Vehicle ECU Update Gateway for Coordinated Wireless Releases
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for updating electronic control units (ECUs) in vehicles are inconvenient, requiring physical connection to an update server and are inefficient when multiple ECUs from different vendors need to be updated.
Innovation Solution
A wireless update system using an update server and gateway that allows simultaneous updating of ECUs from multiple vendors over cellular or WiFi networks, with a centralized management engine to manage package delivery and status monitoring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If physical connection to update server is required for ECU updates, then update reliability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates and loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical physical connection system with a wireless communication system. The update gateway uses wireless interfaces (cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth) to communicate with the update server, eliminating the need for physical cable connections between the vehicle and update equipment, thereby improving ease of operation while maintaining update reliability through protocol-level error handling and authentication
2Reliability
If physical connection to update server is required for ECU updates, then update reliability is improved, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The wireless update system eliminates the time required for physical connection setup, cable plugging/unplugging, and physical transport of update equipment to the vehicle. The update gateway can initiate and receive updates remotely over wireless networks, significantly reducing the total time required for the update process while maintaining reliability through secure wireless protocols
3Productivity
If centralized management engine manages updates for multiple ECUs from different vendors, then productivity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The update gateway is designed as a universal multi-functional device that can manage software updates for multiple ECU types from different vendors. It implements a standardized update protocol that works across various ECU manufacturers and types, providing a single unified interface for managing diverse update requirements, thereby improving productivity without proportionally increasing complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The update gateway acts as an intermediary between the update server and multiple ECUs from different vendors. It handles the complexity of vendor-specific protocols and ECU variations, translating them into a standardized update format, thus shielding the update server from complexity while enabling efficient management of multiple diverse ECUs
Data Source
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AI summary
A vehicle comprising: an update gateway; and a plurality of controller units that are in communication with the update gateway and including at least a subset of controller units dependent on each other such that one controller unit cannot be updated unless the other controller units are also updated; wherein the update gateway is configured to: communicate with a remote service over a wireless network, including receiving releases to update machine-readable instructions executing on each of respective controller units of the subset of the controller units; cause all or none of the releases to be installed to update machine-readable instructions executing on each of the respective controller units of the subset of the controller units; and send to the server information regarding a status relating to the update of the machine readable instructions.