Electronic Control Unit Bank Switching for Data Consistency
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electronic control units face issues where a slave device receives mixed old and new data when a transmission/reception request is made from a master, leading to data inconsistency, and existing solutions require a reception completion interrupt which is not applicable in all data communication scenarios.
Innovation Solution
The electronic control unit design includes separate memory areas for master and slave devices with distinct banks for data storage and processing, allowing the slave to use new data without mixing it with old data by switching between different banks during transmission and reception processes, and utilizing a master data reflection process to update target data areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the slave receives a transmission/reception request from the master during updating of data, then data communication efficiency is improved, but data consistency deteriorates due to mixing of old and new data
Solution Approach 1:
The slave memory is divided into multiple reception slave banks (first reception slave bank and second reception slave bank) to separate old data and new data storage. When a transmission/reception request is received during data updating, the system switches to a different bank that contains only consistent data, preventing mixing of old and new data while maintaining communication efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system prepares multiple reception slave banks in advance, each capable of storing complete data sets. Before switching banks during data reception, the system ensures the target bank contains valid, consistent data. This preliminary preparation allows the slave to handle reception requests during updates without compromising data consistency.
2Reliability
If a reception completion interrupt is used to ensure data consistency, then data consistency is improved, but device complexity increases due to interrupt mechanism requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the data consistency guarantee mechanism from the interrupt-based approach and implements it through a bank switching mechanism. Instead of relying on reception completion interrupts to synchronize data, the system uses pre-prepared reception slave banks that can be switched to provide consistent data immediately, eliminating the need for complex interrupt coordination.
Solution Approach 2:
The reception slave banks act as intermediaries between the master transmitter and the slave processor. These banks buffer data in a way that allows the slave to access consistent data versions without requiring interrupt-driven synchronization, simplifying the overall control mechanism while maintaining data integrity.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is an electronic control unit including: a master microcomputer having a master memory (23) that includes a master target data area (A7), a plurality of transmission master banks (A2, A3), a transmission master information area (A1), a reception slave information area (A4) and a plurality of reception slave banks (A5, A6); and a slave microcomputer having a slave memory (33) that includes a slave target data area (B7), a plurality of transmission slave banks (B5, B6), a transmission slave information area (B4), a reception master information area (B1) and a plurality of reception master banks (B2, B3).