Communication system for vehicle, and vehicle

Abstract

A communication system for a vehicle, and a vehicle. The communication system comprises an optical line terminal and m optical network units; the m optical network units comprise a first optical network unit and a second optical network unit, m is a positive integer, and m≥2; the optical line terminal is used for sending a first optical carrier to the first optical network unit by means of a first optical transmission path and sending a second optical carrier to the second optical network unit by means of a second optical transmission path, the first optical carrier being used for modulation by the first optical network unit, and the second optical carrier being used for the second optical network unit to modulate a second uplink optical signal.

Description

Vehicle communication system and vehicle

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 202411198950.X, filed on August 28, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This disclosure relates to the field of vehicle communication technology, and in particular to a vehicle communication system and a vehicle. Background Technology

[0003] With the development of vehicle electrification, intelligence, and connectivity, as well as the improvement of driver assistance levels, the number of sensors on vehicles is increasing, the dependence on sensor data is also increasing, and the required bandwidth is also increasing. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This disclosure provides a vehicle communication system and a vehicle.

[0005] In a first aspect, a vehicle communication system is provided, the communication system comprising an optical line terminal and m optical network units, the m optical network units including a first optical network unit and a second optical network unit, where m is a positive integer and m≥2.

[0006] The optical line terminal is configured to send a first optical carrier to the first optical network unit via a first optical transmission path and to send a second optical carrier to the second optical network unit via a second optical transmission path. The first optical carrier is used by the first optical network unit to modulate a first uplink optical signal, and the second optical carrier is used by the second optical network unit to modulate a second uplink optical signal. At least a portion of the first optical transmission path and at least a portion of the second optical transmission path are respectively deployed on different optical fibers.

[0007] In some embodiments, the optical line terminal includes an optical transmitting module, which includes a first uplink optical transmitting unit, wherein the first optical carrier and the second optical carrier are transmitted by the first uplink optical transmitting unit; or, the optical transmitting module includes a first uplink optical transmitting unit and a second uplink optical transmitting unit, wherein the first optical carrier is transmitted by the first uplink optical transmitting unit and the second optical carrier is transmitted by the second uplink optical transmitting unit.

[0008] In some embodiments, the optical transmitting module includes a first uplink optical transmitting unit, wherein the first optical carrier and the second optical carrier are transmitted by the first uplink optical transmitting unit. The communication system further includes a splitter communicatively connected to the m optical network units. The splitter is communicatively connected to the first uplink optical transmitting unit and is configured to divide the optical carrier transmitted by the first uplink optical transmitting unit into multiple optical carriers, the multiple optical carriers including the first optical carrier and the second optical carrier.

[0009] In some embodiments, the optical splitter is connected to the first optical network unit via a first optical fiber, and the optical splitter is connected to the second optical network unit via a second optical fiber. The first optical transmission path is deployed on the first optical fiber, and the second optical transmission path is deployed on the second optical fiber.

[0010] In some embodiments, the first optical network unit includes an optical receiving unit and an uplink optical modulator. The optical receiving unit is configured to receive the first optical carrier, and the uplink optical modulator is configured to modulate based on the first optical carrier to obtain a first uplink optical signal and send the first uplink optical signal to the optical line terminal.

[0011] In some implementations, the first transmission time of the first uplink optical signal is different from the second transmission time of the second uplink optical signal.

[0012] In some embodiments, the first optical network unit further includes an optical control unit configured to control the transmission timing of the first uplink optical signal.

[0013] In some implementations, the optical control unit is an optical switch or a VOA.

[0014] In some embodiments, the communication system further includes a first uplink optical transmission path, through which the first uplink optical signal and the second uplink optical signal are transmitted to the optical line terminal.

[0015] In some embodiments, the communication system further includes a first uplink optical transmission path and a second uplink optical transmission path, wherein the first uplink optical signal is transmitted to the optical line terminal through the first uplink optical transmission path, and the second uplink optical signal is transmitted to the optical line terminal through the second uplink optical transmission path.

[0016] In some implementations, the first uplink optical transmission path and the second uplink optical transmission path are deployed on different optical fibers.

[0017] In some embodiments, the communication system further includes a first downlink optical transmission path and a second downlink optical transmission path, wherein the first downlink optical transmission path is configured to transmit downlink optical signals sent by the optical line terminal to the first optical network unit, and the second downlink optical transmission path is configured to transmit downlink optical signals sent by the optical line terminal to the second optical network unit.

[0018] In some implementations, the downlink optical signal is a broadcast signal sent to the m optical network units.

[0019] In some implementations, the downlink optical signal includes a first indication field configured to indicate the optical network unit corresponding to the downlink optical signal.

[0020] In some implementations, the first downlink optical transmission path and the first optical transmission path are deployed on the same optical fiber.

[0021] In some implementations, the downlink optical signal has a different wavelength than the first optical carrier.

[0022] In some embodiments, the optical line terminal includes an optical transmitting module, which includes a downlink optical transmitting unit, through which the downlink optical signal is transmitted.

[0023] In some embodiments, the downlink optical transmitting unit includes a downlink light source and a downlink optical modulator, wherein the downlink light source is configured to transmit a downlink optical carrier, and the downlink optical modulator is configured to modulate the downlink optical carrier to obtain the downlink optical signal.

[0024] In some embodiments, the communication system further includes a wavelength division multiplexer configured to combine the downlink optical signal and the uplink optical carrier emitted by the optical transmitting module of the communication system into a combined optical wave. The combined optical wave is transmitted via optical fiber to a splitter connected to the m optical network units. The splitter is configured to divide the combined optical wave into m sub-optical waves, which are respectively transmitted to the m optical network units. The m sub-optical waves include a first sub-optical wave and a second sub-optical wave. The first sub-optical wave is configured to be transmitted to the first optical network unit via a first optical transmission path, and the second sub-optical wave is configured to be transmitted to the second optical network unit via a second optical transmission path.

[0025] The communication system further includes a first dewavelength division multiplexer and a second dewavelength division multiplexer. The first dewavelength division multiplexer is configured to divide the first sub-optical wave into the first optical carrier and the downlink optical signal, and transmit the first optical carrier to the uplink optical modulator of the first optical network unit and transmit the downlink optical signal to the optical receiving unit of the first optical network unit. The second dewavelength division multiplexer is configured to divide the second sub-optical wave into the second optical carrier and the downlink optical signal, and transmit the second optical carrier to the uplink optical modulator of the second optical network unit and transmit the downlink optical signal to the optical receiving unit of the second optical network unit.

[0026] In some embodiments, the communication system includes multiple optical network unit groups, each of the multiple optical network unit groups including a splitter and at least one optical network unit, and the at least one optical network unit in the multiple optical network unit groups is communicatively connected to the optical line terminal through the splitter of the optical network unit group;

[0027] The plurality of optical network unit groups include a first optical network unit group and a second optical network unit group. The first and second optical network unit groups each include the m optical network units. The splitter of the first optical network unit group is communicatively connected to the optical line terminal (OLT). The first optical transmission path is deployed on the optical fiber connecting the OLT and the splitter of the first optical network unit group, the splitter of the first optical network unit group, and the optical fiber connecting the first optical network unit and the m optical network units. The second optical transmission path is deployed on the optical fiber connecting the OLT and the splitter of the second optical network unit group, the splitter of the second optical network unit group, and the optical fiber connecting the second optical network unit and the m optical network units.

[0028] In some embodiments, the communication system further includes a main optical fiber, the two ends of which are connected to the optical line terminal, and the splitters of the plurality of optical network unit groups are communicatively connected to the optical line terminal through the main optical fiber.

[0029] In some embodiments, the plurality of optical network unit groups includes a second optical network unit group, and the downlink optical signal sent by the optical line terminal to the first optical network unit group has a different wavelength than the downlink optical signal sent by the optical line terminal to the second optical network unit group.

[0030] In some implementations, the downlink optical signals sent by the optical line terminal to the m optical network units of the first optical network unit group are identical.

[0031] In some embodiments, the optical transmission module of the optical line terminal includes multiple downlink optical transmission units, the multiple downlink optical transmission units including a first downlink optical transmission unit and a second downlink optical transmission unit; the downlink optical signal sent by the optical line terminal to the first optical network unit group is sent by the first downlink optical transmission unit, and the downlink optical signal sent by the optical line terminal to the second optical network unit group is sent by the second downlink optical transmission unit.

[0032] In some implementations, the splitters of the plurality of optical network unit groups are respectively connected to the optical line terminal via different optical fibers.

[0033] In some embodiments, the wavelengths of the downlink optical signals transmitted by the optical line terminal to the splitters of the plurality of optical network unit groups are the same; or,

[0034] The wavelengths of the downlink optical signals sent by the optical line terminal to the splitters of the multiple optical network unit groups are different.

