Vehicle Central Computer LIN Bus Configuration
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing vehicle electrical systems face complexity in configuring and managing multiple LIN buses due to the lack of centralized control, leading to inefficiencies in real-time communication and increased costs due to the need for individual configuration of each zone.
Innovation Solution
Storing the message configuration table for the master-slave communication system in the vehicle central computer, which then distributes data to the zone control units for transmission to execution units, thereby centralizing the control of communication schedules and operating modes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If LIN buses are configured and managed individually in each zone control unit, then each zone can operate independently, but the system complexity increases and configuration becomes inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the configuration and management functions of multiple LIN buses into a single vehicle central computer. Instead of each zone control unit independently managing its own LIN buses, the vehicle central computer centrally stores the message configuration table and manages all LIN bus communications, thereby reducing system complexity and improving configuration efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The vehicle central computer acts as an intermediary between the zone control units and the LIN bus execution units. It receives communication requests, looks up the message configuration table, and manages the LIN bus communications, thereby simplifying the overall system architecture and making configuration more efficient.
2Reliability
If message configuration tables are stored in each zone control unit, then each unit has full control over its communication, but real-time performance decreases due to distributed processing overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines all message configuration tables into a single centralized storage location in the vehicle central computer. This eliminates the need for distributed lookup and processing across multiple zone control units, thereby reducing communication latency and improving real-time performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The message configuration table is pre-stored and organized in the vehicle central computer, allowing for rapid retrieval and processing of communication parameters. This preliminary organization of data enables the system to quickly respond to communication requests without the overhead of distributed configuration management.
3Adaptability or versatility
If zone control units have extensive information and application software for LIN bus management, then they can autonomously manage communications, but costs and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the LIN bus management software and information requirements from the zone control units and places them in the vehicle central computer. This allows zone control units to remain simple while the central computer handles all complex communication management tasks, thereby reducing device complexity and costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The vehicle central computer provides universal LIN bus management capabilities for all zone control units. Instead of each zone control unit needing its own specialized software, the central computer serves all zones with a single multi-functional message configuration table, thereby reducing overall software complexity and costs.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for operating a communications network that includes a computing system, at least one intermediate control unit, and at least one execution unit for each intermediate control unit. The at least one intermediate control unit is communicatively connected to the computing system using a first communication system. Each of the at least one execution unit is communicatively connected to the associated intermediate control unit using a second communication system, which is a master-slave communication system, and used as a slave. A message configuration table for each second communication system is stored in the computing system, the message configuration table indicating a temporal sequence of data to be transmitted on the second communication system in question. For a communication with one of the execution units, data are sent from the computing system, via the associated intermediate control unit, to the execution unit according to the associated message configuration table.