Vehicle control device, vehicle integrated / integrated unit, and vehicle

Abstract

The present application provides a vehicle control device, a vehicle integrated / integrated unit, and a vehicle. The solution of the present application is applicable to intelligent vehicles, new energy vehicles, etc. The vehicle control device includes: a first circuit board 210 having an internal network interface arranged thereon, where the vehicle control device communicates with the vehicle's in-vehicle network by using the internal network interface; and a second circuit board 220 having an external network interface arranged thereon, where the vehicle control device communicates with the vehicle's external network by using the external network interface. That is, to avoid the need to replace the entire circuit board of the vehicle control device to fit different vehicle models in the prior art, the internal network interface of the vehicle control device is arranged on the first circuit board 210, and the external network interface is arranged on the second circuit board 220, thereby improving the versatility of the circuit board of the vehicle control device.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present application relates to the vehicle field, and more particularly to vehicle control devices, vehicle integrated / integrated units, and vehicles. [Background technology]

[0002] Today, the development trends in the vehicle field are intelligence, networking, electrification, and sharing. Typically, development trends are implemented by relying on systems with electronic control functions within the vehicle. Currently, vehicle control devices that implement electronic control functions within the vehicle mainly include central computing platforms (CCPs), domain controllers (DCs), electronic control units (ECUs), etc.

[0003] Nowadays, regardless of the type of vehicle control device, the micro processing unit (MPU), micro control unit (MCU), input / output interface (I / O interface), etc. within the vehicle control device are all integrated onto a single circuit board.

[0004] However, for different models of vehicles, different types of communication interfaces need to be configured for the vehicle control device required by the vehicle, and not all types of communication interfaces are compatible with the same interface amount. Therefore, a dedicated circuit board needs to be configured for different models of vehicles to implement the control function using the vehicle control device including the circuit board. Due to this method in which different circuit boards need to be configured for different models of vehicles to implement the control function of the vehicle control device in the vehicle, the versatility of the vehicle control device is relatively low. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a vehicle control device, a vehicle control unit, and a vehicle that improve the versatility of the vehicle control device.

[0006] According to a first aspect, a vehicle control device is provided, including: a first circuit board 210 having an internal network interface disposed thereon, the vehicle control device being communicatively connected to an in-vehicle network of the vehicle by using the internal network interface; and a second circuit board 220 having an external network interface disposed thereon, the vehicle control device being communicatively connected to an external network of the vehicle by using the external network interface.

[0007] In this embodiment of the present application, the internal network interface of the vehicle control device is configured on the first circuit board 210, and the external network interface of the vehicle control device is configured on the second circuit board 220. In this way, to avoid that the internal network interface and the external network interface in the prior art are configured on one circuit board, so that the entire circuit board of the vehicle control device needs to be replaced to fit different models of vehicles, a different first circuit board 210 and the same second circuit board 220 can be configured for different models of vehicles, thereby improving the versatility of the vehicle control device.

[0008] In a possible implementation, at least one microprocessing unit ( MPU ) is further disposed on the second circuit board 220, and at least one M The PU is configured to process data to be processed in the vehicle control device; and / or Micro Control Unit ( MCU ) is further disposed on the second circuit board 220, and the MCU is configured to control vehicle components within the vehicle.

[0009] In this embodiment of the application, the computing functions, data processing functions, electronic control functions, etc. required by each vehicle of a different model are typically implemented in at least one microprocessing unit. ( MPU ) and / or micro control unit ( MCU ) Therefore, at least one M PU and / or is M The CU may be located on the second circuit board 220 to improve integration of the vehicle control device while enabling relatively high versatility of the vehicle control device and help reduce circuit board costs of the vehicle control device.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the vehicle control device includes a plurality of first circuit boards 210 , each of which is communicatively connected to a second circuit board 220 .

[0011] In this embodiment of the present application, the second circuit board 220 serves to increase the versatility of how the first circuit board 210 and the second circuit board 220 can be connected, and can be communicatively connected to multiple first circuit boards 210 to increase the amount of scenarios in which the vehicle control device can be applied.

[0012] Optionally, the multiple first circuit boards 210 transmit the received vehicle data by using an in-vehicle network to the second circuit board 220, which processes the data by using at least one MPU.

[0013] In this embodiment of the present application, data received by multiple first circuit boards 210 is sent to one second circuit board 220 for data processing to reduce the quantity of second circuit boards 220 in the vehicle control device, thereby helping to reduce the cost of the vehicle control device.

[0014] It should be noted that the plurality of first circuit boards 210 may be all or a portion of the circuit boards communicatively connected to the second circuit board 220. This is not limited to this embodiment of the present application.

[0015] Optionally, the second circuit board 220 processes the to-be-processed data in the vehicle by using at least one MPU to obtain processed data, and the second circuit board 220 transmits the processed data to the in-vehicle network by using multiple first circuit boards 210.

