ECU Volatile Memory Loading via Valid Portion Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic control units (ECUs) face inefficiencies in using volatile memory storage capacity due to the loading of unused areas during software updates, leading to suboptimal memory utilization.
Innovation Solution
The ECU employs a control unit that loads data from nonvolatile memory into volatile memory based on valid portion information, utilizing a storage area with a designated margin portion for unchanged data, thereby avoiding excessive data rewriting and optimizing memory usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If an unused area (margin portion) is provided for every plurality of applications in the nonvolatile memory storage area, then data rewriting is avoided during software updates, but the volatile memory storage capacity is not efficiently used when loading data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the nonvolatile memory storage area into multiple application areas, each with its own margin portion. This allows independent management of each application's data and margin, enabling selective loading of only valid data portions into volatile memory while maintaining the benefit of margin portions for avoiding data rewriting during updates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by loading only the valid data portions (excluding margin portions) into volatile memory based on valid portion information. This partial loading approach maintains efficient memory usage while still preserving the margin portions in nonvolatile memory for their protective function against unnecessary data rewriting.
2Reliability
If all data in the nonvolatile memory storage area is loaded into volatile memory, then complete data availability is ensured, but memory capacity is wasted due to inclusion of unused margin portions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the valid data portions from the nonvolatile memory storage area and loads them into volatile memory, excluding the margin portions. This is achieved through valid portion information that identifies which data portions should be loaded, thereby ensuring data availability for execution while optimizing memory capacity utilization by eliminating wasted space from loading unnecessary margin data.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic control unit includes a volatile memory, a nonvolatile memory that includes a storage area including a data portion to which data loaded into the volatile memory is written and a margin portion which is an unused portion corresponding to the data, and a control unit configured to load the data of the nonvolatile memory into the volatile memory. The nonvolatile memory stores valid portion information which is information indicating the data portion. The control unit is configured to load the data of the nonvolatile memory into a storage area of the volatile memory based on the valid portion information.