Calibration of engine controls in real time

Abstract

A control (12) for an engine of a vehicle, the control comprising a controller (14) configured to generate control data for the engine and to generate calibration data for calibration software running on a host computer (18), and an interface (16) configured to transmit the control data to the engine and to transmit the calibration data to the host computer, wherein - the generation and transmission of control data and calibration data takes place in parallel and in real time, - the controller (14) comprises a processor and a memory operable at an adjustable clock rate, and - the controller (14) is configured to increase the adjustable clock rate for the processor and the memory during a calibration compared to a clock rate of other parts of the controller in such a way that the generation and transmission of the control data is ensured in parallel with the generation and transmission of the calibration data and the generation and transmission of the control data and calibration data is ensured in real time.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of engine control system calibration. In particular, the present invention relates to a control system for a vehicle engine and a method for calibrating a control system for a vehicle engine. The present invention also relates to a computer program and a system for calibrating a control system for a vehicle engine.

[0002] Control systems, such as engine control systems in automobiles, often require calibration. Calibration primarily involves optimizing the control system's parameters during operation. This requires real-time access to the control system's variables and measured values. This access is achieved via a suitable interface, through which the variables and measured values ​​are transferred to a host computer. Suitable software runs on the host computer, which receives the data and transmits any changed variables.

[0003] In automotive microprocessor control systems, calibration systems and / or software solutions are used for this purpose. However, calibration systems are typically expensive and complex to install, and the real-time capability of software solutions is limited.

[0004] DE 10 2015 201 991 A1 shows a method comprising: matching data points of a vehicle powertrain calibration table using data collected on-board a vehicle and using data downloaded from an off-board network, wherein the downloaded data is collected on-board one or more other vehicles communicating with the network.

[0005] WO 2019 / 152 294 A1 discloses a connection system comprising an engine control module; a pump assembly located remotely from the engine control module; and a connection unit attached to the pump assembly, wherein the connection unit is communicatively coupled to the engine control module and configured to transmit data received from the engine control module to a device external to a vehicle to which the connection system is connected.

[0006] The object of the present invention is to make a simple and cost-effective calibration possible.

[0007] This object is achieved by the subject matter of the independent patent claims. Advantageous embodiments of the present invention are described in the dependent claims.

[0008] According to a first aspect of the invention, a controller for an engine of a vehicle is described. The described controller comprises: (a) a controller configured to generate control data for the engine and to generate calibration data for calibration software running on a host computer, and (b) an interface configured to transmit the control data to the engine and to transmit the calibration data to the host computer, wherein (c) the generation and transmission of the control data and calibration data occur in parallel and in real time.

[0009] The described control system is based on the realization that the use of expensive additional hardware can be avoided if the control system to be calibrated is capable of generating and transmitting both control data (for the motor) and calibration data (for the software on the host computer) in parallel and in real time. In other words, the controller simultaneously executes two parallel processes: generating and transmitting the control data for the motor, and generating and transmitting the calibration data for the host computer or the calibration software running on it, all in real time, i.e., in such a way that the control process is not interrupted by the calibration process.

[0010] The interface may in particular be an Ethernet interface that provides a connection to both the vehicle's internal system bus and the host computer (which is only present in the vehicle during the calibration process).

[0011] The controller has a processor and a memory that can be operated with an adjustable clock speed.

[0012] The clock speed for the processor and memory can thus be changed as needed, in particular increased or decreased. In one embodiment, the processor has multiple processor cores, each of which can be operated with its own adjustable clock speed, so that each processor core is assigned to an individual clock domain.

[0013] The controller is configured to increase the adjustable clock rate during calibration compared to a clock rate of other parts of the controller in such a way that the generation and transmission of the control data is possible in parallel with the generation and transmission of the calibration data and the generation and transmission of the control data and calibration data is ensured in real time.

[0014] This can be achieved in particular by setting a clock rate so high that no impairments occur in the timing of the control process.

[0015] In other words, the processor and memory are overclocked to provide real-time execution of the two parallel processes.