[0016] In this embodiment of the present application, one second circuit board 220 processes the data to be processed to obtain processed data, and by using multiple first circuit boards 210, transmits the processed data to the in-vehicle network, which helps to reduce the quantity of the second circuit boards 220 in the vehicle control device, thereby reducing the cost of the vehicle control device.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the vehicle control device includes a plurality of second circuit boards 220, each of which is communicatively connected to the first circuit board 210.

[0018] In this embodiment of the present application, a first circuit board 210 is communicatively coupled to a plurality of second circuit boards 220 to increase the computing capabilities of the vehicle controller.

[0019] Optionally, at least one MPU of each of the plurality of second circuit boards 220 is configured to process data received by the first circuit board 210 .

[0020] In this embodiment of the present application, at least one MPU of each of the multiple second circuit boards 220 processes data received by the first circuit board 210 to improve the computing power of the vehicle control device.

[0021] Optionally, the at least one MPU of each of the multiple second circuit boards 220 is configured to: process the data to be processed to obtain processed data, and transmit the processed data to the in-vehicle network by using the first circuit board 210.

[0022] In this embodiment of the present application, at least one MPU of each of the multiple second circuit boards 220 processes data received by the first circuit board 210 and transmits the processed data to an in-vehicle network by using the first circuit board 210 to improve the computing power of the vehicle control device.

[0023] In a possible implementation, an interface configured to transmit audio / video data is disposed on the second circuit board 220 .

[0024] In this embodiment of the present application, an interface for transmitting audio / video data is disposed on the second circuit board 220 to help reduce the amount of data transmitted between the first circuit board 210 and the second circuit board 220, thereby alleviating the requirements for data transmission between the first circuit board 210 and the second circuit board 220 for communication link performance.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the internal network interface includes an input / output (I / O) interface configured to communicate with vehicle components within the vehicle by using an in-vehicle network.

[0026] In possible implementations, the internal network interface includes one or more of the following input / output interfaces: a Controller Area Network (CAN®) input interface, a Local Interconnect Network (LIN) input interface, an analog input interface, a digital input interface, a Single Edge Nibble Transmission (SENT) input interface, a Hall signal input interface, a low edge output interface, a high edge output interface, an H-bridge output interface, a Brushless Direct Current Motor (BLDCM) output interface, a current valve control interface, an Ethernet® internal network interface, and a peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) interface. The Ethernet internal network interface is an interface configured to be communicatively coupled to an in-vehicle network within an Ethernet interface.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the external network interface includes an Ethernet external network interface, which is an interface used during communication with a vehicle external network within an Ethernet interface.

[0028] In a possible implementation, an external power source is disposed on the first circuit board 210 and configured to supply power to electronic elements other than the electronic elements on the first circuit board 210 and the second circuit board 220 within the vehicle.

[0029] In this embodiment of the present application, the external power source is disposed on the first circuit board 210 to balance the temperature of the circuit boards in the vehicle controller.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the vehicle control device further includes a power supply circuit board 810, wherein an external power source within the power supply circuit board 810 is configured to supply power to electronic elements other than the electronic elements on the first circuit board 210 and the second circuit board 220 within the vehicle.

[0031] In this embodiment of the present application, the power supply is disposed on an independent power supply circuit board, and when the power supply fails, only the power supply circuit board can be replaced, reducing later maintenance costs.

[0032] According to a second aspect, there is provided a vehicle integrated / integrated unit VIU of a vehicle, comprising a vehicle control device according to the first aspect or any of the possible implementations.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the VIU is configured to implement some or all of the electronic control functions of multiple vehicle components within the vehicle.

[0034] According to a third aspect, there is provided a vehicle including a vehicle control device according to the first aspect or any of its possible implementations, or a VIU according to the second aspect or any of its possible implementations. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0035] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system 100 for implementing electronic control functions in a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0036] [Diagram 2] 1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0037] [Diagram 3] 1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0038] [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic diagram of a connection method 1 for a first circuit board and a second circuit board according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0039] [Diagram 5] 2 is a schematic diagram of a second connection method for a first circuit board and a second circuit board according to an embodiment of the present application. FIG.

[0040] [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a connection method 3 for a first circuit board and a second circuit board according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0041] [Figure 7] 7 is a schematic diagram of a first circuit board 710 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0042] [Figure 8] 1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0043] [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a hardware structure of a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0044] [Figure 10] 1 is a schematic diagram of a method for arranging circuit boards in a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0045] The following describes the technical solutions in this application with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0046] For ease of understanding, a vehicle integrated / integration unit (VIU) in an embodiment of the present application will be described first. The vehicle integrated / integration unit is also called a "vehicle integrated / integration unit". In a system for implementing electronic control functions in a vehicle, the VIU provides some or all of the data processing or control functions required by the vehicle components for multiple vehicle components. The following describes the functions of the VIU in three aspects. It should be understood that the VIU may have one or more of the following functions:

[0047] 1. Electronic control functions, i.e., the VIU is configured to implement some or all of the electronic control functions provided by an electronic control unit (ECU) in the vehicle component, e.g., control functions required by the vehicle component, and as another example, data processing functions required by the vehicle component.

