Vehicle ECU Policy Publishing via Single-Call Temporary Deployment

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional vehicle software policy creation is cumbersome and time-consuming, requiring multiple sequential API calls, leading to inefficiency, engineering overhead, and persistence of legacy policies that do not cater to temporary use cases.

Innovation Solution

A cloud-based system generates and delivers temporary software policies via a single API call to vehicle ECUs, enabling streamlined on-demand policy creation and deployment, with automated storage and execution for a specified period.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If multiple sequential API calls are used for policy creation, then policy deployment is achieved, but engineering latency and time consumption increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepolicy deployment completenessVSAvoidengineering latency

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines multiple sequential API calls (initial policy creation, patching with feature name, vehicle observation, and sending policy) into a single unified API endpoint. This merging of operations eliminates the need for context switching between different endpoints and reduces the overall time required for policy deployment while maintaining all necessary functional steps.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary configuration and setup of the policy deployment pipeline in advance, so that when a policy needs to be deployed, all necessary steps can be executed in a single streamlined operation without requiring sequential coordination of multiple separate API calls.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Stability of the object's composition

If legacy policies are maintained indefinitely, then system stability is preserved, but memory usage and policy clutter increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem stabilityVSAvoidmemory usage

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces dynamic policy expiration mechanisms where policies are no longer static and persistent indefinitely, but have defined lifecycles with automatic expiration. This allows the system to maintain stability through controlled policy management while reducing memory usage by automatically removing expired policies from active memory.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements automatic discarding of expired or obsolete policies from memory, freeing up resources. This principle allows the system to maintain only currently relevant policies in active memory while preserving the ability to recreate policies when needed, thus balancing stability with memory efficiency.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #34Discarding and recovering

3Reliability

If manual stream setup is performed, then policy execution is configured, but engineering overhead increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepolicy execution accuracyVSAvoidengineering overhead

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements automated stream setup and configuration through the unified API endpoint, eliminating the need for manual stream configuration. The system automatically handles stream creation, configuration, and association with policies, reducing engineering overhead while maintaining execution accuracy through consistent automated processes.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The unified API endpoint provides multi-functional capabilities, handling both policy creation and stream setup in a single interface. This universal endpoint eliminates the need for separate manual configuration steps for different aspects of policy deployment, reducing engineering overhead while ensuring proper configuration through integrated validation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS20260064406A1System and method to publish live policies for dynamic actions on a vehicle

Publication Date: 2026.03.05 FCA US LLC

AI summary

A live software policy management system and method for vehicle include providing an electronic control unit (ECU) of the vehicle that is configured to receive and execute a software code according to one or more software policies, generating on-demand, by a cloud-based system, a temporary software policy based on input from a software engineer, delivering, by the cloud-based system and via an application program interface (API) call, the temporary software policy to the ECU, and in response to receiving the temporary software policy, storing, by the ECU, the temporary software policy in a memory of the ECU and executing, by the ECU, the software code according to the temporary software policy for a temporary period. The delivering of the temporary software policy and the storing of the temporary software policy in the ECU's memory and its subsequent execution can be performed via a single API call.