Interconnect Bus Safety Guard With Loopback Error Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing interconnect bus systems in vehicles face challenges in achieving functional safety without requiring complex devices for CRC calculations, especially in automotive applications where not all devices have sufficient processing power for efficient error detection.
Innovation Solution
A system with a hardware safety guard that adds safety information to data, transmits it through a two-way communication channel, and checks looped-back data for errors, allowing devices with varying processing capabilities to ensure functional safety without complex hardware at both ends.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If CRC calculations are performed using software, then functional safety can be achieved, but the system becomes slow and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces software-based CRC calculations with a dedicated hardware CRC engine. The hardware engine performs error detection operations in parallel with data transmission, eliminating the computational bottleneck of software processing while maintaining functional safety requirements. This substitution of mechanical/software system with hardware system directly resolves the contradiction between safety and speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a dedicated hardware CRC engine as an intermediary component between the data source and the receiving device. This intermediary performs the error detection function independently, allowing the main data transmission path to operate at full speed without being constrained by CPU processing requirements. The hardware engine acts as a specialized mediator that handles safety-critical calculations without impacting overall system performance.
2Reliability
If complex CRC calculations are implemented at both ends of the interface, then error detection reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the error detection function by implementing CRC calculations only at the transmitting end through a dedicated hardware engine, while the receiving end performs only simple verification. This segmentation divides the complex task into two parts: heavy computation at the sender and lightweight validation at the receiver, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a loopback mechanism where the receiving device copies the transmitted data back through the communication channel to the transmitting end for verification. This copying approach allows the receiving device to perform simple comparison operations rather than complex CRC calculations, reducing its hardware complexity while still achieving reliable error detection through the transmitted safety information.
3Productivity
If full duplex bandwidth is utilized for data transmission, then transmission efficiency is improved, but safety implementation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by implementing safety guard functionality only on one end of the communication channel rather than both ends. The transmitting end includes a safety guard that adds safety information, while the receiving end performs simpler verification. This partial implementation reduces device complexity while still providing adequate safety coverage for the data transmission path.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a safety guard as an intermediary component at the transmitting end that handles all safety-related operations. This intermediary adds safety information to the data stream and manages the verification process, allowing the receiving end to focus solely on data reception and simple validation. The safety guard mediates between the full duplex transmission capability and the need for safety implementation, reducing overall system complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
An interconnect 110 connects a first device 100 running a first application 180 and with a first interface 120 and a second device 200 running a second application 280 and with a second interface 220. The first device 100 has a safety guard 140 which may be used in an operations mode to send safety relevant data 50 from the first application 180 to the second application 280. Safety information is added to the safety relevant data 50 to create safety marked data 52. The safety marked data 52 is transmitted to the second application 280. The safety marked data 52 is also looped back through interconnect 110 to the safety guard 140 which checks the loop back data using the safety information in the loop back data, and if the checking indicates an error, transmits an error notification signal to the first application and/or the second application.