control unit for a predetermined time interval.If the communication channel indicator of the first communication channel indicates that the available transmission resources of the first communication channel are sufficient for the transmission of the data element and / or the priority of the data element exceeds a predetermined priority threshold, the method comprises assigning one or more communication channels of the at least two communication channels of the first control unit depending on the vehicle application associated with the data element, and transmitting the data element via the assigned one or more communication channels from the first control unit to the second control unit.

[0015] Advantageously, the data element can be transmitted via one or more communication channels, depending on the priority and available transmission resources. This increases the flexibility in transmitting the data element between the first and second control units. Furthermore, by allocating at least two communication channels for transmitting the data element, communication between the two control units can be efficiently improved and / or the robustness of the data element transmission can be increased. The performance of the communication between the at least two control units can thus be efficiently increased.

[0016] According to an advantageous embodiment, the communication channel indicator can be an estimated communication channel indicator representative of the estimated available transmission resources of the first communication channel. For example, the communication channel indicator can be estimated using known methods based on pilot and / or data signals of a transmission technology of a communication channel. This allows the quality and / or performance of the communication channel to be efficiently determined.

[0017] According to a further advantageous embodiment, a first communication channel of the at least two communication channels can be a wired communication channel and a second communication channel of the at least two communication channels can be a wireless communication channel, or a first communication channel of the at least two communication channels can be a wireless communication channel and a second communication channel of the at least two communication channels can be a wireless communication channel. The method can efficiently combine a wireless communication channel with another wireless communication channel or a wired communication channel to transmit the data element between the two control units.

[0018] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the first control unit can be a first telematics control unit, and / or the second control unit can be a second telematics control unit. The first telematics control unit and / or the second telematics control unit can connect the vehicle to a mobile network. For this purpose, the first telematics control unit and / or the second telematics control unit can have a chip card for mobile network access, an embedded Subscriber Identity Module (eSIM for short). Furthermore, the wireless communication channel can be a communication channel of a wireless local area network, and / or the wired communication channel can be a communication channel of an Ethernet network. This can efficiently improve communication between two telematics control units of the vehicle.

[0019] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the method may further comprise determining a communication channel indicator of a second communication channel of the at least two communication channels by the first control unit, wherein the communication channel indicator of the second communication channel is preferably an estimated communication channel indicator that is representative of preferably estimated available transmission resources of the second communication channel.If the communication channel indicator of the first communication channel and the communication channel indicator of the second communication channel indicate that the preferably estimated available transmission resources of the first communication channel and the second communication channel are not sufficient for the transmission of the data element and the priority of the data element falls below a predetermined priority threshold, the method can store the data element in a buffer of the first control unit for a predetermined time interval.This allows a preferably lower-priority data element to be buffered first if the estimated transmission resources of the at least two communication channels are insufficient for transmitting the data element and / or a higher-priority data element is pending transmission and the estimated transmission resources are insufficient for transmitting both the lower-priority data element and the higher-priority data element. Overloading of the estimated transmission resources of the at least two communication channels is efficiently prevented.

[0020] According to a further advantageous embodiment, if the communication channel indicator of the first communication channel indicates that the available transmission resources of the first communication channel are insufficient for transmitting the data element and the priority of the data element exceeds a predetermined priority threshold, the method can further comprise assigning at least two of the at least two communication channels of the first control unit depending on the vehicle application associated with the data element, and transmitting the data element via the at least two assigned communication channels from the first control unit to the second control unit. This allows the data element to be transmitted efficiently via at least two communication channels. The transmission of the data element between the first and second control units can take place more quickly.

[0021] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the assignment of the one or more communication channels of the first control unit to the data element depending on the vehicle application can include receiving a communication profile, wherein the communication profile is linked to the vehicle application, and assigning the one or more communication channels of the at least two communication channels depending on the communication profile of the vehicle application. This allows the communication channels between the first and second control units to be assigned more efficiently.

[0022] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the communication profile of the vehicle application can specify one or more communication channel-specific parameters that one or more of the at least two communication channels of the first control unit must at least fulfill for transmitting the data element of the vehicle application. This allows the allocation of the at least two communication channels to be carried out efficiently.

[0023] According to a further aspect, the invention is characterized by a computer-readable medium for transmitting a data element between a first control unit of a vehicle and a second control unit of the vehicle, wherein the computer-readable medium comprises instructions which, when executed on a control unit or a computer, carry out the method described above.