[0016] According to a second aspect of the invention, a method for calibrating a control system for a vehicle engine is described, wherein the control system has a controller comprising a processor and a memory operable at an adjustable clock rate, and the method comprises the following steps: (a) setting the adjustable clock rate such that it is increased compared to a clock rate of other parts of the control system such that generation and transmission of the control data is ensured in parallel with generation and transmission of the calibration data and generation and transmission of the control data and calibration data is ensured in real time, (b) generating control data for the engine by means of a controller, (c) transmitting the control data to the engine by means of an interface,(d) generating calibration data for calibration software running on a host computer by means of the controller and (e) transmitting the calibration data to the host computer by means of the interface, wherein the generation and transmission of the control data and calibration data takes place in parallel and in real time.

[0017] The described method is essentially based on the same idea as the method described above according to the first aspect.

[0018] According to a third aspect of the invention, a system for calibrating a controller for a vehicle engine is described. The system comprises: (a) a controller according to the first aspect or one of the above embodiments, and (b) a host computer connected to the controller interface and comprising calibration software.

[0019] The described system uses a control according to the first aspect and can thus benefit from the corresponding advantages of this control described above.

[0020] According to a fourth aspect of the invention, a computer program is described with computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, are arranged to carry out the method according to the second aspect.

[0021] For the purposes of this document, the mention of such a computer program is synonymous with the term "a program element, a computer program product and / or a computer-readable medium containing instructions for controlling a computer system in order to coordinate the operation of a system or a method in a suitable manner in order to achieve the effects associated with the method according to the invention.

[0022] The computer program can be implemented as computer-readable instruction code in any suitable programming language, such as JAVA, C++, etc. The computer program can be stored on a computer-readable storage medium (CD-ROM, DVD, Blu-ray disk, removable drive, volatile or non-volatile memory, built-in memory / processor, etc.). The instruction code can program a computer or other programmable devices, such as, in particular, a control unit for a motor vehicle engine, to perform the desired functions. Furthermore, the computer program can be provided on a network, such as the Internet, from which it can be downloaded by a user as needed.

[0023] The invention can be implemented both by means of a computer program, ie software, and by means of one or more special electrical circuits, ie in hardware, or in any hybrid form, ie by means of software components and hardware components.

[0024] It should be noted that embodiments of the invention have been described with reference to different subject matter. In particular, some embodiments of the invention are described with method claims, and other embodiments of the invention are described with apparatus claims. However, it will immediately become clear to those skilled in the art upon reading this application that, unless explicitly stated otherwise, in addition to a combination of features belonging to one type of subject matter, any combination of features belonging to different types of subject matter is also possible.

[0025] Further advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following exemplary description of a preferred embodiment. Fig. 1 shows a system according to the state of the art. Fig. Figure 2 shows a system according to the present invention.

[0026] It should be noted that the embodiment described below represents only a limited selection of possible embodiments of the invention.

[0027] The Fig. 1 shows a system for calibrating an engine control unit 1 according to the prior art. The engine control unit 1 has a controller 2 (with processor and memory) and is connected via an interface 3 to a calibration device 4 (hardware), which receives control signals from the control unit 1 and measured values ​​from the engine (not shown) and / or from sensors linked to the engine and forwards them via a further interface 5 to a host computer 6. The data is stored on the host computer 6 and processed and evaluated by calibration software running on the host computer 6 in order to optimize the characteristic values ​​and other data used by the control unit 1. Following this optimization, the corresponding data is updated in the control unit 1 at a later time and then tested or further optimized in the same way. The host computer 6 is typically a portable computer orLaptop that is installed in the test vehicle for the calibration process and connected to the calibration device that is also installed in the test vehicle via the additional interface 5.