[0035] In some embodiments, the optical transmitting module and the optical receiving module of the communication system are deployed around the optical line terminal.

[0036] In some implementations, the optical line terminal is connected to a controller or the optical line terminal is deployed on the controller, which is a domain controller or a central controller.

[0037] In some embodiments, the optical transmitting module of the optical line terminal and the optical receiving module of the communication system are deployed around the controller.

[0038] In some implementations, the first optical network unit is connected to an onboard device.

[0039] In some implementations, the first optical network unit is deployed on an in-vehicle device, which includes sensors or actuators.

[0040] Secondly, a vehicle is provided that includes the communication system described above.

[0041] Some embodiments of this disclosure utilize a communication system to realize network communication in a vehicle environment, thereby improving the quality of vehicle network communication. In addition, based on the optical line terminal providing optical carriers for the modulation of uplink signals of optical network units, and the parallel connection of transmission paths for transmitting optical carriers between the optical line terminal and m optical network units in the communication system, the stability of uplink signal transmission can be improved. Attached Figure Description

[0042] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of some embodiments of this disclosure, the accompanying drawings used in the description of some embodiments of this disclosure will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of this disclosure. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0043] Figures 1A and 1B are block diagrams of a communication system according to some embodiments;

[0044] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the transmission process of a communication system according to some embodiments;

[0045] Figure 3 is a block diagram of an optical network unit according to some embodiments;

[0046] Figure 4 is an architecture diagram of an optical network unit according to some embodiments;

[0047] Figure 5 is a structural diagram of a communication system according to some embodiments;

[0048] Figure 6 is a communication architecture diagram of a communication system according to some embodiments;

[0049] Figure 7 is a topology diagram of a communication system according to some embodiments;

[0050] Figure 8 is a communication architecture diagram of another communication system according to some embodiments;

[0051] Figure 9 is a topology diagram of another communication system according to some embodiments.

[0052] Reference numerals: 1-Optical line terminal; 101-Optical transmitting module; 1011-Uplink optical transmitting unit; 1012-Downlink optical transmitting unit; 102-Optical receiving module; 1021-Optical receiving unit; 1'-Central computing platform; 2-Optical network unit; 201-Optical receiving unit; 202-Uplink optical modulator; 203-Optical control unit; 204-Vehicle-mounted device; A-Silicon photonics chip; B-Electrical chip; C-Media access control chip; D-Transimpedance amplifier chip; E-Laser driver chip; 2'-Optical network unit group; 3-Wavelength division multiplexer; 4-Optical splitter; 5-De-Wavelength division multiplexer; 6-Main optical fiber. Detailed Implementation

[0053] Exemplary embodiments of this disclosure will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings of some embodiments thereof. While exemplary embodiments of this disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that this disclosure may be implemented in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of this disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0054] With the development of vehicle electrification, intelligence, and connectivity, as well as the improvement of driver assistance systems, the demand for in-vehicle communication network bandwidth is gradually increasing, mainly in two aspects: First, the improvement of driver assistance systems requires the fusion of multiple sensors, such as data fusion between cameras, ultrasonic radar, lidar, and millimeter-wave radar. The development of in-vehicle cameras, in particular, has two directions: firstly, the number of cameras has exceeded 10 (e.g., more than 10); secondly, cameras are becoming more high-definition, with 8-megapixel cameras already in mass production, achieving data transmission bandwidth close to 10Gbps without compression. Second, the development of smart cockpits, with the increase in interactive and entertainment devices such as screens, places higher demands on in-vehicle communication bandwidth. In summary, the future demand for in-vehicle communication bandwidth is expected to exceed 50Gbps, or even higher, such as greater than 100Gbps, approaching the network bandwidth requirements of consumer electronics products.

[0055] However, current traditional automotive buses, such as Controller Area Network (CAN), Local Interconnect Network (LIN), Media Oriented System Transport (MOST), and FlexRay, have transmission bandwidths below 150Mbps. High-speed automotive communication primarily uses Ethernet, currently supporting a maximum transmission rate of 10Gbps, and its transmission medium is twisted-pair cable, which is insufficient to meet the bandwidth requirements of future automotive networks. Furthermore, the electromagnetic environment in the automotive field is more complex, especially in electric vehicles, where high-voltage battery packs and low-voltage electronic components are integrated, easily causing severe electromagnetic interference to communication transmissions.

[0056] Optical communication technology can often achieve higher network bandwidth. For future automotive applications requiring high bandwidth of 50Gbps+ (e.g., greater than 50Gbps), and considering current industry practices where bandwidths above 40Gbps are typically achieved using optical fiber as the transmission medium, replacing cables and twisted-pair cables with optical fiber is a better choice. Optical fiber not only meets the future bandwidth demands of automotive transmission but also better mitigates electromagnetic interference.

[0057] However, there are still some challenges in applying optical communication technology to the automotive environment. For example, the number of automotive devices such as sensors and actuators in the automotive environment is increasing, and the reliance on sensors is growing. Optical communication technology in related technologies cannot guarantee the stability of communication between sensors and other automotive devices.

[0058] In view of the above problems, this disclosure provides some embodiments of a vehicle communication system and a vehicle to solve the problem of high bandwidth requirements of optical communication technology in a vehicle environment. The communication system provided by some embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and through some embodiments and application scenarios.

[0059] The first aspect of this disclosure proposes a communication system. As a key technology in the field of intelligent vehicles, vehicle-mounted optical communication utilizes the advantages of optical fiber transmission to meet the requirements of high-speed, stable and large-capacity vehicle-mounted communication. It not only provides higher data transmission rates and larger spectrum resources, but also has lower power consumption and stronger anti-interference capabilities, making it suitable for the complex electromagnetic environment inside the vehicle.

[0060] Figures 1A and 1B are block diagrams of a communication system provided according to some embodiments.

[0061] As shown in Figures 1A and 1B, in some embodiments, the communication system may include an optical line terminal (OLT) 1 and an optical network unit (ONU) 2.

[0062] In some embodiments, the communication system includes an optical line terminal. The communication system includes m optical network units, for example, the m optical network units may include a first optical network unit and a second optical network unit, where m is a positive integer, m≥2.

[0063] In some embodiments, the optical line terminal (OLT) is used to transmit a first optical carrier to a first optical network unit via a first optical transmission path, and a second optical carrier to a second optical network unit via a second optical transmission path. Here, the first optical carrier is used by the first optical network unit to modulate a first uplink optical signal, and the second optical carrier is used by the second optical network unit to modulate a second uplink optical signal. At least a portion of the first optical transmission path and at least a portion of the second optical transmission path are deployed on different optical fibers.

[0064] An optical carrier can be understood as an empty carrier that has not yet been modulated. Modulating an optical carrier can produce an optical signal containing at least one of the data or information.

[0065] In this scheme, the optical line terminal (OLT) provides the light source for modulating the uplink signal of the optical network unit. By centrally locating the light source at the OLT, compared to a scheme where each onboard device has its own independent light source, the light source is better protected. For example, it allows for better heat dissipation and structural protection, ensuring the stability of the light source and thus guaranteeing the transmission of the uplink signal.

[0066] It should be noted that if each optical network unit (ONU) is equipped with an independent light source for modulating its uplink signal, each ONU would need its own heat dissipation and protection structure to protect the light source, leading to increased costs and numerous structural design changes. In some embodiments of this disclosure, the light source is placed at the optical line terminal, and the uplink signals of each ONU share the carrier wave emitted by that light source, which reduces costs and simplifies the structure.

[0067] In some embodiments of this disclosure, at least a portion of the first optical transmission path and at least a portion of the second optical transmission path are deployed on different optical fibers. This can be understood as the first optical transmission path and the second optical transmission path being completely deployed on different optical fibers, or the first optical transmission path and the second optical transmission path being partially deployed on the same optical fiber and partially deployed on different optical fibers.

[0068] When the first and second optical transmission paths are deployed entirely on different optical fibers, the optical transmission paths through which the optical line terminal sends optical carriers to the first and second optical network units are completely parallel. In this way, each optical network unit receives the optical carrier through its own optical transmission path. Compared to a serial approach, this avoids the situation where a failure in a segment of the transmission path corresponding to one optical network unit prevents other optical network units from being unable to receive the optical carrier, thus hindering uplink signal modulation. Some embodiments of this disclosure can improve the stability of uplink optical signal transmission.