[0024] According to a further aspect, the invention is characterized by a system for transmitting a data element between a first control unit of a vehicle and a second control unit of the vehicle, wherein the system is designed to carry out the method described above.

[0025] According to a further aspect, the invention is characterized by a vehicle comprising the above-described system for transmitting a data element between a first control unit of a vehicle and a second control unit of the vehicle.

[0026] Further features of the invention emerge from the claims, the figures, and the description of the figures. All features and combinations of features mentioned above in the description, as well as the features and combinations of features mentioned below in the description of the figures and / or shown alone in the figures, can be used not only in the respective specified combination, but also in other combinations or even on their own.

[0027] A preferred embodiment of the invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Further details, preferred embodiments, and developments of the invention will emerge from these. In detail, schematically Fig. 1 shows an exemplary method for transmitting a data element between a first control unit of a vehicle and a second control unit of the vehicle, and Fig. 2 an exemplary system for transmitting a data element between a first control unit of a vehicle and a second control unit of the vehicle.

[0028] In detail, Fig. 1 shows a method 100 for transmitting a data element between a first control unit of a vehicle and a second control unit of the vehicle. The first control unit and the second control unit are coupled to one another via at least two communication channels. Each communication channel preferably has a different transmission technology. A communication channel can be a wireless or a wired communication channel. A wireless communication channel can use wireless local area networks such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth as the transmission technology. A wired communication channel can use wired local area networks such as an Ethernet network or vehicle-specific bus systems as the transmission technology.

[0029] The method 100 can determine 102 a communication channel indicator of a first communication channel of the at least two communication channels by the first control unit. The communication channel indicator is preferably representative of available transmission resources of the first communication channel. The method can determine the communication channel indicator for each wireless communication channel. For example, known methods for channel estimation based on pilot and / or data signals of the respective wireless transmission technology can be used to determine the communication channel indicator. The communication channel indicator is preferably representative of a quality of the available transmission resources of the communication channel.

[0030] The method 100 may receive 104 a data element from a data source by the first controller. For example, the data element may be received from the data source via a cellular connection of the first controller.

[0031] To enable efficient data exchange of the data element between the first control unit and the second control unit, the method 100 can determine a priority of the data element and assign one or more communication channels via which the data element is ultimately transmitted. First, the method 100 can determine 106 a priority of the data element depending on a vehicle application associated with the data element. To this end, the method can classify the data element into a predetermined service quality class based on a time criticality of the data element and / or a relevance of the data element for other vehicle applications. Each service quality class is associated with a priority that determines the priority of the data element. For example, the highest service quality class can also be associated with the highest priority.

[0032] If the communication channel indicator of the first communication channel indicates that the available transmission resources of the first communication channel are insufficient for the transmission of the data element and the priority of the data element falls below a predetermined priority threshold, the method 100 can store the data element in a buffer of the first control unit for a predetermined time interval 108.If the communication channel indicator of the first communication channel indicates that the available transmission resources of the first communication channel are sufficient for transmitting the data element and / or the priority of the data element exceeds a predetermined priority threshold, the method 100 can assign 110 one or more communication channels of the at least two communication channels of the first control unit depending on the vehicle application associated with the data element and transmit 112 the data element from the first control unit to the second control unit via the assigned one or more communication channels.

[0033] Fig. 2 shows an exemplary system 200 for transmitting a data element between a first control unit 202 of a vehicle and a second control unit 204 of the vehicle. The first control unit 202 and the second control unit 204 may be telematics control units. The first control unit 202 and the second control unit 204 may each include a SIM card and a network access device (NAD) (not shown). Fig. 2). For example, the first control unit 202 can provide a cellular connection 206 for user-specific applications, and the second control unit 204 can provide a cellular connection 206 for vehicle-specific applications. The cellular connection 206 of the respective control unit can connect a data source 208, 210 to the vehicle. The vehicle can receive one or more data elements from the data source 208, 210 via the respective cellular connections 206 of the control units 202, 204.