[0048] 2. The same functions as a gateway, that is, the VIU may further have some or all of the same functions as a gateway, such as a protocol conversion function, a protocol encapsulation and forwarding function, and a data format conversion function.

[0049] 3. Data processing function cross vehicle components, i.e. the VIU performs processing or calculations on data obtained from actuators of multiple vehicle components.

[0050] It should be noted that the data of the aforementioned functions may include running data of the actuators of the vehicle components, such as the operating parameters of the actuators or the working states of the actuators. Alternatively, the data of the aforementioned functions may be data collected by using the data collection units (e.g., sensitive elements) of the vehicle components, such as road information or weather information of the road on which the vehicle is traveling and collected by using the sensitive elements of the vehicle. This is particularly limited to the embodiments of the present application.

[0051] Herein, a schematic diagram of a system for implementing electronic control functions in a vehicle is described with reference to FIG. 1. It should be noted that the system for implementing electronic control functions in a vehicle can be applied to intelligent vehicles, new energy vehicles, conventional vehicles, etc. New energy vehicles include battery electric vehicles, extended range electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, fuel cell vehicles, other new energy vehicles, etc. Conventional vehicles include gasoline vehicles, diesel vehicles, etc.

[0052] 1 is a schematic diagram of a system 100 for implementing electronic control functions in a vehicle. The system 100 shown in FIG 1 includes n DCs 110, b VIUs 120, and m vehicle components 130, where n, b, and m are positive integers.

[0053] Each DC 110 is configured to manage a function domain within the vehicle, i.e., the DC is communicatively connected to multiple vehicle components located within the function domain. DC 110 is configured to control the vehicle components within the corresponding functional domain or provide data processing functionality for the vehicle components within the corresponding functional domain.

[0054] Typically, each functional domain has an independent domain controller, or DC. DCs in a vehicle may include an autonomous driving domain controller, a cockpit domain controller (CDC), a vehicle domain controller (VDC), etc.

[0055] The autonomous driving domain controller is configured to provide services for vehicle components that implement autonomous driving functions, including a monocular camera, a binocular camera, a millimeter wave radar, a laser radar, an ultrasonic radar, and the like.

[0056] It should be noted that the functionality of the autonomous driving domain controller can be implemented by using a mobile data center (MDC).

[0057] The CDC is configured to provide services for vehicle components in the cockpit domain, including a head-up display, an instrument display, a radio, a navigator, a camera, etc.

[0058] The VDC is configured to provide services for vehicle components in the body domain and vehicle components in the chassis domain. Vehicle components in the body domain include door and window lift controllers, power rearview mirrors, air conditioning, central door locking, etc. Vehicle components in the chassis domain include vehicle components of a braking system, vehicle components of a steering system, or vehicle components of an acceleration system such as an accelerator.

[0059] The VIU 120 is communicatively connected to a plurality of vehicle components 130 and is communicatively connected to a DC in the vehicle. For example, in FIG. 1, the VIU 1 is communicatively connected to vehicle component 1, vehicle component 2, and vehicle component 3, and the VIU 1 is communicatively connected to DC 1 and DC 2.

[0060] Vehicle components 130 include actuating elements. Actuating elements are configured to implement specific functions. The actuating elements may be, for example, sensors 133 or actuators 132 in the vehicle. Optionally, vehicle components 130 may further include an ECU 131. Vehicle components 130 may include one or more of the following vehicle components: vehicle components with partial or complete ECU functionality; and vehicle components without electronic control functionality.

[0061] A vehicle component 130 with full electronic control functionality may be understood as follows: the vehicle component 130 may implement all electronic control functions required by the vehicle component 130 by using the ECU 131 of the vehicle component 130.

[0062] A vehicle component 130 with partial electronic control functionality may be understood as follows: some electronic control functions required by the vehicle component 130 are implemented by the ECU of the vehicle component 130, and other electronic control functions required by the vehicle component 130 are implemented by the VIU.

[0063] A vehicle component 130 without electronic control functions can be understood as follows: the vehicle component 130 does not have an electronic control unit ECU that implements the electronic control functions, and all electronic control functions required by the vehicle component 130 are implemented by the VIU.

[0064] The ECU 131 is internal to a vehicle component and configured to provide electronic control functions for the vehicle component, for example an electronic control unit in a wiper or an electronic control unit located in a door.

[0065] The electronic control function mainly includes a logical control function and a data processing function. The logical control function includes controlling a vehicle component to perform an operation based on the acquired control information, for example, controlling the operation of a wiper based on the control information, and as another example, controlling the on / off state of a door lock based on the control information. The data processing function includes processing data to be processed in the vehicle component, for example, performing data processing of rainfall information collected by using a sensing element of the wiper to determine the operation state of the wiper, the operation state including the operation frequency or on / off state of the wiper, and as another example, performing data processing of fingerprint information acquired from a door by using a sensing element of the door lock to determine the on / off state information of the door.

