CAN Intermittent Fault Detection via Controller Self-Supervision
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing CAN systems are unable to effectively identify the root cause of faults, distinguish between transient and intermittent faults, and require separate monitoring hardware and detailed physical topology knowledge to detect faults in the network.
Innovation Solution
A method for monitoring a CAN that detects short-lived faults within a predefined time window, identifies inactive controllers associated with these faults, and uses filtering and reachability analysis to locate intermittent faults by integrating fault sets and employing a CAN monitoring routine that periodically checks controller status and updates fault information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate monitoring hardware and detailed physical topology knowledge are used to detect faults, then fault detection capability is improved, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The CAN controllers perform self-diagnosis by monitoring their own communication status and generating fault indicators internally. The system uses existing controller resources to detect faults without requiring separate monitoring hardware, as each controller supervises its own message transmission and reception activities.
Solution Approach 2:
A message intermediary layer is introduced that translates physical communication faults into standardized fault indicators. This intermediary mechanism allows controllers to detect faults through software-based message supervision rather than requiring direct physical topology monitoring hardware.
2Reliability
If separate monitoring hardware and detailed physical topology knowledge are used to detect faults, then fault detection capability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Controllers automatically perform fault detection on their own communication activities without requiring external monitoring equipment. The self-supervision mechanism monitors message transmission and reception status, automatically identifying faults in the communication network.
Solution Approach 2:
The fault indicator message serves as an intermediary that simplifies fault detection by translating complex physical communication failures into standardized, easily interpretable signals that can be processed by higher-level diagnostic systems.
3Reliability
If signal supervision and signal time-out monitoring are used at the interaction layer, then fault detection is achieved, but the ability to identify root cause and distinguish fault types deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The fault detection system is segmented into multiple functional layers: physical layer message supervision, data link layer fault indicator generation, and application layer root cause analysis. Each layer processes specific aspects of fault detection, with the message intermediary layer translating physical faults into diagnostic information that enables precise root cause identification.
Data Source
AI summary
A controller area network (CAN) has a plurality of CAN elements including a communication bus and a plurality of controllers. A method for monitoring the CAN includes detecting occurrences of a first short-lived fault and a second short-lived fault within a predefined time window. A first fault set including at least one inactive controller associated with the first short-lived fault and a second fault set including at least one inactive controller associated with the second short-lived fault are identified. An intermittent fault is located in the CAN based upon the first and second fault sets.