[0069] In this scenario, a portion of the first optical transmission path and the second optical transmission path are deployed on the same optical fiber, while another portion is deployed on different optical fibers. This can be understood as a shared portion and an independent portion. If the independent portion of the first transmission path fails, it does not affect the continued transmission of the second optical carrier on the second transmission path. This also improves the stability of uplink optical signal transmission and simplifies the fiber optic lines of the communication system. For example, if the shared fiber optic structure is well-protected, this scheme can effectively simplify the lines and improve system stability.

[0070] In this way, the vehicle-mounted devices can send uplink optical signals through the optical network unit, thereby improving the stability of communication of the vehicle-mounted devices.

[0071] In some implementations, the first optical network unit is connected to the vehicle-mounted device; or, the first optical network unit is deployed on the vehicle-mounted device, which includes sensors or actuators. This allows the vehicle-mounted device to communicate via the optical network unit, improving the stability of its communication.

[0072] In some implementations, the optical line terminal is connected to the controller or deployed on the controller, which is a domain controller or a central controller. This allows the controller and vehicle-mounted devices to share the same light source.

[0073] In some implementations, the optical transmitter module of the optical line terminal and the optical receiver module of the communication system are deployed around the controller. This allows the controller's cooling system to be used to cool the optical transmitter module.

[0074] In some embodiments, the first optical network unit and the second optical network unit can be understood as any two optical network units among m optical network units.

[0075] In some implementations, the optical line terminal (OLT) transmits optical carriers to m optical network units (ONUs) via m optical transmission paths. This ensures that the optical transmission paths from the OLT to the multiple ONUs are parallel, allowing each ONU to receive the optical carrier via its own path. This improves the stability of uplink signal transmission from each ONU and guarantees the overall reliability of the system.

[0076] In some embodiments, the optical line terminal can be located in the center of the vehicle to balance the transmission with each optical network unit, or it can be located in other locations. The optical network units can be distributed in various areas of the vehicle and can be set according to the actual needs of the vehicle.

[0077] In some embodiments, the optical line terminal (OLT) is deployed on or communicatively connected to the vehicle's central computing platform, and the optical network unit (ONU) is deployed on or communicatively connected to the on-board electronic devices, such as sensors, actuators, or controllers. Thus, communication between the on-board electronic devices and the central computing platform can be achieved through the ONU and the OLT. Combining the communication system in some embodiments of this disclosure can improve the stability of uplink signals transmitted from the on-board devices to the central computing platform.

[0078] In the parallel structure of optical line terminal and optical network unit, the optical line terminal can be mainly used to send a first optical carrier to the first optical network unit through a first optical transmission path, and to send a second optical carrier to the second optical network unit through a second optical transmission path; the first optical carrier can be used by the first optical network unit to modulate a first uplink optical signal, and the second optical carrier can be used by the second optical network unit to modulate a second uplink optical signal.

[0079] In some implementations, the optical line terminal is directly connected to the first optical network unit via optical fiber, and the optical line terminal is directly connected to the second optical network unit via optical fiber.

[0080] For example, as shown in Figure 1A, optical line terminal 1 and m optical network units, such as optical network unit 2-1, optical network unit 2-2, ..., optical network unit 2-m, are directly connected via optical fibers. Optical network unit 2-1 can be understood as the first optical network unit, and optical network unit 2-2 can be understood as the second optical network unit. Of course, the first optical network unit and the second optical network unit can also be any two other optical network units among the m optical network units.

[0081] In this scheme, the first optical transmission path for optical line terminal 1 to send an optical carrier to optical network unit 2-1 is deployed on the optical fiber connecting optical line terminal 1 and optical network unit 2-1, and the optical transmission path for optical line terminal 1 to send an optical carrier to optical network unit 2-2 is deployed on the optical fiber connecting optical line terminal 1 and optical network unit 2-2. Similarly, the optical transmission path for optical line terminal 1 to send an optical carrier to optical network unit 2-m is deployed on the optical fiber connecting optical line terminal 1 and optical network unit 2-m.

[0082] In some other implementations, the optical line terminal and the optical splitter are connected, and the optical splitter is connected to the first optical network unit and the second optical network unit, respectively.

[0083] For example, as shown in Figure 1B, the optical line terminal 1 and m optical network units are connected via a splitter 4. The optical line terminal 1 and the splitter 4 are connected via optical fibers, and the splitter 4 is connected to each of the m optical network units via m separate optical fibers. In some embodiments, the splitter is connected to the first optical network unit via a first optical fiber, and to the second optical network unit via a second optical fiber. A first optical transmission path is deployed on the first optical fiber, and a second optical transmission path is deployed on the second optical fiber.

[0084] In this scheme, the optical carrier transmitted by optical line terminal 1 is split into m bundles by an optical splitter, and each bundle is transmitted to m optical network units via m optical fibers. The first optical transmission path for optical carrier transmission from optical line terminal 1 to optical network unit 2-1 is deployed on the optical fiber connecting optical line terminal 1 and the optical splitter, as well as the optical fiber connecting the optical splitter and optical network unit 2-1. The optical transmission path for optical carrier transmission from optical line terminal 1 to optical network unit 2-2 is deployed on the optical fiber connecting optical line terminal 1 and the optical splitter, as well as the optical fiber connecting the optical splitter and optical network unit 2-2. Similarly, the optical transmission path for optical carrier transmission from optical line terminal 1 to optical network unit 2-m is deployed on the optical fiber connecting optical line terminal 1 and the optical splitter, as well as the optical fiber connecting the optical splitter and optical network unit 2-m.

[0085] The following section, in conjunction with the accompanying diagram, describes the implementation scheme for uplink optical signal transmission.

[0086] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the transmission process of a communication system according to some embodiments.

[0087] As shown in Figure 2, the optical line terminal includes an optical transmitting module. The optical transmitting module includes one or more uplink optical transmitting units. Each uplink optical transmitting unit includes at least a light source, such as an LD1.

[0088] The first optical carrier and the second optical carrier can be transmitted by the same uplink optical transmitting unit or by different uplink optical transmitting units.

[0089] In some embodiments, the first optical carrier and the second optical carrier are transmitted by the same uplink optical transmitting unit.

[0090] In some embodiments, the optical transmitting module includes a first uplink optical transmitting unit, and a first optical carrier and a second optical carrier are transmitted by the first uplink optical transmitting unit. In such a scheme, the first optical carrier and the second optical carrier share a single uplink optical transmitting unit, or in other words, the first optical carrier and the second optical carrier share a single light source, which simplifies the structure of the communication system.

[0091] In one implementation, the first uplink optical transmitting unit can be connected to a splitter. The optical carrier transmitted by the first uplink optical transmission is split into multiple optical carriers by the splitter. The multiple optical carriers include a first optical carrier sent to a first optical network unit and a second optical carrier sent to a second optical network unit.

[0092] In some embodiments, the optical line terminal (OLT) transmits optical carriers to m optical network units (ONUs) through a first uplink optical transmitting unit. For example, in conjunction with the embodiment shown in Figure 1B, the OLT 1 ​​is connected to m ONUs via a splitter 4. The optical carriers transmitted by the OLT 1 ​​through the first uplink optical transmitting unit are split into m optical carriers by the splitter 4, and these m optical carriers are transmitted to the m ONUs via m optical fibers.

[0093] As shown in Figure 2, the optical carrier transmitted by optical line terminal 1 is split into m optical carriers by a splitter, and sent to m optical network units (2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-m) respectively.

[0094] In another implementation, the first uplink optical transmitting unit transmits optical carriers to different optical network units at different times. Understandably, the optical carriers are transmitted in a time-division multiplexing manner.

[0095] In other embodiments, the first optical carrier and the second optical carrier are transmitted by different uplink optical transmitting units.

[0096] The optical transmitting module includes a first uplink optical transmitting unit and a second uplink optical transmitting unit. The first optical carrier is transmitted by the first uplink optical transmitting unit, and the second optical carrier is transmitted by the second uplink optical transmitting unit. In this scheme, two optical transmitting units transmit the first optical carrier and the second optical carrier respectively; or, in other words, the first optical carrier and the second optical carrier are transmitted by two different light sources. This makes the connection of the communication system and the transmission of the first and second optical carriers more flexible and stable.

[0097] Referring to the embodiment shown in Figure 1A, the optical line terminal includes m optical transmitting units, and each of the m optical transmitting units transmits m optical carriers to each of the m optical network units. It should be understood that, in the embodiment corresponding to Figure 1A, a single uplink optical transmitting unit can also transmit m optical carriers to each of the m optical network units.

[0098] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG3, the optical network unit 2 may include an optical receiving unit 201 and an uplink optical modulator 202. The optical receiving unit 201 is mainly used to receive uplink optical carriers; the uplink optical modulator 202 is mainly used to modulate uplink optical signals based on uplink optical carriers to obtain uplink optical signals, and to transmit the modulated uplink optical signals to optical line terminals.