[0066] It should be noted that the ECU in this embodiment of the present application is an electronic control element disposed in a vehicle component, unless otherwise specified, and is different from an engine control unit (Engine Control Unit) in the prior art. The engine control unit is disposed outside a plurality of vehicle components in an engine system and configured to control the plurality of vehicle components in the engine system. The engine control unit may be considered as an independent centralized controller. However, the electronic control unit in this embodiment of the present application, i.e., "ECU" hereinafter, is an electronic control unit disposed inside a vehicle component, and may be, for example, an electronic control unit inside each of a plurality of vehicle components in an engine system.

[0067] It should be noted that the communication connection may be understood as a wireless connection or a wired connection for information transmission. This is not limited to this embodiment of the present application. The wireless connection may be understood as the VIU being communicatively connected to another unit in the vehicle without using a bus. For example, Bluetooth® communication or Wi-Fi® communication is used. The wired connection may be understood as the VIU being communicatively connected to other units in the vehicle based on a bus, or an Ethernet® connection, etc. For example, a Controller Area Network (CAN®) bus, a Local Interconnect Network (LIN) bus, a peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe), or an ethernet communication technology may be used.

[0068] Optionally, a VIU may be communicatively connected to one DC in the vehicle. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, VIU b is communicatively connected to DC n. Alternatively, a VIU may be communicatively connected to multiple DCs in the vehicle. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, VIU1 may be communicatively connected to both DC1 and DC2.

[0069] Currently, in the above VIU or other devices having a control function in a vehicle, a micro processing unit (MPU), a micro control unit (MCU), an input / output interface (I / O interface), etc. are all integrated on one circuit board. However, in different models of vehicles, different types of communication interfaces need to be configured for the vehicle control device required by the vehicle, and not all types of communication interfaces correspond to the same interface amount. Therefore, a dedicated circuit board needs to be configured for different models of vehicles to implement the control function by using a vehicle control device including the circuit board. Thus, since different circuit boards need to be configured for different models of vehicles to implement the control function of the vehicle control device, the versatility of the circuit board in the vehicle control device is relatively low.

[0070] For example, a model #1 vehicle requires N Controller Area Network (CAN) bus communication interfaces to be configured on the vehicle controller's circuit board and M Local Interconnect Network (LIN) communication interfaces to be configured in the vehicle controller; a model #2 vehicle requires Q CAN bus communication interfaces and P LIN communication interfaces to be configured on the vehicle controller's circuit board. M, N, Q, and P are different integers. Thus, dedicated circuit boards need to be configured for the vehicle controller of the model #1 vehicle and the vehicle controller of the model #2 vehicle.

[0071] Currently, the applicant believes that in different models of vehicles, mainly due to differences in the configuration methods of the in-vehicle network (also called "vehicle internal network"), the internal network interfaces communicatively connected to the in-vehicle network on the circuit board of the vehicle control device are configured in different ways, and as a result, the circuit boards of the vehicle control devices of different models of vehicles cannot be used in common. However, due to similar configuration methods of the external network, the types or quantities of external network interfaces that need to be communicatively connected to the vehicle external network on the circuit board of the vehicle control device of different models of vehicles are almost the same. Therefore, in order to improve the versatility of the vehicle control device, the present application proposes a new hardware architecture of the vehicle control device. The aforementioned internal network interface and external network interface are individually set on different circuit boards. In this way, in different models of vehicles, only the circuit board (hereinafter referred to as the first circuit board 210) on which the internal network interface is arranged is replaced, and the circuit board (hereinafter referred to as the second circuit board 220) on which the external network interface is arranged can be used in common to improve the versatility of the vehicle control device.

[0072] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present application. The vehicle control device 200 shown in Fig. 2 includes a first circuit board 210 and a second circuit board 220. The first circuit board 210 and the second circuit board 220 are two separately disposed circuit boards.

[0073] The internal network interface is disposed on the first circuit board 210. The vehicle control device is communicatively connected to the vehicle's in-vehicle network by using the internal network interface.

[0074] An in-vehicle network can be understood as a mesh structure obtained by connecting communication connection cables between sensors, controllers and actuators in a vehicle. Therefore, an in-vehicle network is also called a "vehicle internal network". For example, an in-vehicle network can include networks such as CAN, LIN, or Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST).

[0075] The internal network interface is an interface configured to communicatively connect with vehicle components in the vehicle by using an in-vehicle network. Optionally, the internal network interface may include one or more of the following input / output interfaces: a CAN input interface, a LIN input interface, an analog signal input interface, a digital signal input interface, a Single Edge Nibble Transmission (SENT) input interface, a Hall signal input interface, a low edge output interface, a high edge output interface, an H-bridge output interface, a Brushless Direct Current Motor (BLDCM) output interface, a current valve control interface, an Ethernet internal network interface, and a PCIe interface. The Ethernet internal network interface is an interface communicatively connected to the in-vehicle network with an Ethernet interface.

