Generic Microcontroller Interface for Vehicle Control Units
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle control units face inflexibility and high costs due to the need for interface-specific hardware implementations for various serial interfaces, making it challenging to adapt to different application requirements and future changes.
Innovation Solution
A microcontroller with generic interfaces, comprising a central processing unit, interface-unspecific input and output modules, and an arithmetic unit, which can be configured to emulate multiple serial interfaces such as SPI, UART, LIN, CAN, and Ethernet, allowing for flexible data processing and protocol-independent data transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If interface-specific hardware units are implemented for each serial interface, then the microcontroller can reliably support the required interfaces, but the device complexity and manufacturing costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal interface unit that can be configured to support multiple different serial interface types (SPI, UART, LIN, CAN, PSI5, FlexRay, SENT, I2C, Ethernet) through software configuration rather than requiring separate dedicated hardware for each interface type. This multi-functional approach allows a single hardware unit to perform the functions of many different interfaces, directly reducing hardware complexity while maintaining reliable interface support through configurable protocol implementations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a microcontroller with a large number of interfaces is used to meet diverse application requirements, then all current and future interface needs are covered, but the microcontroller becomes over-engineered and too expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic configurability where the interface unit can be reconfigured through software to adapt to different interface types and communication protocols as application requirements change. This dynamic approach allows the microcontroller to meet diverse interface needs without being permanently over-engineered, as the same hardware can be reconfigured for different purposes rather than requiring static over-provisioning of hardware interfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
By implementing a single universal interface unit that can emulate multiple interface types through configuration, the system achieves high adaptability without the need for multiple dedicated interface hardware units. This universality allows one microcontroller design to serve multiple application scenarios with different interface requirements, avoiding the cost of over-engineering while maintaining versatility.
3Reliability
If dedicated hardware is implemented for each serial interface type, then performance and reliability are optimized, but flexibility and adaptability to different applications are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent achieves flexibility by changing the configuration parameters of a single universal interface unit rather than switching between different hardware units. The interface unit can be reconfigured through software parameter settings to support different protocols and interface types, maintaining reliable data transmission performance while enabling adaptability to various application requirements through parameter modification rather than hardware change.
Data Source
AI summary
A microcontroller for a control unit, in particular for a vehicle control unit, includes a central processing unit (CPU), at least one interface-unspecific input module, at least one interface-unspecific output module, at least one routing unit and at least one arithmetic unit for processing interface-specific information. The microcontroller is configurable in such a way that the at least one interface-unspecific input module, the at least one interface-unspecific output module, the at least one routing unit and the at least one arithmetic unit for processing interface-specific information fulfill functions corresponding to one of multiple serial interfaces, in particular of SPI, UART, LIN, CAN, PSI5, FlexRay, SENT, IC2, MSC or Ethernet.