[0099] In some embodiments, the optical network unit 2 may be connected to or deployed within an in-vehicle device, which may include, but is not limited to, at least one of a sensor or actuator. In some embodiments, the first optical network unit may be connected to a sensor or actuator; or, the first optical network unit may be deployed within a sensor or actuator.

[0100] At least one of the sensors or actuators may be a domain controller for control domains related to vehicle control, smart cockpit, and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). Sensors may include, but are not limited to, cameras, millimeter-wave radar, lidar, and ultrasonic radar, and actuators may include electric motors, clutch valves, valve mechanisms, and solenoid valves, etc., without limitation in this disclosure.

[0101] The transmission of uplink optical signals represents the process by which an optical network unit (ONU) transmits uplink signals to an optical line terminal (OLT).

[0102] In some embodiments, taking a first optical network unit as an example, the uplink optical signal transmission process of the optical network unit is described. Optical line terminal 1 transmits a first optical carrier λ0' to a first optical network unit, such as optical network unit 2-1, via a light source, such as LD1, included in the uplink optical transmitting unit 1011 of the optical transmitting module 101 through a first optical transmission path. This allows optical network unit 2-1 to modulate a first uplink optical signal based on the first optical carrier λ0'. The first optical network unit can then transmit the modulated first uplink optical signal to the optical line terminal. It should be noted that the identifier of the uplink optical carrier transmitted to other optical network units can refer to the identifier of the first optical carrier; this disclosure does not impose any limitations on this.

[0103] In some embodiments, taking a first optical network unit as an example, the uplink optical signal modulation process of the optical network unit is described. The first optical network unit receives a first optical carrier. The uplink optical modulator 202 of the first optical network unit receives a first electrical signal from an on-board device, the first electrical signal containing relevant information or data of the on-board device; the uplink optical modulator 202 can modulate the first optical carrier based on the first electrical signal containing information or data to obtain a first uplink optical signal containing the aforementioned information or data, and send the first uplink optical signal to the optical line terminal. In this way, the information or data of the on-board device is transmitted to the optical line terminal in the form of an optical signal.

[0104] The transmission path of the first optical network unit sending the first uplink optical signal to the optical line terminal and the transmission path of the second optical network unit sending the second uplink optical signal to the optical line terminal can be the same or different.

[0105] In some embodiments, the transmission path for the first optical network unit to send the first uplink optical signal to the optical line terminal is the same as the transmission path for the second optical network unit to send the second uplink optical signal to the optical line terminal.

[0106] In some embodiments, the communication system includes a first uplink optical transmission path, through which a first uplink optical signal and a second uplink optical signal are transmitted to an optical line terminal. Alternatively, a first optical network unit and a second optical network unit transmit the first uplink optical signal and the second uplink optical signal to the optical line terminal via the first uplink optical transmission path. Or, the first optical network unit and the second optical network unit transmit the first uplink optical signal and the second uplink optical signal to the optical line terminal via the same optical fiber.

[0107] For example, as shown in Figure 2, the uplink optical signals of m optical network units are transmitted to the optical line terminal through the same transmission path. In some embodiments, the uplink optical signals of the m optical network units are transmitted to the optical line terminal through the same optical fiber. This simplifies the system structure.

[0108] In some embodiments, the transmission times of the first uplink optical signal and the second uplink optical signal are different. In other words, the first uplink optical signal and the second uplink optical signal are transmitted in a time-division multiplexing manner. For example, the uplink optical signals of the m optical network units in Figure 2 are transmitted at different times. This ensures that only one ONU is transmitting data at any given time, thereby avoiding interference between signals.

[0109] In some embodiments, the transmission timing of the uplink optical signal can be implemented based on the optical control unit. As shown in FIG3, the optical network unit 2 further includes an optical control unit 203, which can be used to control the transmission of the uplink optical signal. For example, it can be used to control the transmission timing of the uplink optical signal modulated by the uplink optical modulator 202, so that the uplink optical signal is transmitted to the optical line terminal 1 at the corresponding transmission timing. Taking the first optical network unit and the second optical network unit as examples, the optical control unit 203 of the first optical network unit, such as optical network unit 2-1, can be used to control the transmission timing of the first uplink optical signal, and the optical control unit 203 of the second optical network unit, such as optical network unit 2-1, can be used to control the transmission timing of the second uplink optical signal, so that the first transmission timing of the first uplink optical signal is different from the second transmission timing of the second uplink optical signal.

[0110] In some embodiments, the optical control unit 203 may be an optical switch or a variable optical attenuator (VOA), and this disclosure does not limit it.

[0111] In other embodiments, the uplink optical signals of m optical network units are transmitted to the optical line terminal via different transmission paths. In some embodiments, the uplink optical signals of m optical network units are transmitted to the optical line terminal via different optical fibers.

[0112] For example, a communication system includes a first uplink optical transmission path and a second uplink optical transmission path. The first uplink optical signal is transmitted to the optical line terminal through the first uplink optical transmission path, and the second uplink optical signal is transmitted to the optical line terminal through the second uplink optical transmission path.

[0113] In some embodiments, the first uplink optical transmission path and the second uplink optical transmission path are deployed on different optical fibers.

[0114] The following diagram illustrates the implementation scheme for controlling the transmission of uplink optical signals at different times.

[0115] Figure 4 is an architecture diagram of an optical network unit according to some embodiments.

[0116] In some implementations, the optical receiving unit 201, the uplink optical modulator 202, and the optical control unit 203 can be deployed on the silicon photonics chip A of the optical network unit 2 to control the devices integrated on the silicon photonics chip A based on the electrical chip B.

[0117] In some embodiments, the silicon photonics chip A can be a photonics integrated circuit (PIC). Here, the light receiving unit 201 deployed on the silicon photonics chip A can be, but is not limited to, manufactured using silicon-based silicon-germanium process or based on a type of III-V semiconductor material. That is, the light receiving unit 201 can be a silicon-based silicon-germanium process PIN photodiode, or an avalanche photodiode detector (APD), or a III-V semiconductor-based light receiver PIN or APD. The uplink light modulator 202 deployed on the silicon photonics chip can be manufactured based on a material of silicon or lithium niobate. That is, it can be a silicon-based modulator or a lithium niobate-based modulator, and this disclosure does not limit it in this way.

[0118] In some embodiments, the silicon photonics chip has a transmission mode MOD, which can be switched by the optical control unit 203 based on the transmission time of different uplink optical signals. Different transmission modes MOD may include, but are not limited to, a first signal transmission mode based on the optical receiving unit 201, a second signal transmission mode based on the uplink optical modulator 202, and a third signal transmission mode that does not process the received signal.

[0119] In some implementations, the control of the uplink optical signal transmission timing by the optical control unit 203 can be mainly achieved by the control of the optical control unit 203 by the electrical chip B.

[0120] In some embodiments, the electrical chip B can be an Electronic Integrated Circuit (EIC) chip, which may include an optical driver chip and a Media Access Control (MAC) chip C. Here, the optical driver chip can be, for example, a Transimpedance Amplifier (TIA) chip D or a Laser Driver (LD Driver) chip E, mainly used to implement photoelectric signal driving and photoelectric signal processing functions; the Media Access Control (MAC) chip C can be mainly located in the physical layer and data link layer, used to control the optical control unit 203 on the silicon photonics chip A to perform signal transmission. For example, the transmission time of the uplink optical signal can be controlled by controlling the optical control unit 203.

[0121] In some embodiments, an optical network unit can be integrated based on the vehicle-mounted device 204, the silicon photonics chip A, and the electrical chip B. Here, the vehicle-mounted device 204, the silicon photonics chip A, and the electrical chip B can be deployed in a discrete or integrated manner, and this disclosure does not limit this.

[0122] In some embodiments, in each optical network unit, the vehicle-mounted optical communication device, silicon photonics chip, and electrical chip can be integrated on the same printed circuit board (PCB); m optical network units as shown in Figure 4 can be integrated on the same printed circuit board (PCB). The optical network unit shown in Figure 4 does not contain a temperature-sensitive light emitting unit, and its silicon photonics chip is fabricated using complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The optical network unit shown in Figure 4 has the characteristics of high temperature resistance (e.g., -40℃ to 125℃), high reliability, and high consistency.

[0123] For controlling m optical network units to send uplink optical signals at different transmission times, it is understood that the transmission times of the uplink optical signals of the m optical network units are different, and the working time periods of the different optical network units are different.

[0124] The following example illustrates how different transmission times of uplink optical signals from m optical network units can be achieved.