[0076] The vehicle control device being communicatively connected to the in-vehicle network of the vehicle by using the internal network interface may include the vehicle control device performing data transmission with the in-vehicle network by using the internal network interface, or the vehicle control device performing control signaling transmission with the in-vehicle network by using the internal network interface. Transmission may be interpreted as receiving and / or transmitting.

[0077] The external network interface is disposed on the second circuit board 220. The vehicle control device is communicatively connected to the vehicle external network by using the external network interface.

[0078] A vehicle external network is a network used by a vehicle to communicate with communication devices external to the vehicle, relative to an in-vehicle network. For example, the vehicle external network may be a Wide Area Network (WAN), such as a 4th Generation (4G) or 5th Generation (5G) communication network.

[0079] The external network interface is a communication interface used by the vehicle to communicate with an external communication device by using an external network. For example, the external network interface can be an Ethernet external network interface, i.e., an interface used to communicate with a vehicle external network over an Ethernet interface. Optionally, the external network interface can be an interface used by the vehicle control device to communicatively connect to an in-vehicle Telematics BOX (T-BOX).

[0080] The vehicle control device being communicatively connected to the external network by using the external network interface may include the vehicle control device performing data transmission with the external network by using the external network interface, or the vehicle control device performing control signal transmission with the external network by using the external network interface. Transmission may be interpreted as receiving and / or transmitting.

[0081] It should be noted that the internal network interface on the first circuit board 210 is not located on the second circuit board 220, and correspondingly, the external network interface on the second circuit board 220 is not located on the first circuit board 210, such that a physical separation is implemented between the internal network interface and the external network interface.

[0082] Usually, the computing and control functions of each of the circuit boards of the vehicle controller of different models of vehicles are implemented by using MCU and MPU in the circuit board. Therefore, the MCU and MPU may be disposed on the second circuit board 220. In this way, the second circuit board 220 is still applicable to the different models of vehicles. In this case, the second circuit board 220 may also be referred to as a "computing board" and the first circuit board 210 may also be referred to as an "I / O board."

[0083] That is, at least one MPU is further disposed on the second circuit board 220, the at least one MPU being configured to process data to be processed within the vehicle; and / or an MCU is further disposed on the second circuit board, the MCU being configured to control vehicle components within the vehicle.

[0084] The data to be processed may be data to be obtained by using the internal network interface of the first circuit board 210, or the data to be processed may be data to be obtained by the second circuit board 220 by using an external network interface, or the data to be processed may be data that needs to be transmitted by the second circuit board 220 by using the internal network interface of the first circuit board 210, or the data to be processed may be data that needs to be transmitted by the second circuit board 220 by using an external network interface. This is not limited to this embodiment of the present application.

[0085] Although the audio / video interface also belongs to the internal network interface, since a very large amount of audio / video data needs to be transmitted to the MPU for data processing in the vehicle, the audio / video interface may be arranged on the second circuit board 220 to prevent the audio / video interface from being arranged on the first circuit board 210 and placing a large load on the communication connection between the first circuit board 210 and the second circuit board 220. Indeed, if issues such as the transmission load of the communication connection are not taken into consideration, the audio / video interface may alternatively be arranged on the first circuit board 210. Currently, the audio / video interface that is relatively commonly used in vehicles is a low voltage differential signal (LVDS) interface.

[0086] Optionally, the first circuit board 210 may be connected to the second circuit board 220 by using a communication bus, for example, by using a high-speed communication bus, to facilitate the transfer of data and control information.

[0087] Optionally, a Local Area Network switch (LSW) may be further disposed on the first circuit board 210, and a communication bus between the first circuit board 210 and the second circuit board 220 may be connected to the LSW on the first circuit board 210. Optionally, the communication bus may be a high-speed communication bus, for example, a PCIe bus or a bus based on a Reduced Gigabit Media Independent Interface (RGMII).

[0088] The following uses the vehicle control device shown in FIG. 3 as an example to describe a vehicle control device in another embodiment of the present application. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present application. The vehicle control device 300 shown in FIG. 3 includes a first circuit board 310 and a second circuit board 320. The second circuit board 320 has a circuit board structure similar to the second circuit board 220 described above. For the sake of brevity, details will not be described here.

[0089] The LSW, MCU, and I / O interfaces are disposed on the first circuit board 310. The I / O interfaces include i input interfaces, j output interfaces, a PCIe interface, and an Ethernet internal network interface, where i and j are positive integers. Optionally, the i input interfaces may include a CAN input interface, a LIN input interface, an analog input interface, a digital input interface, a SENT input interface, a Hall signal input interface, and another input interface. The j output interfaces may include a low edge output interface, a high edge output interface, an H-bridge output interface, a BLDCM output interface, a current valve control interface, and another output interface.

[0090] Optionally, the Ethernet internal network interface can be connected to another vehicle control device. For example, the vehicle control device 300 can be connected to another vehicle control device, such as a VIU, an MDC, and a VDC, by using the Ethernet internal network interface.

