Automobile Transmission Control Latchdown Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Custom-designed Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) used in automobile transmission control units are costly, complex, and difficult to upgrade or enhance, limiting their ability to provide reliable watchdog functionality and transmission relay power control.
Innovation Solution
A microprocessor-based system with a latchdown mechanism, utilizing dual microprocessors and a Serial Peripheral Interface Bus for communication, replaces custom ASICs, allowing for easier updates and reduced development complexity by controlling transmission relay power output and providing watchdog functionality, undervoltage detection, and delay counter logic.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If custom-designed ASICs are used for transmission control unit functionality, then reliable watchdog functionality and relay power control are achieved, but development costs are significant and the system is complex to upgrade or maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the custom ASIC with a microprocessor-based system that copies the essential functionality of the ASIC. The microprocessor executes firmware that replicates the watchdog timer, relay control, and transmission control functions previously hardwired in the ASIC, thereby reducing development complexity while maintaining reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The microprocessor serves multiple functions that were previously distributed across dedicated ASIC circuits. It handles watchdog timing, relay power control, transmission control logic, and diagnostic functions within a single universal processing unit, simplifying the overall system architecture
2Reliability
If custom-designed ASICs are used for transmission control unit functionality, then integrated relay control and watchdog functionality are provided, but maintenance costs are significant and upgrades are difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamic reconfigurability through the microprocessor system. The firmware can be updated, modified, or upgraded without changing the hardware, allowing the system to adapt to new requirements, fix bugs, or improve functionality while maintaining the same physical relay control circuitry
Solution Approach 2:
The essential relay control functionality is copied from the ASIC to the microprocessor-based system, which provides the added benefit of software-upgradeability. The microprocessor replicates the relay control logic in a programmable manner, enabling easy maintenance and improvements
3Reliability
If a latchdown mechanism is implemented to prevent relay reactivation under fault conditions, then transmission protection is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a latchdown circuit as an intermediary safety mechanism between the microprocessor and the relay. This circuit monitors fault conditions and automatically latches the relay in an off state when faults are detected, providing transmission protection while keeping the control logic relatively simple through dedicated hardware monitoring
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides systems for microprocessors to control a transmission power relay output with a latchdown mechanism in the event that either microprocessor decides it is appropriate to de-energize the relay. Advantageously, the present disclosure allows, for example, the transmission control to be performed by an existing dual microprocessor configuration instead of a custom-designed application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The microprocessor-based software is more easily updated or changed to add functionality. Further, the present disclosure minimizes unique development with respect to electronic transmission control with a less complex design.