[0125] The uplink optical signals of m optical network units are transmitted at different times, which can be understood as the uplink signals of m optical network units being transmitted in a time-division multiplexing manner. Assume the transmission time of each ONU is t (t1~t2). nHere, t ranges from 125±120us, for example, [5us, 245us]. When the first optical network unit is working, only the optical control unit 203 of the first optical network unit is allowed to control the first optical network unit, for example, optical network unit 2-1, to transmit the first uplink optical signal. At this time, the other optical network units, for example, optical network unit 2-2, are in a non-working state. When the other optical network units, for example, optical network unit 2-2, are working, they can also be processed in the same way as described above. In this way, the optical control unit 203 ensures that the working time periods of different optical network units (ONUs) are different, so as to realize time-division uplink signal transmission.

[0126] In some implementations, when the first optical carrier λ0' is transmitted to the silicon photonics chip of the first optical network unit, for example to the uplink optical modulator of the silicon photonics chip, the uplink optical modulator 202 in the silicon photonics chip A can be driven by an optical driver chip, such as Driver chip E, to modulate the first optical carrier λ0' based on the first electrical signal to obtain the first uplink optical signal. During the modulation process, the electrical signal to optical signal conversion is completed. At this time, the optical control unit 203 of the first optical network unit will not send the first uplink optical signal to the optical line terminal. When the transmission time of the first uplink optical signal is reached, the optical control unit 203 can be controlled by the electrical chip B of the first optical network unit 2-1, for example by the MAC chip C of the electrical chip B, to send the first uplink optical signal to the optical line terminal at the first transmission time.

[0127] As shown in Figure 2, the optical line terminal 1 may further include an optical receiving module 102, which includes an optical receiving unit 1021. The optical receiving unit 1021 is used to receive uplink optical signals transmitted by the optical network unit to obtain relevant information or data of the sensor or actuator. In some embodiments, the optical receiving unit 1021 may be a photodiode (PD) used as a photodetector, and this disclosure does not limit this.

[0128] The following section, with reference to the accompanying diagram, describes the implementation scheme for downlink optical signal transmission.

[0129] Figure 2 is a transmission process diagram of a communication system according to some embodiments.

[0130] In some embodiments, the optical transmitting module 101 further includes a downlink optical transmitting unit 1012, through which the optical line terminal 1 transmits downlink optical signals to the optical network unit. This enables the transmission of downlink signals.

[0131] In some embodiments, the downlink optical transmitting unit 1012 includes at least a downlink light source and a downlink optical modulator. The downlink light source is used to transmit a downlink optical carrier, and the downlink optical modulator is used to modulate the downlink optical carrier to obtain a downlink optical signal.

[0132] In some embodiments, the optical carrier emitted by the optical emitting unit can be realized via a laser diode (LD). Assuming the uplink optical emitting unit 1011 uses LD1, LD1 can continuously emit light, and the wavelength of the uplink optical carrier emitted by LD1 can be λ0, with a wavelength range of 380nm to 1600nm. Assuming the downlink optical emitting unit 1012 uses LD2, the wavelength of the uplink optical carrier emitted by LD2 can be λ1, with a wavelength range of [380nm, 1600nm], where λ1 ≠ λ0. It should be noted that the uplink optical emitting unit can use a semiconductor laser as the optical emitting unit, and the wavelength range of the emitted light source can cover [380nm, 1600nm]. The downlink optical emitting unit can use an electro-absorption modulated laser (EML) as the optical emitting unit; however, this disclosure does not impose any limitations on this.

[0133] In some embodiments, the wavelengths of the downlink optical signal and the uplink optical carrier (e.g., the first optical carrier and the second optical carrier) are different.

[0134] The downlink optical signals transmitted by the optical line terminal (OLT) to the first optical network unit (ONU) and the second optical network unit via the optical transmitting unit can be the same. For example, the communication system also includes a first downlink optical transmission path and a second downlink optical transmission path. The first downlink optical transmission path is used to transmit the downlink optical signals transmitted by the OLT to the first ONU, and the second downlink optical transmission path is used to transmit the downlink optical signals transmitted by the OLT to the second ONU.

[0135] In some embodiments, the downlink optical signal transmitted by the optical line terminal to the first optical network unit and the second optical network unit via the optical transmitting unit is a broadcast signal to m optical network units. This simplifies the downlink optical signal transmission process.

[0136] In some embodiments, the downlink optical signal includes a first indication field, which indicates the optical network unit corresponding to the downlink optical signal. Thus, upon receiving the downlink optical signal, the optical network unit indicated by the first indication field identifies that the downlink optical signal is addressed to it and performs reception processing on the signal. For example, the first indication field may include, but is not limited to, the identity document (ID) of the optical network unit corresponding to the downlink optical signal.

[0137] The transmission of downlink optical signals represents the process by which the optical line terminal (OLT) transmits downlink optical signals to the optical network unit (ONU).

[0138] In some embodiments, taking a first optical network unit as an example, the process of an optical line terminal transmitting a downlink optical signal to an optical network unit is described. The optical line terminal 1 transmits a downlink optical signal λ1' to a first optical network unit, such as optical network unit 2-1, via a downlink light source, such as LD2, included in the downlink optical transmitting unit 1012 of the optical transmitting module 101, through a first downlink optical transmission path. It should be noted that the identifiers for downlink optical signals transmitted to other optical network units can refer to the aforementioned identifiers for downlink optical signals, and this disclosure does not impose any limitations on this.

[0139] Referring to Figure 4, when the downlink optical signal λ1' is transmitted to the first optical network unit, the downlink optical signal is received by the optical receiving unit 201 on the silicon photonics chip A. Then, the downlink optical signal λ1' can be converted by the optical driving chip on the electrical chip B, such as the TIA chip D, thereby performing photoelectric signal conversion to obtain the downlink electrical signal.

[0140] In some embodiments, the downlink electrical signal can be transmitted to the vehicle-mounted device 204 via the MAC chip C on the electrical chip B. For example, the vehicle-mounted device 204 includes sensors or actuators. In some embodiments, the vehicle-mounted device 204 can receive the downlink electrical signal via broadcast. In some embodiments, the MAC chip C can receive and process the downlink electrical signal according to the indication field of the downlink electrical signal. The indication field of the downlink electrical signal can be used to indicate the identity of the sensor or actuator corresponding to the downlink electrical signal.

[0141] In some embodiments, multiple downlink optical signals can be sent to the optical line terminal through different downlink optical transmission paths. The optical line terminal sends its modulated downlink optical signal to each optical network unit through independent optical fibers, ensuring the reliability and stability of the transmission of each downlink optical signal and avoiding conflicts between downlink optical signals.

[0142] In some embodiments, the communication system further includes a first downlink optical transmission path and a second downlink optical transmission path. The first downlink optical transmission path is used to transmit downlink optical signals sent by the optical line terminal to the first optical network unit, and the second downlink optical transmission path is used to transmit downlink optical signals sent by the optical line terminal to the second optical network unit. Thus, the transmission paths of the first and second downlink optical signals are independent, making the transmission of the first and second downlink optical signals more stable.

[0143] In some embodiments, the first downlink optical transmission path and the first uplink optical carrier are deployed on the same optical fiber. This allows the first downlink optical signal and the first uplink optical carrier to be transmitted through the same optical fiber, simplifying the communication system.

[0144] In some embodiments of the communication system, uplink optical carriers and downlink optical signals sent by an optical line terminal to the same optical network unit are transmitted through the same optical fiber.

[0145] For example, the optical transmitter module of the optical line terminal can transmit the uplink optical carrier and downlink optical signal sent to m optical network units to the same main optical fiber. After passing through a splitter with a splitting ratio of 1:m, the signal is sent to m optical network units.

[0146] In some embodiments, the communication system further includes a wavelength division multiplexer, which is used to combine downlink optical signals and uplink optical carriers transmitted by the optical transmitting module of the communication system into a combined optical wave.

[0147] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG5, the communication system further includes a wavelength division multiplexer (WDM) 3. The wavelength division multiplexer 3 is mainly used to combine the downlink optical signal and the uplink optical carrier emitted by the optical transmitting module 101 of the communication system into a combined optical wave, so that the light source can be combined and transmitted in the same optical fiber.

[0148] In some embodiments, the downlink optical signal and the uplink optical carrier have different wavelengths. The downlink optical signal and the uplink optical carrier emitted by the optical transmitting module can be combined into a combined optical wave by wavelength division multiplexing 3. This enables the uplink optical carrier λ0' with wavelength λ0 emitted by the light source included in the uplink optical transmitting unit 1011, such as LD1, and the downlink optical signal λ1' with wavelength λ1 (λ1≠λ0) emitted by the downlink light source included in the downlink optical transmitting unit 1012, such as LD2, to be combined and transmitted in the same optical fiber. This simplifies the number of optical fibers and splitters and the bundle structure.