[0034] The first control unit 202 and the second control unit 204 can comprise a wireless communication interface 212. By means of the wireless communication interface 212, a first communication channel 214 can be established between the first control unit 202 and the second control unit. The first communication channel 214 is a wireless communication channel. The first control unit 202 is coupled to the second control unit 204 via the first communication channel 214. Furthermore, the first control unit 202 and the second control unit 204 can comprise a wired communication interface 216. By means of the wired communication interface 212, a second communication channel 218 can be established between the first control unit 202 and the second control unit 204. The second communication channel 218 is a wired communication channel. The first control unit 202 is coupled to the second control unit 204 via the second communication channel 218.

[0035] The first control unit 202 and / or the second control unit may include a channel estimation component 220. The channel estimation component 220 may determine an estimated communication channel indicator for the wireless communication interface 212 of the respective control unit 202, 204 and / or the wireless communication channel 214 between the first control unit 202 and the second control unit 204. The estimated communication channel indicator may be representative of available transmission resources of the wireless communication channel 214. The channel estimation component may provide the communication channel indicator to a prioritization component 222 and to an allocation component 224.

[0036] The prioritization component 222 of the first control unit 202 or the second control unit 204 can determine a priority of the data element received from the respective data source 208, 210. The priority of the data element can be determined depending on a vehicle application and / or a service quality class of the data element.

[0037] If the communication channel indicator indicates that the available transmission resources of the wireless communication channel 214 between the first control unit 202 and the second control unit 204 are insufficient for transmitting the data element and the priority of the data element falls below a predetermined priority threshold, the prioritization component can store the data element in a buffer 226 for a predetermined time interval. After the time interval has elapsed, the prioritization component 222 can check again whether a current communication channel indicator indicates sufficient transmission resources for transmitting the data element.

[0038] The allocation component 224 can allocate one or more communication channels 214, 218 for transmitting the data element. A communication channel 214, 218 can have a communication profile. For example, an availability and / or a reliability can be specified for each communication channel in the communication profile. Furthermore, a quality of service class of the data element can be linked to a vehicle application. The vehicle application and / or the quality of service class can specify requirements for the communication channel. By comparing the communication profile with the requirements for the communication channel of the quality of service class, the allocation component can allocate one or more communication channels for transmitting the data element. For example, data elements of the highest quality of service class can be transmitted via the communication channel(s) with the highest availability and reliability.

[0039] When transmitting a data element that has high bandwidth requirements for a communication channel, the wireless communication channel 214 can be used to expand the transmission resources of the wired communication channel 218. For example, the wireless communication channel can transmit part of the data element or the entire data element. The data element(s) can be divided between the wireless communication channel 214 and / or the wired communication channel 218 depending on the vehicle application associated with the data element. A communication profile can be linked to the vehicle application. The communication profile can specify minimum requirements for the communication channel. For example, the communication profile of the vehicle application can specify a bandwidth, latency, real-time requirements, security requirements, and / or error rates.These are compared with the communication profile of the communication channel and taken into account when assigning the communication channel(s). For example, the communication profile of the vehicle application can specify that a safety-relevant data element is transmitted exclusively via the wired communication channel, while a multimedia data element should preferably be transmitted via the wireless communication channel.

[0040] Advantageously, the data exchange between the first control unit 202 and the second control unit 204 can be carried out efficiently via different data transmission paths. The communication between the first control unit 202 and the second control unit of the vehicle can be efficiently improved while maintaining application-specific transmission reliability. The application-specific transmission reliability can be specified, for example, in the communication profile of the vehicle application. For example, a requirement for the robustness of the communication channel that must be used to transmit the data elements can be derived from the application-specific transmission reliability. By using a wireless communication channel for transmitting the data elements, additional wired communication channels and the cables required for this can be efficiently avoided.Advantages of a wired communication channel can be efficiently combined with advantages of a wireless communication channel to efficiently transmit a data element of a vehicle application between the first control unit 202 and the second control unit 204. List of reference symbols 100 procedures 102 Determining a communication channel indicator 104 Receiving a data element 106 Determining a priority 108 Storing the data element in a buffer 110 Assigning one or more communication channels 112 Transferring the data element 200 systems 202 first control unit 204 second control unit 206 mobile connection 208 Data source 210 Data source 212 wireless communication interface 214 first communication channel 216 wired communication interface 218 second communication channel 220 channel estimation component 222 Prioritization component 224 Assignment component 226 cache

