In-Vehicle Gateway Sleep Control for Sensor Network Power Saving
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing number and types of sensors in vehicles lead to higher power consumption in in-vehicle networks, which is a concern for reducing environmental load and improving fuel efficiency.
Innovation Solution
An in-vehicle network system that includes an electronic control unit, multiple gateway devices, and sensor devices, where the electronic control unit determines operation modes for sensor devices and specifies gateway devices that do not need to relay sensor data, transitioning them to a low power state.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the number of sensors and types of sensors are increased to improve autonomous driving reliability, then the sensing performance and reliability are improved, but the wiring length and number of wirings increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent concentrates sensors, actuators, and electronic control units at the gateway device, merging multiple components into a single integrated unit. This consolidation reduces the number of separate connections needed, thereby decreasing wiring length while maintaining system reliability through the gateway's centralized management capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The gateway device is designed to perform multiple functions including sensor data collection, actuator control, and network communication. By making the gateway multi-functional, the system reduces the need for dedicated wiring for each function, as the gateway handles various tasks through a unified interface.
2Reliability
If the number of sensors, type of sensors, and amount of communication per sensor increase, then the sensing capability and data accuracy are improved, but the power consumption in the in-vehicle network increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway device controls sensor operation using periodic action, activating sensors only when needed for specific sensing tasks and keeping them in a low-power state otherwise. This approach maintains sensing capability when required while significantly reducing overall power consumption by avoiding continuous operation of all sensors.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and activates only the specific sensors needed for particular sensing tasks, rather than operating all sensors continuously. This selective activation reduces power consumption while maintaining the necessary sensing capability for autonomous driving operations.
3Speed
If gateway devices continuously relay sensor data to maintain system responsiveness, then the system responsiveness is improved, but the power consumption of gateway devices increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway device uses periodic action to control data relay operations, activating relay functions only when sensor data needs to be transmitted and entering a low-power state when no data transmission is required. This maintains system responsiveness when needed while reducing power consumption during idle periods.
Data Source
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AI summary
An in-vehicle network system which is mounted on a vehicle includes an electronic control unit, a plurality of gateway devices, and a plurality of sensor devices that collects ambient information which is information around the vehicle. Each of the sensor devices communicates with the electronic control unit via at least one gateway device. The electronic control unit includes a mode management unit that determines one operation mode in a plurality of operation modes associated with the sensor device to be operated, and a sleep instruction control unit that specifies a gateway device which is the gateway device, in which the connected sensor device does not operate, and does not need to relay a sensor, based on the operation mode determined by the mode management unit, and transitions the gateway device having no need to relay the sensor to a low power state in which a processing capacity is lowered. The gateway device is connected to the plurality of sensor devices which do not operate in any one of the same operation modes without passing through the other gateway devices.