[0149] The combined optical wave obtained by wavelength division multiplexer 3 can be transmitted via optical fiber to optical splitter 4, which is connected to m optical network units. Optical splitter 4 can be used to divide the combined optical wave into m sub-waves, which are respectively sent to the m optical network units. The m sub-waves include a first sub-wave and a second sub-wave. The first sub-wave can be used to transmit to the first optical network unit, such as optical network unit 2-1, via a first optical transmission path; the second sub-wave can be used to transmit to the second optical network unit, such as optical network unit 2-2, via a second optical transmission path. In this way, the combined transmission of the first optical carrier and the second optical carrier in the same optical fiber can be realized.

[0150] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG5, the communication system further includes a Wavelength Division Demultiplexer Demux (WDM Demux) 5. The WDM Demux 5 can be used to separate a composite optical signal (containing multiple optical signals of different wavelengths) into individual optical signals. The separated individual optical signals have different wavelengths. For example, the combined optical wave can be divided into an uplink optical carrier and a downlink optical signal to realize the transmission of the uplink optical carrier and the downlink optical signal to the optical network unit.

[0151] The number of demultiplexers 5 can be m, as shown in Figure 5. Each of the m demultiplexers is communicatively connected to one of the m optical network units (ONUs). The splitter divides the combined optical wave output from the wavelength division multiplexer 3 into m sub-wavelengths and sends them to the m demultiplexers (5-1, 5-2, ..., 5-m). Each demultiplexer separates the received sub-wavelengths into an optical carrier and a downlink optical signal, and sends the optical carrier to the uplink modulator of the corresponding ONU and the downlink optical signal to the optical receiver of the corresponding ONU.

[0152] For example, the communication system may include a first dewavelength division multiplexer 5-1 communicatively connected to a first optical network unit and a second dewavelength division multiplexer 5-2 communicatively connected to a second optical network unit. The first dewavelength division multiplexer can be used to divide a first sub-optical wave into a first optical carrier and a downlink optical signal, and transmit the first optical carrier to the uplink optical modulator of the first optical network unit and transmit the downlink optical signal to the optical receiving unit of the first optical network unit; the second dewavelength division multiplexer is used to divide a second sub-optical wave into a second optical carrier and a downlink optical signal, and transmit the second optical carrier to the uplink optical modulator of the second optical network unit and transmit the downlink optical signal to the optical receiving unit of the second optical network unit.

[0153] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG5, the first demultiplexer 5-1 sends the received sub-wavelength separated optical carrier and downlink optical signal to the corresponding optical network unit 2-1, the second demultiplexer 5-2 sends the received sub-wavelength separated optical carrier and downlink optical signal to the corresponding optical network unit 2-2, and the demultiplexer 5-m sends the received sub-wavelength separated optical carrier and downlink optical signal to the corresponding optical network unit 2-m.

[0154] Some embodiments of this disclosure use a dewavelength division multiplexer to transmit multiple optical signals of different wavelengths on the same optical fiber, thereby improving the utilization efficiency of the optical fiber and the capacity of the system.

[0155] In some implementations, the communication system includes multiple optical network unit groups, each optical network unit group including a splitter and at least one optical network unit, and at least one optical network unit in the multiple optical network unit groups is communicatively connected to an optical line terminal through the splitter of the optical network unit group.

[0156] As shown in Figures 6-8, the communication system includes multiple optical splitters, and each of the multiple optical splitters is connected to one or more optical network units in an optical network unit group.

[0157] Multiple optical network unit groups include a first optical network unit group and a second optical network unit group. The first optical network unit group and the second optical network unit group each include m optical network units. The optical splitter of the first optical network unit group is communicatively connected to the optical line terminal. The first optical transmission path is deployed on the optical fiber connecting the optical line terminal and the optical splitter of the first optical network unit group, the optical splitter of the first optical network unit group, and the optical fiber connecting the first optical network unit and the optical splitter of the m optical network units. The second optical transmission path is deployed on the optical fiber connecting the optical line terminal and the optical splitter of the second optical network unit group, the optical splitter of the second optical network unit group, and the optical fiber connecting the second optical network unit and the optical splitter of the m optical network units.

[0158] In some embodiments, the optical transmission module of an optical line terminal (OLT) includes multiple downlink optical transmission units. When the multiple downlink optical transmission units include a first downlink optical transmission unit and a second downlink optical transmission unit, the downlink optical signal transmitted by the OLT to the first optical network unit group is transmitted by the first downlink optical transmission unit, and the downlink optical signal transmitted by the OLT to the second optical network unit group is transmitted by the second downlink optical transmission unit. Thus, the optical transmission module of the OLT can include multiple downlink optical transmission units, and each downlink optical transmission unit can transmit downlink optical signals to at least one optical network unit group. This improves the reliability of the communication system.

[0159] In some embodiments, the communication system may include at least one main optical fiber 6, with both ends of each main optical fiber 6 connected to an optical line terminal 1, and the splitters 4 of multiple optical network unit groups 2' communicating with the optical line terminal 1 through the main optical fiber, with each main optical fiber connected to at least one splitter of an optical network unit group.

[0160] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG6, the main optical fiber is in a loop, and the communication system includes two main optical fibers 6, with multiple optical splitters 4 connected to the two main optical fibers 6. Each optical splitter 4 is connected to one or more optical network units 2 of an optical network unit group 2'.

[0161] In some embodiments, the communication system includes multiple master optical fibers. In one implementation, the multiple master optical fibers share the same optical transmitting module. This simplifies the system. In another implementation, the optical transmitting modules of the multiple master optical fibers are different. This ensures the independence of communication between the two master optical fibers, improves system reliability, and also helps to increase system bandwidth.

[0162] A backbone communication network based on a ring-shaped main optical fiber can be called a ring optical network. In vehicle applications, it can include at least one ring optical network. Each ring optical network can include at least one optical network unit group 2', with different optical network unit groups connecting to different vehicle-mounted optical communication areas. Each ring optical network consists of n (n≥1) optical network unit groups 2'. A single optical network unit group 2' can be connected to one or more optical network units. Each optical network unit group 2' can have m optical network units (ONUs), where m≥1. The number of optical network units (ONUs) connected to each optical network unit group 2' can be the same or different.

[0163] In some embodiments, an optical network unit group 2' may be deployed within an optical box.

[0164] In the design of a single ring optical network, as shown in Figure 7, the nth optical network unit group and the (n-1th)th optical network unit group in the n optical network unit group can be interconnected. In this design, direct physical or logical connections are allowed between the optical network unit groups, that is, each optical network unit group can establish connections with other optical network unit groups to form a network structure.

[0165] In some embodiments, the optical splitter divides the optical carrier into m parts. The intensity of the optical carrier received by each optical network unit group will be weaker than the original signal. To ensure that the optical network units within each optical network unit group can receive a sufficiently strong optical signal for effective communication, the splitting ratio of the optical splitter is typically configured to determine the intensity of the optical carrier received by each optical network unit. The specific splitting ratio configuration depends on the actual design requirements.

[0166] In some embodiments, in a single ring optical network, the number of optical network units in each optical network unit group is m. When the passive beam splitter in each optical network unit group divides the light source into different optical network unit groups according to the splitting ratio, the splitting ratio of the passive beam splitter can be 1:m+1, where m≥1. That is, it can be expressed as dividing the light source into the interconnected optical network unit groups in a ratio of 1:m+1. The m+1 optical paths can be equally divided or unequally divided, and this disclosure does not limit this.

[0167] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG8, the main optical fibers are star-shaped, and the communication system includes six main optical fibers 6, with multiple optical splitters 4 connected to the six main optical fibers 6. Each optical splitter 4 is connected to one or more optical network units 2 of an optical network unit group 2'.

[0168] In some embodiments, the communication system may include multiple master optical fibers. In one implementation, the multiple master optical fibers share the same optical transmitting module. This simplifies the system. In another implementation, the multiple master optical fibers use different optical transmitting modules. This ensures the independence of communication between the two master optical fibers and improves system reliability.

[0169] A backbone communication network based on a star-shaped main optical fiber can be called a star optical network. In vehicle applications, it can include at least one star optical network. Each star optical network can include at least one optical network unit group 2', with different optical network unit groups connecting to different vehicle-mounted optical communication areas. Each ring optical network consists of n (n≥1) optical network unit groups 2'. A single optical network unit group 2' can be connected to one or more optical network units. Each optical network unit group 2' can have m optical network units (ONUs), where m≥1. The number of optical network units (ONUs) connected to each optical network unit group 2' can be the same or different.