[0028] The Fig. 2 shows a system 10 for calibrating an engine control or vehicle control 12 according to the present invention. The engine control 12 has a controller 14 (with processor and memory) and is connected to a host computer 18 via an interface 16 and is configured to forward control signals from the controller 12 as well as measured values ​​from the engine (not shown) and / or from sensors linked to the engine to the host computer 18 via the interface 16. The data is stored on the host computer 18 and processed and evaluated by calibration software running on the host computer 18 in order to optimize the characteristics and other data used by the controller 12. Following this optimization, the corresponding data is updated in the controller 12 at a later time and then tried out or further optimized in the same way. The host computer 18 is typically a portable computer orA laptop that is mounted in the test vehicle for the calibration process and connected directly to the vehicle control system 12 via the interface 16. In other words, the invention allows the use of a calibration device such as that shown in the . Fig. 1 can be dispensed with. According to the invention, the functionality of the calibration device 4 is taken over by the controller 12 itself, in that the controller 14 performs both the control functionality and the calibration functionality in parallel. The parts of the controller 14 responsible for the calibration functionality, i.e., the processor (core) and memory, are clocked, in particular overclocked, in such a way that the control functionality is not impaired. Thus, the controller can perform both functionalities in parallel and in real time, saving the costs and effort associated with a calibration device 4.

[0029] A key advantage of the present invention is that the calibration solution according to the invention, as a software solution, does not require expensive additional hardware and yet ensures maximum real-time capability. Modern controllers such as the controller 12 according to the invention have interfaces 16 (e.g., ETHERNET) to which sufficient bandwidth is available to transmit additional calibration data. This does not affect the transmission of the control data. In addition, the clock domains of the microcontroller can be divided so that the core and memory of the microcontroller are supplied with their own adjustable clock. The remaining peripherals have their own clock(s). It is then possible to overclock the core and memory according to the invention. This gains bandwidth to execute the additional calibration software without affecting the real-time behavior of the control software.Outwardly, the microprocessor behaves the same, as the peripherals are supplied with an unchanged clock speed. To enable overclocking of the core and memory, it may be necessary to restrict the operating temperature range during calibration. This is usually possible (and common calibration systems only operate within a limited temperature range).

[0030] The calibration of a controller in real time without additional hardware is possible on the one hand by using a modified microcontroller 12, which ensures by overclocking the processor core and memory that additional calibration software can be executed without affecting the runtime of the control software, and on the other hand by using a fast communication interface that allows the transmission of additional calibration data without affecting control data. List of reference symbols 1 Control 2 controllers 3 Interface 4 Calibration device 5 Additional interface 6 host computers 10 Calibration system 12 Control 14 controllers 16 Interface 18 host computers

Claims

[1] Control (12) for an engine of a vehicle, the control comprising a controller (14) configured to generate control data for the engine and to generate calibration data for calibration software running on a host computer (18), and an interface (16) configured to transmit the control data to the engine and to transmit the calibration data to the host computer, wherein - the generation and transmission of control data and calibration data takes place in parallel and in real time, - the controller (14) comprises a processor and a memory operable at an adjustable clock rate, and - the controller (14) is configured to increase the adjustable clock rate for the processor and the memory during a calibration compared to a clock rate of other parts of the controller in such a way that the generation and transmission of the control data is ensured in parallel with the generation and transmission of the calibration data and the generation and transmission of the control data and calibration data is ensured in real time. [2] A method for calibrating a control (12) for an engine of a vehicle, the control comprising a controller including a processor and a memory operable at an adjustable clock rate, the method comprising the steps of: - Setting the adjustable clock speed for the processor and memory so that it is increased compared to the clock speed of other parts of the control system so that the generation and transmission of the control data is ensured in parallel with the generation and transmission of the calibration data and the generation and transmission of the control data and calibration data is ensured in real time, - generating control data for the motor by means of the controller (14), - Transferring the control data to the motor via an interface (16), - generating calibration data for calibration software running on a host computer (18) by means of the controller (14) and - Transferring the calibration data to the host computer (18) by means of the interface (16), wherein the generation and transfer of the control data and calibration data takes place in parallel and in real time. [3] System (10) for calibrating a control for an engine of a vehicle, the system comprising a controller (12) according to claim 1 and a host computer (18) connected to the interface (16) of the controller (12) and having calibration software. [4] A computer program comprising computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, are adapted to carry out the method according to claim 2.

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