Claims

[1] Method (100) for transmitting a data element between a first control unit (202) of a vehicle and a second control unit (204) of the vehicle, wherein the first control unit (202) and the second control unit (204) are coupled to one another via at least two communication channels (214, 218), the method (100) comprising: Determining (102) a communication channel indicator of a first communication channel (214) of the at least two communication channels (214, 218) by the first control unit (202), wherein the communication channel indicator is representative of available transmission resources of the first communication channel (214); Receiving (104) a data element from a data source (208) by the first controller (202); Determining (106) a priority of the data element depending on a vehicle application associated with the data element; and If the communication channel indicator of the first communication channel (214) indicates that the available transmission resources of the first communication channel (214) are insufficient for the transmission of the data element and the priority of the data element falls below a predetermined priority threshold: Storing (108) the data element in a buffer (226) of the first control unit (202) for a predetermined time interval; If the communication channel indicator of the first communication channel (214) indicates that the available transmission resources of the first communication channel (214) are sufficient for the transmission of the data element and / or the priority of the data element exceeds a predetermined priority threshold: Assigning (110) one or more communication channels (214, 218) of the at least two communication channels (214, 218) of the first control unit (202) depending on the vehicle application associated with the data element; and Transmitting (112) the data element via the assigned one or more communication channels (214, 218) from the first control unit (202) to the second control unit (204). [2] The method (100) of claim 1, wherein the communication channel indicator is an estimated communication channel indicator representative of estimated available transmission resources of the first communication channel (214). [3] The method (100) of any preceding claim, wherein a first communication channel of the at least two communication channels is a wired communication channel and a second communication channel of the at least two communication channels is a wireless communication channel; or wherein a first communication channel of the at least two communication channels is a wireless communication channel and a second communication channel of the at least two communication channels is a wireless communication channel. [4] Method (100) according to claim 3, wherein the first control unit is a first telematics control unit; and / or wherein the second control unit is a second telematics control unit; and / or wherein the wireless communication channel is a communication channel of a wireless local area network; and / or where the wired communication channel is a communication channel of an Ethernet network. [5] Method (100) according to one of the preceding claims, the method further comprising: Determining a communication channel indicator of a second communication channel (218) of the at least two communication channels (214, 218) by the first control unit (202), wherein the communication channel indicator of the second communication channel (218) is preferably an estimated communication channel indicator that is representative of preferably estimated available transmission resources of the second communication channel (218); and if the communication channel indicator of the first communication channel and the communication channel indicator of the second communication channel (218) indicate that the preferably estimated available transmission resources of the first communication channel (214) and the second communication channel (218) are not sufficient for the transmission of the data element and the priority of the data element falls below a predetermined priority threshold: Storing the data element in a buffer (226) of the first control unit (202) for a predetermined time interval. [6] Method (100) according to one of the preceding claims, the method further comprising: If the communication channel indicator of the first communication channel (214) indicates that the available transmission resources of the first communication channel (214) are insufficient for the transmission of the data element and the priority of the data element exceeds a predetermined priority threshold: Assigning at least two communication channels (214, 218) of the at least two communication channels (214, 218) of the first control unit (202) depending on the vehicle application associated with the data element; and Transmitting the data element via the at least two assigned communication channels (214, 218) from the first control unit (202) to the second control unit (204). [7] Method (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the assignment of the one or more communication channels (214, 218) of the first control unit (202) depending on the vehicle application associated with the data element comprises: Receiving a communication profile, wherein the communication profile is linked to the vehicle application; Assigning the one or more communication channels (214, 218) of the at least two communication channels (214, 218) depending on the communication profile of the vehicle application. [8] The method (100) according to claim 7, wherein the communication profile of the vehicle application specifies one or more communication channel-specific parameters that one or more communication channels (214, 218) of the at least two communication channels (214, 218) of the first control unit (202) must at least fulfill for the transmission of the data element of the vehicle application. [9] A computer-readable medium for transmitting a data item between a first control unit (202) of a vehicle and a second control unit (204) of the vehicle, the computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed on a control unit or a computer, carry out the method (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 8. [10] System (200) for transmitting a data element between a first control unit (202) of a vehicle and a second control unit (204) of the vehicle, wherein the system (200) is designed to carry out the method (100) according to one of claims 1 to 8. [11] Vehicle comprising the system (200) for transmitting a data element between a first control unit (202) of a vehicle and a second control unit (204) of the vehicle according to claim 10.

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