Core ECU Wake-Up Scheduling for Sleeping Slave ECUs
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Solution Overview
Problem
In-vehicle electronic systems face challenges in managing and reducing power consumption when the ignition power source is turned off, as existing systems require ECUs to maintain time management functions and wake-up timers, leading to increased costs and power usage.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a core ECU that manages activation times for multiple ECUs through a communication network, allowing ECUs without time management functions to sleep and reducing the need for timers in individual ECUs, while using a management table to coordinate activation signals across ECUs connected to the same network, thereby minimizing power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If ECUs maintain time management functions and wake-up timers, then activation timing can be managed autonomously, but power consumption increases and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The time management function is extracted from individual ECUs and centralized in the master ECU. Slave ECUs no longer need to maintain wake-up timers or time management functions, allowing them to remain in sleep mode with minimal power consumption while the master ECU handles all timing coordination through the communication network.
Solution Approach 2:
The master ECU assumes a universal time management role for the entire vehicle system, serving multiple slave ECUs simultaneously. This centralized approach allows one ECU to perform the time management function that previously required each individual ECU to maintain independently.
2Ease of operation
If ECUs maintain time management functions and wake-up timers, then autonomous activation is possible, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The time management function is extracted from individual ECUs and centralized in the master ECU. Slave ECUs no longer need to maintain wake-up timers or time management functions, allowing them to remain in sleep mode with minimal power consumption while the master ECU handles all timing coordination through the communication network.
3Reliability
If ECUs are activated individually without coordination, then each ECU can respond independently, but power consumption increases due to frequent wake-ups
Solution Approach 1:
The activation coordination function is merged at the master ECU level. The master ECU consolidates activation requests from multiple slave ECUs and issues coordinated activation signals through the communication network, allowing slave ECUs to remain synchronized and sleep longer without missing critical activation opportunities.
4Use of energy by moving object
If a management table is implemented for coordinated activation, then power consumption is reduced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The management table acts as an intermediary data structure in the master ECU that coordinates activation timing. It stores activation timing information for multiple slave ECUs and enables the master ECU to issue coordinated activation signals, reducing the need for slave ECUs to wake up frequently while maintaining proper activation sequencing.
Data Source
AI summary
An in-vehicle electronic system comprises a core ECU (Electronic Control Unit) mounted in a vehicle and a plurality of slave ECUs that is capable of communicating with the core ECU through an in-vehicle communication network, wherein the core ECU is configured to manage a current time while a main power source of the vehicle is in an off state and manage an activation time of each of the plurality of slave ECUs in a sleep state with a management table while the main power source is in an off state, wherein the core ECU is configured to send an activation signal to each slave ECU through the in-vehicle communication network when the current time becomes the activation time of each of the plurality of slave ECUs while the main power source is in an off state.