[0091] The I / O interface is configured to obtain different types of signals or data from the in-vehicle network, and send the obtained signals or data to the second circuit board 320 for data processing by using the LSW. Alternatively, the I / O interface is configured to: obtain transmitted data from the second circuit board 320 by using the LSW; send transmitted data of the second circuit board 320 to the in-vehicle network by using the I / O interface, and send the data to another device by using the in-vehicle network.

[0092] It should be noted that the MCU on the first circuit board 310 may be understood as a control unit included in a circuit board, and has similar functions as a control unit on a conventional circuit board, and for the sake of brevity, details will not be described here.

[0093] Furthermore, it should be noted that the i input interfaces and j output interfaces and the correspondence between the various input and output interfaces as shown in FIG. 3 are merely for ease of understanding and are not particularly limiting in this embodiment of the present application.

[0094] Above, the arrangement method of the first circuit board and the second circuit board in the embodiment of the present application has been described with reference to FIG. 2. Hereinafter, the connection method of the first circuit board 310 and the second circuit board 320 will be described with reference to FIG. 4 to FIG. 6. In addition to the method of connecting the first circuit board and the second circuit board in one-to-one correspondence shown in FIG. 3, it should be noted that the common connection method of the first circuit board 310 and the second circuit board 320 further includes the following connection method 1 to connection method 3. In addition, the following uses only the first circuit board 310 and the second circuit board 320 as an example to describe the connection method. The connection method in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to any first circuit board and second circuit board, for example, the first circuit board 210 and the second circuit board 220 in the present application. For the function of the units arranged on the circuit board, please refer to the description of the present application. For the sake of brevity, details will not be described here.

[0095] Connection method 1: A first circuit board is connected to multiple second circuit boards. Currently, vehicles on the market have different degrees of automation, and each model of vehicle requires different computing power. Therefore, multiple second circuit boards 320 can be configured for vehicle control devices based on the computing power of the vehicle.

[0096] 4 is a schematic diagram of a connection method 1 of a first circuit board and a second circuit board according to an embodiment of the present application. In the vehicle control device 400 shown in FIG. 4, multiple second circuit boards 320 and one first circuit board 310 are arranged, and the multiple second circuit boards 320 can be connected to the first circuit board 310 by using a communication bus. Optionally, the communication bus can be a high-speed communication bus, for example, a PCIe bus or a bus based on RGMII.

[0097] At least one MPU of each of the plurality of second circuit boards 320 is configured to process data received by the first circuit board 310. Alternatively, at least one MPU of each of the plurality of second circuit boards 320 is configured to: process data to be processed to obtain processed data; transmit the processed data to an in-vehicle network by using the first circuit board 310, and transmit the processed data to other devices in the vehicle;

[0098] It should be noted that the external network interface may be disposed on only one of the plurality of second circuit boards 320, and all other second circuit boards 320 may be communicatively connected to the external network by using the external network interface. Indeed, the external network interface may be disposed on each of the plurality of second circuit boards 320. In this manner, each second circuit board 320 may be communicatively connected to the external network by using the external network interface of the second circuit board 320. This is not particularly limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0099] Furthermore, it should be noted that the audio / video interface may be disposed on only one of the multiple second circuit boards 320, and all other second circuit boards 320 may be communicatively connected to the player using the audio / video interface. Indeed, the audio / video interface may be disposed on each of the multiple second circuit boards 320. In this manner, each second circuit board 320 may be communicatively connected to the player by using the audio / video interface of the second circuit board 320. This is not particularly limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0100] Connection method 2: A second circuit board is connected to a plurality of first circuit boards. As the degree of automation of automobiles increases, different kinds of vehicle components may need to be added and controlled. In this case, based on the original vehicle control device, a first circuit board may be added to connect the vehicle components and the second circuit board, and the second circuit board controls the added vehicle components.

[0101] 5 is a schematic diagram of a second connection method of a first circuit board and a second circuit board according to an embodiment of the present application. In the vehicle control device 500 shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of first circuit boards 310 and one second circuit board 320 are arranged, and the plurality of first circuit boards 310 may be connected to the second circuit board 320 by using a communication bus. Optionally, the communication bus may be a high-speed communication bus, for example, a bus based on a PCIe bus or an RGMII bus.

[0102] The plurality of first circuit boards 310 transmit the received vehicle data to the second circuit board 320 by using the in-vehicle network, and the second circuit board 320 processes the data by using at least one MPU. Alternatively, the second circuit board 320 processes the data to be processed in the vehicle by using at least one MPU to obtain processed data; the second circuit board 320 transmits the processed data to the in-vehicle network by using the plurality of first circuit boards 310, and transmits the processed data to other devices in the vehicle by using the in-vehicle network.

[0103] Connection method 3: each of the plurality of second circuit boards is connected to a part or all of the plurality of first circuit boards. As the degree of automation of automobiles increases, different types of vehicle components may need to be added and controlled, and the computing power of the vehicle control device needs to be improved. In this case, based on the original vehicle control device, a first circuit board and a second circuit board may be added, that is, one vehicle control device may include a plurality of second circuit boards and a plurality of first circuit boards.

