Programmable Switch Redundancy for Vehicle ECU Transceivers
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Modern vehicle electrical control systems face challenges in providing redundancy when electronic control units malfunction, leading to limited functionality and potential loss of critical vehicle systems, as existing solutions are complex and costly to implement.
Innovation Solution
A programmable switch system allows transceivers to reconnect to any available electronic control unit, enabling seamless redirection of sensors and actuators, with each unit equipped with program code to perform multiple functions, ensuring continued operation even if primary units fail.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If an electronic control unit is connected to several sensors and actuators through I/O-units and data busses, then the number of electronic control units can be reduced and cost can be reduced, but the system complexity increases and redundancy is lost when a control unit malfunctions
Solution Approach 1:
Each electronic control unit is equipped with program code that enables it to perform not only its dedicated function but also the functions of other electronic control units. This multi-functionality allows any available control unit to take over when another fails, providing redundancy without requiring duplicate dedicated control units for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements dynamic reconfiguration where the assignment of I/O-units to electronic control units can change during operation. When a control unit malfunctions, the system dynamically redirects the I/O-units from the failed unit to a different available control unit, maintaining system functionality adaptively.
2Reliability
If dedicated electronic control units are used for each function, then reliability is improved through redundancy, but the number of control units and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of having dedicated control units for each function, the patent makes each control unit universal by storing program code for multiple functions within each unit. This allows a single control unit to perform multiple roles, reducing the total number of control units needed while maintaining functional redundancy through software rather than hardware duplication.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple function-specific control units into fewer multi-functional control units. By combining the capabilities of what would traditionally require separate dedicated units into single versatile units with reconfigurable program code, the system reduces overall complexity while preserving redundancy through the ability of any unit to assume any function.
3Ease of operation
If I/O-units are permanently assigned to specific electronic control units, then system operation is simplified, but the ability to provide redundancy when control units fail is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from static, permanent assignments of I/O-units to dynamic, reconfigurable assignments. The programmable switches enable real-time reconfiguration of connections between I/O-units and control units based on operational needs and failure conditions, allowing the system to adapt its topology dynamically while maintaining simplified operation through automated management.
Solution Approach 2:
Programmable switches are introduced as intermediary devices between I/O-units and electronic control units. These switches act as mediators that can dynamically redirect connections without requiring complex reconfiguration of the control units themselves, simplifying the reconfiguration process while enabling flexible assignment of I/O-units to different control units as needed.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
An arrangement for providing redundancy in a vehicle electrical control system, comprising a plurality of electronic control units connected to each other through a first data bus, and where each electronic control unit is connected to one or more I/O-units through a separate second data bus, where each second data bus is provided with a separate transceiver which allows communication between an electronic control unit and an I/O-unit, and where the arrangement comprises a programmable switch arranged between the electronic control units and the transceivers, where the programmable switch is adapted to interconnect each transceiver with a selected electronic control unit. The advantage of the invention is that it allows a transceiver to be reconnected to a new ECU in an easy way, when the ECU to which the transceiver was originally connected to breaks down, which allows the new ECU to access the I/O-units of the broken ECU and which in turn provides an effective redundancy for the electrical control system.