Energy Storage Unit Cryptographic Authentication

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Solution Overview

Problem

Modern motor vehicles face challenges in ensuring the reliability and efficiency of energy storage systems, particularly in hybrid or electric vehicles, where excessive power consumption can lead to energy store failures, and there is a need to authenticate suitable energy storage devices to prevent unsuitable ones from being used.

Innovation Solution

The integration of a security unit, designed as a smart card controller with non-volatile memory, generates checksums and authenticates the energy store through cryptological processing, ensuring integrity and preventing manipulation, while an application unit with peripheral interfaces and communication interfaces allows for efficient data transmission and processing of operating parameters.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If authentication chips are used in energy stores, then reliability and safety are improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveenergy store reliabilityVSAvoidenergy store structure
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines the authentication chip (security unit) with the application unit into an integrated microcontroller unit. The security unit includes authentication chip logic that is merged with the application controller, allowing both authentication functions and application control to coexist in a single integrated device rather than separate components.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The application controller is designed to serve multiple functions: it acts as both the authentication chip (security unit) and the application unit. The controller can perform cryptological processing for authentication while simultaneously managing energy store operations, eliminating the need for separate dedicated authentication hardware.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Reliability

If cryptological processing is implemented for authentication, then security against manipulation is improved, but processing time and complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveauthentication securityVSAvoidauthentication time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The authentication process is performed preliminarily during the initial connection or before critical operations. The security unit authenticates the energy store by comparing identification data and generating checksums in advance, so that subsequent operations can proceed without repeated authentication delays.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The security unit performs self-authentication by internally generating checksums from stored identification data and comparing them against received data. The cryptological processing is handled autonomously within the security unit without requiring external verification, reducing communication overhead and time.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

3Reliability

If operating parameters are transmitted with checksums, then data integrity is improved, but communication data volume increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata integrityVSAvoidcommunication data
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The checksum generation and verification functions are extracted and implemented within the security unit of the energy store. This allows the energy store to autonomously generate checksums for transmitted parameters and verify received parameters, ensuring data integrity without requiring complex external verification protocols that would increase communication overhead.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentEP2201638B1Energy storage unit
Publication Date: 2014.03.05 CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIVE GMBH
  • EP2201638B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2201638B1 patent drawingFigure 2

AI summary

The invention relates to an energy storage unit, particularly for a motor vehicle, having an application unit (AU) that is configured to detect and/or process predetermined operating parameters of the energy storage unit. The energy storage unit further comprises a safety unit (CU) that is configured to cryptologically process the detected and/or processed operating parameters. The energy storage unit also comprises a communication interface (IF1, IF2) for making the cryptologically processed operating parameters available.