[0170] In the design of a single star-shaped optical network, as shown in Figure 9, the n optical network unit groups can operate independently. In this design, each optical network unit group can operate independently, that is, each optical network unit group can independently receive and transmit optical signals and process data without being interfered with or affected by other optical network unit groups.

[0171] In some embodiments, in a single star-shaped optical network, the number of optical network units in each optical network unit group is m. When the passive beam splitter in each optical network unit group divides the light source into different optical network unit groups according to the splitting ratio, the splitting ratio of the passive beam splitter is 1:m, where m≥1. That is, the light source can be divided into interconnected optical network unit groups according to a ratio of 1:m. The m optical paths can be equally or unequally divided, and this disclosure does not limit this.

[0172] In some embodiments, each optical network unit group can be used to connect to its surrounding optical network units (ONUs), so that each optical network unit group consisting of m optical network units can communicate with the optical line terminal through a splitter, thereby realizing the communication connection between the m optical network units as a whole and the optical line terminal via the main optical fiber.

[0173] In other embodiments, without sharing a main optical fiber, the splitters of multiple optical network unit groups can also communicate with optical line terminals through different optical fibers, which is not a limitation of this disclosure.

[0174] Multiple optical network unit groups include a second optical network unit group. The downlink optical signal sent by the optical line terminal to the first optical network unit group has a different wavelength than the downlink optical signal sent by the optical line terminal to the second optical network unit group.

[0175] In some embodiments, the downlink optical signal sent by the optical line terminal to the first optical network unit group has a different wavelength than the downlink optical signal sent to the second optical network unit group. This design allows multiple downlink optical signals of different wavelengths to be transmitted simultaneously on the same optical fiber without mutual interference by using wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) technology. Furthermore, in the case of sharing a main fiber, the downlink optical signals received by different splitters have different wavelengths, which means that the downlink optical signal received by each optical network unit group can be of a specific wavelength, thereby avoiding conflicts with signals from other optical network unit groups.

[0176] The downlink optical signal sent to each optical network unit group is a broadcast signal. The downlink optical signals sent to different optical network unit groups can be different, or they can be the same.

[0177] In some implementations, the downlink optical signal sent by the optical line terminal to each optical network unit group is a broadcast signal for each optical network unit group, thereby ensuring that the downlink optical signal received by each optical network unit group is of a specific wavelength, thus ensuring the correct allocation and reception of the signal.

[0178] In other embodiments, the downlink optical signal sent by the optical line terminal to each optical network element group is a broadcast signal to all optical network element groups; that is, the downlink optical signal sent to multiple optical network element groups can be the same. In some embodiments, the downlink optical signal sent by the optical line terminal to the m optical network elements of the first optical network element group is the same.

[0179] In some embodiments, the wavelengths of the downlink optical signals sent by the optical line terminal to the splitters of the multiple optical network unit groups may be the same; or, the wavelengths of the downlink optical signals sent by the optical line terminal to the splitters of the multiple optical network unit groups may be different.

[0180] In some embodiments, the downlink optical signals sent by the optical line terminal to the splitters of multiple optical network unit groups can use the same wavelength or different wavelengths, depending on the actual application scenario. Downlink optical signals of the same wavelength can be mainly transmitted to the optical network unit groups by broadcasting, while downlink optical signals of different wavelengths can usually utilize wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) technology, allowing multiple optical signals of different wavelengths to be transmitted simultaneously on the same optical fiber without mutual interference.

[0181] In some embodiments, different optical network unit groups 2' can be separate or interconnected by optical fiber via passive splitters.

[0182] In some embodiments, an optical network unit group 2' can be deployed in an optical box. Each optical box can also include a splitter connected to the optical network units contained in an optical network unit group 2' within the optical box. The splitter is connected to the main optical fiber and can be used to split the light source into the optical network units contained in the optical network unit group 2' and the next splitter on the main optical fiber. Here, the light sources divided into different optical boxes may be equally or unequally divided, and this disclosure does not limit this.

[0183] The communication system proposed in some embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to a centralized electronic and electrical architecture.

[0184] In some embodiments, the above architecture can be an optical network architecture including a central computing platform, an optical transmitting module of an optical line terminal, and an optical receiving module of an optical line terminal. Based on the aforementioned architecture, the vehicle-mounted optical communication devices of different control domains of the vehicle can be integrated via optical boxes to realize signal transmission between the vehicle-mounted optical communication devices and the central computing platform, thereby realizing the transmission of vehicle data and meeting the high network bandwidth requirements. Furthermore, the optical fiber communication transmission based on the optical network architecture can avoid radiation interference caused by the complex electromagnetic environment of electric vehicles during the transmission of vehicle data.

[0185] In some embodiments, the optical transmitter module (LD) and the optical receiver module (PD) can be deployed around the optical line terminal 1. This can be understood as the distance between the optical transmitter module and the central computing platform 1' where the optical line terminal 1 is located being less than a set distance, so that the optical transmitter module (LD) and the optical receiver module (PD) can be integrated in the area surrounding the central computing platform 1'. This allows the optical transmitter module (LD) to share the vehicle's cooling system with the central computing platform 1', achieving centralized cooling of the optical transmitter module (LD). This applies optical communication technology to the high-temperature vehicle environment to achieve cooling of the optical transmitter module (LD) at high vehicle temperatures, thereby ensuring the optical power of the optical transmitter module and extending the service life of the optical transmitter unit.

[0186] In some embodiments, considering that the optical receiver module PD is also affected by the high temperature in the vehicle environment to some extent, the optical transmitter module LD and the optical receiver module PD are concentrated around the central computing platform 1', thereby further reducing the impact of temperature on the optical communication network and improving the overall communication quality of the communication system.

[0187] It should be noted that the optical transmitting module LD and the optical receiving module PD are deployed around the optical line terminal 1, which can refer to any position above, below, or around the optical line terminal at a distance less than a set distance; the set distance can be determined based on at least one of the types of cooling systems or the heat exchange methods between the cooling system and the central computing platform, and this disclosure does not limit it.

[0188] In some implementations, the cooling system may include one or more of a cold plate, evaporator, fan, plate heat exchanger, heat pipe or semiconductor cooler.

[0189] In some embodiments, cooling electronic devices, such as thermoelectric coolers (TECs) or water-cooling systems used in automobiles based on a central integrated architecture, can be deployed in the area surrounding the central computing platform to cool the light emitting module at high vehicle temperatures (e.g., 105°C), enabling the light emitting module to meet the high-temperature operating requirements of the vehicle.

[0190] In some implementations, the cooling system can be part of the vehicle's thermal management system to cool the central computing platform, optical emitting module, and optical receiving module without adding an additional heat exchange system.

[0191] It should be noted that the transmission rate of the optical transmitting module and the optical receiving module can be greater than or equal to 1Gbps. For example, the transmission rate of the optical transmitting module and the optical receiving module can be 5Gbps, 10Gbps, 25Gbps, 50Gbps, or 100Gbps, or it can be an intermediate bandwidth value within the aforementioned range. Here, although the optical power and reliability of the optical transmitting module are affected by the highest temperature of the vehicle environment (which can reach 125°C) in related technologies, thus affecting the communication quality of the ring optical network, in some embodiments of this disclosure, the optical transmitting module and the optical receiving module are integrated around the central computing platform where optical line terminals are deployed, and can be cooled by a semiconductor cooler (TEC) or a water-cooling system used in automobiles based on a centrally integrated architecture, to avoid the aforementioned problems.

[0192] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the optical fiber used can be a silicon dioxide transmission medium to meet the high-speed data stream formed by the optical carrier and solve the problem of vehicle bandwidth requirements. The optical network unit can use silicon photonics chips to further make the transmission process unaffected by electromagnetic radiation interference. In addition, some embodiments of this disclosure can improve the reliability of optical communication by using silicon photonics technology to achieve a high degree of integration of optical receiving unit, uplink optical modulator and vehicle optical communication device in optical network unit.

[0193] It should be noted that the transmission methods of the ring optical network design and the star optical network design can be referred to Figure 2, and will not be elaborated here; the topology of the backbone communication network can also be designed using other topologies, and this disclosure does not limit this.

[0194] Secondly, some embodiments of this disclosure also provide a vehicle, which may include the communication system described above.

[0195] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner, with each embodiment focusing on the differences from other embodiments. The same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to each other.

[0196] Some embodiments of this disclosure are described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatuses, electronic devices, and computer program products according to some embodiments of this disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing terminal equipment to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing terminal equipment, create means for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowchart illustrations and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0197] While preferred embodiments of some embodiments of this disclosure have been described, those skilled in the art, upon learning the basic inventive concept, can make other changes and modifications to these embodiments. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including the preferred embodiments as well as all changes and modifications falling within the scope of some embodiments of this disclosure.