[0104] 6 is a schematic diagram of a connection method 3 of a first circuit board and a second circuit board according to an embodiment of the present application. In the vehicle control device 600 shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of first circuit boards 310 and a plurality of second circuit boards 320 are arranged, and each of the plurality of first circuit boards 310 can be connected to the plurality of second circuit boards 320 by using a communication bus. Optionally, the communication bus can be a high-speed communication bus, for example, a bus based on a PCIe bus or an RGMII bus.

[0105] Each of the plurality of first circuit boards 310 transmits the received vehicle data by using the in-vehicle network to the plurality of second circuit boards 320 with which the first circuit board 310 establishes a communication connection, and each of the plurality of second circuit boards 320 processes the data by using at least one MPU. Alternatively, one of the plurality of second circuit boards 320 processes the data to be processed in the vehicle to obtain processed data by using at least one MPU; the second circuit board 320 transmits the processed data to the in-vehicle network by using the corresponding plurality of first circuit boards 310 with which the second circuit board 320 establishes a communication connection, and transmits the processed data to other devices in the vehicle by using the in-vehicle network.

[0106] It should be noted that the external network interface may be disposed on only one of the multiple second circuit boards 320, and all other second circuit boards 320 may be communicatively connected to the external network by using the external network interface. Indeed, the external network interface may be disposed on each of the multiple second circuit boards 320. In this way, each second circuit board 320 may be communicatively connected to the external network by using the external network interface of the second circuit board 320. This is not particularly limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0107] Furthermore, it should be noted that the audio / video interface may be disposed on only one of the multiple second circuit boards 320, and all other second circuit boards 320 may be communicatively connected to the player by using the audio / video interface. Indeed, the audio / video interface may be disposed on each of the multiple second circuit boards 320. In this manner, each second circuit board 320 may be communicatively connected to the player by using the audio / video interface of the second circuit board 320. This is not particularly limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0108] Typically, an internal power source may be further disposed in the vehicle control device to supply power to the electronic elements of the first circuit board and the second circuit board. Optionally, the aforementioned internal power source configured to supply power to the electronic elements of the first circuit board may be disposed on the first circuit board, and the internal power source configured to supply power to the electronic elements of the second circuit board may be disposed on the second circuit board. Of course, the internal power source may alternatively be disposed on an independent circuit board. This is not particularly limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0109] In addition, an external power source may be further disposed in the vehicle control device to supply power to electronic elements other than the electronic elements of the first circuit board and the second circuit board. For example, the external power source may supply power to another vehicle component, such as a wiper or a door lock in the vehicle. In this embodiment of the present application, the external power source may be disposed in the first circuit board. See the first circuit board 710 shown in FIG. 7. Indeed, the external power source may be alternatively disposed in the second circuit board 320. However, usually, the MPU or MCU of the second circuit board generates heat in the data processing process, so that the temperature of the second circuit board is relatively high. In this case, if the external power source is further disposed in the second circuit board, the temperature of the second circuit board will be excessively high.

[0110] Optionally, the external power source may be located on a separate circuit board, i.e., the power circuit board, In this manner, after a failure of the external power source, only the power circuit board may be replaced, reducing maintenance costs of the vehicle control device.

[0111] Optionally, the power supply circuit board may be a board-like structure, for example, a circuit board. For a specific structure, please refer to the vehicle control device 800 shown in FIG. 8. A power supply circuit board 810 is disposed in the vehicle control device 800 to supply power to electronic elements other than the electronic elements on the first circuit board and the second circuit board of the vehicle. It should be noted that the first circuit board and the second circuit board of the vehicle control device 800 are described by using only the first circuit board 310 and the second circuit board 320 as examples. The first circuit board and the second circuit board of the vehicle control device 800 may be any circuit board type described in this application, respectively. For example, the first circuit board of the vehicle control device 800 may be the first circuit board 210 or the first circuit board 710, and the second circuit board of the vehicle control device 800 may be the second circuit board 220. This is not limited to this embodiment of the application.

[0112] As described above, after one circuit board of the conventional vehicle control device is divided into multiple circuit boards, The multiple circuit boards may be arranged in layers along the height direction of the vehicle control device in order to reduce the circuit board area of ​​the vehicle control device. Indeed, if it is not desired to increase the height of the vehicle control device, the multiple circuit boards may alternatively be arranged horizontally along the width or length direction of the vehicle control device.

[0113] 9 is an exploded view of the hardware structure of a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present application. The circuit boards of the vehicle control device 900 shown in FIG. 9 are arranged in layers along the height direction of the vehicle control device 900. It should be noted that the first circuit board 910 and the second circuit board 920 included in FIG. 9 can each be any of the above structures. For example, the first circuit board 910 can be the first circuit board 210, the first circuit board 310, or the first circuit board 710, and the second circuit board 920 can be the second circuit board 220 or the second circuit board 320.

