Shared Sensor Interface with Channel Protection Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Safety-critical systems in automotive and industrial applications face failures due to random hardware faults, communication protocol errors, and transmission line errors, which are exacerbated by the use of independent communication interfaces that increase cost, weight, and physical space, while also requiring higher tolerance for measurement differences.
Innovation Solution
A sensor system with a shared communication interface that introduces channel protection data into independent sensor signals upstream, allowing a single interface to transmit signals from multiple sensors and detecting faults introduced by the communication interface or outside the sensor chip, using channel protection elements and redundancy codes to ensure data integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If independent communication interfaces are used for each sensor, then measurement precision and fault detection capability are improved, but device complexity, weight, and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple sensor communication interfaces are merged into a single shared communication interface. The patent combines several independent communication channels that would normally be separate into one共用 interface, reducing the number of transmitters, receivers, and transmission lines while maintaining the ability to communicate with multiple sensors independently through time-division or code-division multiplexing techniques
Solution Approach 2:
The shared communication interface is designed to serve multiple sensors simultaneously. This universal interface can handle communications with different sensor types (analog, digital, serial, parallel) through a single multi-functional platform, eliminating the need for dedicated interfaces for each sensor while preserving measurement precision and fault detection capabilities
2Reliability
If independent communication interfaces are used for each sensor, then reliability is improved, but weight and physical space increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple communication interfaces are merged into a single shared interface, consolidating the hardware components (transmitters, receivers, transmission lines) that would otherwise be duplicated for each sensor. This merging dramatically reduces the overall weight of the communication system while maintaining reliability through intelligent signal management and fault detection mechanisms
3Reliability
If independent communication interfaces are used for each sensor, then fault detection capability is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple expensive independent communication interfaces into a single shared interface, significantly reducing component costs. The cost savings come from eliminating duplicate transmitters, receivers, and transmission lines, while fault detection capability is maintained through software-based monitoring and analysis of signals from all sensors through the shared interface
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of creating multiple physical communication interfaces, the patent uses virtual copying of interface functionality through software or firmware. The shared interface is programmed to emulate multiple independent interfaces, providing the same fault detection and communication capabilities without the cost of physical duplication
4Measurement precision
If redundant sensor interfaces are used, then measurement accuracy is improved, but the physical distance between measurement points increases, requiring higher tolerance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple sensor interfaces into a shared interface located close to all sensors, eliminating the need for distant redundant measurement points. This consolidation allows accurate measurements to be obtained from nearby sensors while the shared interface processes all signals centrally, reducing the physical distance requirements while maintaining or improving measurement accuracy through sophisticated signal processing
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a communication system configured to independently introduce channel protection data into a plurality of different channels prior to transmission. In some embodiments, the system has a plurality of sensors configured to independently generate digital sensor signals, each sensor signal corresponding to a sensed quantity. A plurality of channel protection elements are respectively configured to receive one of the digital sensor signals output from an individual one of the sensors and to introduce channel protection data (CPD) into the received digital sensor signal to generate an individual channel protected sensor signal (CPS). A shared communication interface is configured to receive the individual CPS signals from the plurality of channel protection elements and to assemble selected ones of the individual CPS signals into a data frame.