Acknowledgement Engine for Automotive Ethernet Data Integrity

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Ethernet networks in automotive applications face issues with frame drops, duplications, and out-of-order frames, which reduce the robustness of Ethernet to the Edge Bus (E2B) protocol, particularly in noisy environments like 10BASE-TIS networks.

Innovation Solution

An acknowledgement engine is implemented to differentiate between mailbox data and streaming data by using a sequence number field in Protocol Data Units (PDUs), where mailbox data requires order and losslessness, and streaming data tolerates loss, with sequence numbers incrementing and rolling over to ensure data integrity and detect unexpected resets.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If sequence number field is added to differentiate data types and ensure reliability, then data integrity and robustness are improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata integrityVSAvoidprotocol complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The protocol segments data into two distinct types (mailbox data and streaming data) with different reliability requirements, allowing selective handling of each type through the sequence number field without requiring complete protocol redesign

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different quality levels are applied locally to different data types within the same communication stream, where mailbox data receives strict reliability treatment with sequence number tracking while streaming data tolerates loss, optimizing reliability where needed without compromising overall system complexity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If sequence number tracking is implemented to detect frame losses, then reliability is improved, but processing time and computational overhead increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveframe delivery assuranceVSAvoidprocessing time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements partial sequence number tracking only for mailbox data that requires reliability, rather than tracking all data uniformly, reducing computational overhead while maintaining necessary reliability guarantees for critical communications

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Solution Approach 2:

The sequence number field serves multiple functions: differentiating data types, tracking sequence for reliability, and detecting unexpected resets through parameter changes in the sequence number values, eliminating the need for separate detection mechanisms

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Reliability

If strict order delivery is enforced for mailbox data, then data integrity is improved, but productivity and throughput decrease

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata order assuranceVSAvoiddata throughput

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

Different quality levels are applied locally to different data types: mailbox data receives strict order delivery guarantees while streaming data tolerates out-of-order delivery and loss, allowing the system to maintain high throughput overall while ensuring reliability where critical

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The system applies partial ordering guarantees only to mailbox data rather than enforcing strict ordering on all data streams, allowing non-critical streaming data to be transmitted more freely and improving overall system productivity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

4Reliability

If sequence number rollover detection is implemented, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvereset detection accuracyVSAvoidsequence management complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The sequence number field automatically provides reset detection capability through its inherent rollover behavior, where a sequence number of zero indicates an unexpected reset condition, eliminating the need for separate detection circuitry or complex state management

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS20240333654A1Acknowledgement engine for robust ethernet communication to remote nodes

Publication Date: 2024.10.03 ANALOG DEVICES INT UNLTD CO

AI summary

A method is provided for managing data between an ECU and a remote node. The aspects include receiving a PDU from the ECU and differentiating between mailbox data and streaming data being included in the PDU. The mailbox data is required to be received in order and to be intolerable of a data loss. The streaming data is tolerable of the data loss. The aspects include comparing a sequence number of the PDU found in a sequence number field of the PDU to an expected sequence number of the PDU, the sequence number of the PDU being: incremented by one for each transmitted frame; configured to roll over to one; and equal to zero only responsive to an unexpected reset of the remote node. The aspects include sending a message to the ECU indicating a mismatch, responsive to the sequence number of the PDU mismatching the expected sequence number.