Parallel ECU Scanning Across Vehicle Buses to Cut Diagnostic Time
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Solution Overview
Problem
The rapid increase in the number of electronic control units in vehicles leads to prolonged scanning times for vehicle diagnostic devices, causing inconvenience to users during maintenance and overhaul.
Innovation Solution
A scanning method and device that communicatively connect to multiple vehicle buses in parallel, transmitting scan signals simultaneously to determine the presence and status of electronic control units, utilizing model and body style information to optimize scan lists and communication protocols, allowing for independent and efficient detection of multiple units.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the vehicle diagnostic device performs automatic scanning by sequentially detecting all electronic control units, then the scanning is thorough and accurate, but the scanning time becomes excessively long
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the scanning process by dividing electronic control units into different groups based on their communication protocols (CAN, LIN, FlexRay, etc.). Each group is scanned independently through dedicated communication channels, allowing parallel processing of multiple ECUs simultaneously. This segmentation maintains comprehensive scanning coverage while reducing total scanning time through concurrent operations.
2Ease of operation
If the number of electronic control units in the vehicle is increased to improve driving safety and simplify user burden, then driving safety and convenience are improved, but the time required for automatic scanning increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a new dimension of parallelism by utilizing multiple independent communication protocols and channels simultaneously. Instead of scanning ECUs one after another in a single sequence, the system establishes multiple parallel scanning paths through different vehicle buses, each handling specific protocol groups. This dimensional expansion allows the scanning capacity to scale with the number of ECUs without proportionally increasing scanning time.
3Reliability
If the vehicle diagnostic device scans all electronic control units sequentially to ensure complete detection, then no ECU is missed, but the user experience deteriorates due to long waiting time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary classification of electronic control units according to their communication protocols before the actual scanning begins. By pre-organizing ECU lists based on protocol types and assigning them to corresponding communication channels, the system prepares multiple parallel scanning paths in advance. This preliminary action ensures that during the scanning phase, all ECUs can be detected comprehensively while the parallel structure prevents long waiting times, thereby maintaining both reliability and user experience.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a scanning method for an electronic control unit in a vehicle and a vehicle diagnostic device. The vehicle diagnostic device is communicatively connected to at least two vehicle buses in the vehicle, each of the vehicle buses is connected to at least one electronic control unit in the vehicle. The scanning method determines a scan list corresponding to each of the vehicle buses. The scan list includes a to-be-scanned electronic control unit. The vehicle diagnostic device transmitting a scan signal on the vehicle buses in parallel according to the scan list corresponding to each of the vehicle buses, to determine whether the to-be-scanned electronic control unit in the scan list exists in the vehicle. The parallel scanning in this way can effectively improve the efficiency of automatic scanning and significantly shorten a time required to complete the automatic scanning, and improves user experience.