ECU Signal Mapping for Universal Vehicle Occupancy Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle safety systems fail to provide a universal solution for deciphering and utilizing sensors across different car makes and models to prevent vehicular heatstroke, particularly for vulnerable passengers, due to complexities in accessing and interpreting control unit signals.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that uses a dongle to access and decipher signals from a vehicle's electronic control unit, mapping sensor data to relevant sensors, and employing a software application to trigger alerts and safety measures, such as lowering windows or activating the car alarm, to prevent heatstroke by monitoring occupancy and alerting guardians or emergency services.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If vehicle built-in sensors and systems are used for monitoring occupancy, then the need for additional hardware is reduced, but the difficulty of deciphering control signals increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary device (monitoring system with decoding capability) that acts as a mediator between the vehicle's control unit and the user. This intermediary translates the proprietary control signals into understandable occupancy status information, resolving the contradiction by maintaining use of built-in sensors while eliminating the deciphering difficulty.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a universal solution is created to work across different vehicle makes and models, then the applicability of the system increases, but the complexity of handling diverse signal formats increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal monitoring system capable of interfacing with multiple vehicle makes and models through a standardized interface. The system uses a database of signal formats and automatic detection capabilities to handle diverse vehicle protocols, achieving universality without proportionally increasing complexity for each specific vehicle type.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adapts to different vehicle types by changing its operational parameters - specifically the signal decoding parameters - based on the detected vehicle make and model. This allows a single device to handle multiple signal formats by dynamically adjusting its interpretation parameters rather than requiring separate hardware for each vehicle type.
3Ease of manufacture
If existing vehicle sensors are utilized without manufacturer modification, then the ease of implementation improves, but the reliability of signal interpretation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring system performs self-configuration and self-calibration by automatically detecting the vehicle type and learning the specific signal patterns through initial operation. This self-service capability allows the system to reliably interpret signals from any vehicle without requiring manufacturer-specific modifications or manual configuration, thus maintaining both ease of implementation and reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for deciphering signals and messages from a control unit, and mapping those signals to the associated sensors to create a map of the sensor status. The map of the sensor status is then used in conjunction with a dongle and software application to interface with the control unit, able to receive messages from the control unit to monitor the status of the sensors, and to send messages to the control unit to manipulate the sensors. The system and method can further be used to interface with the electronic control unit of a vehicle to detect unattended access of the vehicle and ensure no passengers are left abandoned in the vehicle, such as by sending alerts to a mobile device of the user, triggering alarms in the vehicle, or sending alerts to emergency services.