[0198] Finally, it should be noted that in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or terminal device that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or terminal device. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or terminal device that includes said element.

[0199] The communication system and vehicle provided in this disclosure have been described in detail above. Examples have been used to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of this disclosure. The descriptions of the above embodiments are only for the purpose of helping to understand the methods and core ideas of this disclosure. In addition, for those skilled in the art, there will be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope based on the ideas of this disclosure. Therefore, the content of this specification should not be construed as a limitation of this disclosure.

Claims

A vehicle communication system, comprising: Optical line terminal; and There are m optical network units, including a first optical network unit and a second optical network unit, where m is a positive integer and m≥2; The optical line terminal is configured to send a first optical carrier to the first optical network unit via a first optical transmission path, and to send a second optical carrier to the second optical network unit via a second optical transmission path. The first optical carrier is used by the first optical network unit to modulate a first uplink optical signal, and the second optical carrier is used by the second optical network unit to modulate a second uplink optical signal. At least a portion of the first optical transmission path and at least a portion of the second optical transmission path are respectively deployed on different optical fibers. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein, The optical line terminal includes an optical transmitting module. The optical transmitting module includes a first uplink optical transmitting unit, wherein the first optical carrier and the second optical carrier are transmitted by the first uplink optical transmitting unit; or, The optical transmitting module includes a first uplink optical transmitting unit and a second uplink optical transmitting unit. The first optical carrier is transmitted by the first uplink optical transmitting unit, and the second optical carrier is transmitted by the second uplink optical transmitting unit. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein, The optical transmitting module includes a first uplink optical transmitting unit, wherein the first optical carrier and the second optical carrier are transmitted by the first uplink optical transmitting unit; The communication system further includes a splitter that is communicatively connected to the m optical network units. The splitter is communicatively connected to the first uplink optical transmitting unit. The splitter is configured to divide the optical carrier emitted by the first uplink optical transmitting unit into multiple optical carriers, the multiple optical carriers including the first optical carrier and the second optical carrier. The communication system according to claim 3, wherein, The optical splitter is connected to the first optical network unit via a first optical fiber, and the optical splitter is connected to the second optical network unit via a second optical fiber. The first optical transmission path is deployed on the first optical fiber, and the second optical transmission path is deployed on the second optical fiber. The communication system according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein, The first optical network unit includes: An optical receiving unit, configured to receive the first optical carrier; and An uplink optical modulator is configured to modulate a first uplink optical signal based on the first optical carrier and transmit the first uplink optical signal to the optical line terminal. The communication system according to claim 5, wherein, The first transmission time of the first uplink optical signal is different from the second transmission time of the second uplink optical signal. The communication system according to claim 6, wherein, The first optical network unit further includes an optical control unit, which is configured to control the transmission time of the first uplink optical signal. The communication system according to claim 7, wherein, The optical control unit is an optical switch or an adjustable fiber optic attenuator (VOA). The communication system according to any one of claims 1-8 further includes a first uplink optical transmission path, wherein the first uplink optical signal and the second uplink optical signal are transmitted to the optical line terminal through the first uplink optical transmission path. The communication system according to any one of claims 1-8 further includes a first uplink optical transmission path and a second uplink optical transmission path, wherein the first uplink optical signal is transmitted to the optical line terminal through the first uplink optical transmission path, and the second uplink optical signal is transmitted to the optical line terminal through the second uplink optical transmission path. The communication system according to claim 10, wherein, The first uplink optical transmission path and the second uplink optical transmission path are deployed on different optical fibers. The communication system according to any one of claims 1-11 further includes: The first downlink optical transmission path is used to transmit downlink optical signals sent by the optical line terminal to the first optical network unit. and The second downlink optical transmission path is configured to transmit downlink optical signals sent by the optical line terminal to the second optical network unit. The communication system according to claim 12, wherein, The downlink optical signal is a broadcast signal sent to the m optical network units. The communication system according to claim 13, wherein, The downlink optical signal includes a first indication field, which is configured to indicate the optical network unit corresponding to the downlink optical signal. The communication system according to claim 12, wherein, The first downlink optical transmission path and the first optical transmission path are deployed on the same optical fiber. The communication system according to claim 12, wherein, The downlink optical signal has a different wavelength than the first optical carrier. The communication system according to claim 12, wherein, The optical line terminal includes an optical transmitting module, which includes a downlink optical transmitting unit, through which the downlink optical signal is transmitted. The communication system according to claim 17, wherein, The downlink optical transmitting unit includes a downlink light source and a downlink optical modulator. The downlink light source is configured to transmit a downlink optical carrier, and the downlink optical modulator is configured to modulate the downlink optical carrier to obtain the downlink optical signal. The communication system according to claim 12 further includes: A wavelength division multiplexer configured to combine the downlink optical signal and the uplink optical carrier emitted by the optical transmitting module of the communication system into a combined optical wave; The combined optical wave is transmitted via optical fiber to a splitter connected to the m optical network units. The splitter is configured to divide the combined optical wave into m sub-waves that are respectively sent to the m optical network units. The m sub-light waves include a first sub-light wave and a second sub-light wave. The first sub-light wave is configured to be transmitted to the first optical network unit via the first optical transmission path, and the second sub-light wave is configured to be transmitted to the second optical network unit via the second optical transmission path. First wavelength division multiplexer; The first dewavelength division multiplexer is configured to divide the first sub-optical wave into the first optical carrier and the downlink optical signal, and transmit the first optical carrier to the uplink optical modulator of the first optical network unit and transmit the downlink optical signal to the optical receiving unit of the first optical network unit. and The second demultiplexer is configured to divide the second sub-optical wavelength into the second optical carrier and the downlink optical signal, and transmit the second optical carrier to the uplink optical modulator of the second optical network unit and transmit the downlink optical signal to the optical receiving unit of the second optical network unit. The communication system according to any one of claims 1-19 further includes a plurality of optical network unit groups, each of the plurality of optical network unit groups including a splitter and at least one optical network unit, wherein the at least one optical network unit in the plurality of optical network unit groups is communicatively connected to the optical line terminal through the splitter of the optical network unit group; The plurality of optical network unit groups include a first optical network unit group and a second optical network unit group. The first optical network unit group and the second optical network unit group each include the m optical network units. The splitter of the first optical network unit group is communicatively connected to the optical line terminal. The first optical transmission path is deployed on the optical fiber connecting the optical line terminal and the splitter of the first optical network unit group, the splitter of the first optical network unit group, and the optical fiber connecting the first optical network unit and the splitter of the m optical network units. The second optical transmission path is deployed on the optical fiber connecting the optical line terminal and the splitter of the second optical network unit group, the splitter of the second optical network unit group, and the optical fiber connecting the second optical network unit and the splitter of the m optical network units. The communication system according to claim 20 further includes a main optical fiber, the two ends of which are connected to the optical line terminal, and the splitters of the plurality of optical network unit groups are communicatively connected to the optical line terminal through the main optical fiber. The communication system according to claim 21, wherein, The plurality of optical network unit groups includes a second optical network unit group, and the downlink optical signal sent by the optical line terminal to the first optical network unit group has a different wavelength than the downlink optical signal sent by the optical line terminal to the second optical network unit group. The communication system according to any one of claims 20-22, wherein, The downlink optical signals sent by the optical line terminal to the m optical network units of the first optical network unit group are the same. The communication system according to claim 22, wherein, The optical transmission module of the optical line terminal includes multiple downlink optical transmission units, including a first downlink optical transmission unit and a second downlink optical transmission unit; the downlink optical signal sent by the optical line terminal to the first optical network unit group is sent by the first downlink optical transmission unit, and the downlink optical signal sent by the optical line terminal to the second optical network unit group is sent by the second downlink optical transmission unit. The communication system according to claim 20, wherein, The optical splitters of the multiple optical network unit groups are respectively connected to the optical line terminal via different optical fibers. The communication system according to claim 25, wherein, The wavelengths of the downlink optical signals sent by the optical line terminal to the splitters of the plurality of optical network unit groups are the same; or, The wavelengths of the downlink optical signals sent by the optical line terminal to the splitters of the multiple optical network unit groups are different. The communication system according to any one of claims 1-26, wherein, The optical line terminal is connected to the controller, or, The optical line terminal is deployed on the controller; The controller can be a domain controller or a central controller. The communication system according to claim 27, wherein, The optical transmission module of the optical line terminal is deployed around the controller. The communication system according to any one of claims 1-28, wherein, The first optical network unit is connected to the vehicle-mounted device; or, The first optical network unit is deployed in the vehicle-mounted device; The vehicle-mounted devices include sensors or actuators. A vehicle comprising a communication system according to any one of claims 1-29.

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