PCB Pull Resistor Reconfiguration During Electronic Module Restart
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Solution Overview
Problem
During the restart process of electronic modules, pull resistors on contact terminals are reset to their initial values, leading to unwanted adjustments that can cause malfunctions, especially in safety-critical applications, and conventional redundant pull resistors on printed circuit boards result in additional costs.
Innovation Solution
A method where adjustment information for pull resistors is retrieved from an external storage unit on the printed circuit board and transmitted to the electronic module during the run-up process, ensuring correct adjustment of pull resistors after restart, using a contact line and employing encryption and authentication for data security, and verifying transmission with test values.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If pull resistors are adjusted using software registers during normal operation, then the adjustment is flexible and adaptable, but during restart the adjustment is reset to default value causing unwanted malfunction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent stores the desired pull resistor adjustment values in advance in an external storage unit on the PCB. During restart, these pre-stored values are automatically retrieved and applied to the software registers, ensuring the correct configuration is restored without manual intervention or temporary malfunction states.
2Reliability
If redundant pull resistors are arranged on the printed circuit board to ensure correct adjustment, then functional safety is improved, but additional costs and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of physically duplicating pull resistor hardware on the PCB, the patent creates a digital copy of the adjustment configuration stored in external memory. This virtual copy contains all necessary resistance values and can be loaded into the electronic module's software registers, replacing the need for physical redundant components.
3Ease of manufacture
If pull resistor adjustment is performed via software registers, then cost is reduced compared to hardware resistors, but the adjustment is lost during restart requiring reconfiguration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent ensures continuous availability of pull resistor adjustment values by storing them in external memory that persists across restarts. During the run-up process after restart, the system automatically retrieves and applies these values, eliminating gaps where incorrect default values would be active and maintaining continuous correct functionality.
4Reliability
If adjustment information is stored in external storage unit and retrieved during run-up process, then correct adjustment is ensured after restart, but the run-up process is extended by transmission time
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustment values are prepared and stored in advance in the external storage unit during manufacturing or initial configuration. During restart, the system simply retrieves these pre-prepared values rather than calculating or determining them in real-time, minimizing the extension of the run-up process while ensuring correctness.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for adjusting a pull resistor on a contact terminal of an electronic module arranged on a printed circuit board, in particular an ASIC, after initiating a restart of the electronic module which, during a run-up process, moves the electronic module from a switched-off state into a switched-on state, wherein after initiating a restart during the run-up process from a partial circuit arranged on the electronic module and operationally ready during the run-up process, adjustment information relating to a desired adjustment of the pull resistor is retrieved from a storage unit arranged on the printed circuit board outside of the electronic module and transmitted via a contact line between the electronic module and the storage unit, where the run-up process of the electronic module is only completed after successful adjustment of the respective pull resistor based on basis the retrieved adjustment information.