[0114] The vehicle control device 900 includes a first circuit board 910, a second circuit board 920, a motherboard 930, a cooling plate 940, and a cover 950.

[0115] The first circuit board 910, the second circuit board 920, the motherboard 930, and the cooling plate 940 are located inside the cover 950, and the first circuit board 910, the second circuit board 920, and the cooling plate 940 are arranged in layers along the height direction of the vehicle control device 900.

[0116] The first circuit board 910 and the second circuit board 920 may be disposed on a motherboard 930, and are connected to circuit boards in other expansion slots, such as memory, on the motherboard using the motherboard.

[0117] Correspondingly, the cooling plate 940 is located between the first circuit board 910 and the second circuit board 920 and is configured to dissipate heat from the first circuit board 910 and the second circuit board 920 .

[0118] Optionally, when the power supply of the vehicle control device is disposed on the power supply circuit board 810 to facilitate heat dissipation, the second circuit board 920 and the power supply circuit board 810 may be disposed on two sides of the first circuit board 910 in the height direction of the vehicle control device. See FIG. 10.

[0119] It should be noted that Fig. 9 shows a method in which the first circuit board 910 is connected to the second circuit board 920 by using a motherboard. The first circuit board 910 may alternatively be connected to the second circuit board 920 by using a board-to-board connector or by using a flexible cable. The method of connecting the two circuit boards is not particularly limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0120] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, in combination with the examples set forth in the embodiments disclosed herein, It may be recognized that the units and algorithm steps can be implemented by using electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether a function is performed using hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but the implementation should not be considered to go beyond the scope of this application.

[0121] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the sake of convenience and concise description, the detailed work processes of the above-mentioned systems, devices and units may be referred to the corresponding processes in the above-mentioned method embodiments, and the details will not be described again here.

[0122] In some embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device, and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the described device embodiment is merely an example. For example, the division into units is merely a division of logical functions, and may be other divisions in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into other systems, and some functions may be ignored or not performed. Furthermore, the shown or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may be implemented by using some interfaces. Indirect couplings or communication connections between devices or units may be implemented in electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0123] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, i.e., they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected based on actual requirements to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments.

[0124] Furthermore, the functional units of the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each of the units may exist physically alone, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0125] When a function is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, the function may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application may essentially, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a part of the technical solution may be implemented in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes some instructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, etc.) to execute all or some steps of the method described in the embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes any medium that can store program code, such as: a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, an optical disk, etc.

[0126] The above description is merely a specific implementation of the present application, but is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. Any variations or replacements that can be easily understood by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application shall be within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application shall be subject to the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. 1. A vehicle control device comprising: a first circuit board having an internal network interface, the vehicle control device being communicatively connected to an in-vehicle network of a vehicle by using the internal network interface; a plurality of second circuit boards each having an external network interface disposed thereon, the external network interface configured to communicatively connect the vehicle control device to a vehicle external network; each of the plurality of second circuit boards is communicatively connected to the first circuit board; an interface configured to transmit audio / video data is disposed on each of the plurality of second circuit boards; Vehicle control device.

2. At least one microprocessing unit (MPU) is further disposed on the second circuit board, the at least one MPU configured to process data to be processed within the vehicle control device; and / or a microcontroller unit (MCU) further disposed on the second circuit board, the MCU configured to control vehicle components within the vehicle. The vehicle control device according to claim 1.

3. the vehicle control device has at least one first circuit board, each of the at least one first circuit board communicatively connected to the second circuit board; The vehicle control device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The vehicle control device has a plurality of the first circuit boards, and each of the plurality of first circuit boards is communicatively connected to a part or all of the plurality of second circuit boards. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 or 2.

5. the internal network interface includes an input / output (I / O) interface configured to communicate with vehicle components within the vehicle by using the in-vehicle network; A vehicle control device according to claim 2 or any one of claims 3 to 4 which cite claim 2.

6. The internal network interface includes one or more of the following input / output interfaces: a controller area network (CAN) input interface, a local interconnect network (LIN) input interface, an analog input interface, a digital input interface, a single edge nibble transmission (SENT) input interface, a Hall signal input interface, a low edge output interface, a high edge output interface, an H-bridge output interface, a brushless direct current motor (BLDCM) output interface, a current valve control interface, an Ethernet internal network interface, and a peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) interface. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. an external power source is disposed on the first circuit board, the external power source being configured to provide power to electronic elements within the vehicle other than electronic elements on the first circuit board and the second circuit board; The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The vehicle control device further includes a power supply circuit board, and an external power source in the power supply circuit board is configured to supply power to electronic elements in the vehicle other than the electronic elements of the first circuit board and the second circuit board. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A vehicle integrated / integrated unit (VIU) comprising the vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. the VIU is configured to implement some or all electronic control functions of a plurality of vehicle components within a vehicle; 10. The VIU of claim 9.

11. A vehicle comprising a vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 and a vehicle component, the vehicle control device being configured to control the vehicle component.

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