Vehicle Energy Management System with Priority-Based ECU Allocation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current energy management systems in vehicles lack an efficient method to dynamically allocate and prioritize energy resources across various Electronic Control Units (ECUs) to meet the energy demands of different components, leading to potential energy shortages and inefficient energy distribution.
Innovation Solution
An energy management system that utilizes multiple Electronic Control Units (ECUs) to monitor and manage energy generation and consumption, prioritizes energy requests, and allocates energy resources through a vehicle network bus, allowing for dynamic energy sourcing and distribution based on pre-defined rules and availability, using energy generation devices such as batteries and exhaust heat.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If energy resources are distributed without prioritization, then all ECUs can access energy resources, but energy allocation efficiency deteriorates and energy shortages occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments energy requests into different priority levels (first priority, second priority, etc.) and processes them separately through a queue system. High-priority requests are handled before lower-priority ones, ensuring critical energy needs are met while maintaining systematic allocation efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of energy request processing by introducing priority levels and queue positions. Requests are not processed uniformly but are differentiated by priority parameters, allowing the system to optimize allocation efficiency while ensuring reliable supply to critical components.
2Ease of operation
If multiple ECUs compete for energy resources simultaneously, then energy distribution appears fair, but energy allocation time increases and system response slows
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary actions by having ECUs register their energy requests in advance with the energy management unit. Requests are queued and prioritized before energy allocation occurs, allowing the system to prepare allocation decisions ahead of time and reduce actual allocation time while maintaining fairness through the queue structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The energy management unit provides feedback to ECUs about their request status, queue position, and allocation decisions. This feedback mechanism allows ECUs to understand the fairness of distribution while the system optimizes allocation time by processing requests systematically rather than through simultaneous competition.
3Device complexity
If energy requests are processed in random order, then processing is simple, but critical energy needs may not be met and system reliability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments energy requests into priority categories (first priority for critical needs, second priority for less critical needs). This segmentation adds structure to processing but ensures that critical energy needs are reliably fulfilled by processing first-priority requests before lower-priority ones.
Solution Approach 2:
The energy management unit continuously monitors and processes energy requests in priority order, maintaining an ongoing queue system. This continuous prioritized processing ensures that critical energy needs are always addressed first while maintaining a manageable processing complexity through systematic queue management.
Data Source
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AI summary
An energy management system (100) in a vehicle, said vehicle comprising plurality of electronic control units (101,102,103, 104) (ECUs) for controlling energy supply, said energy management system (100) comprising: a reception means (10) for receiving an energy request from at least one of said plurality of ECUs (101,102,103, 104) a prioritize unit (20) for determining priority of the received energy request; and an energy management unit (30) for managing supply of energy depending on said determined priority of said received energy request from at least one of said plurality of ECUs (101,102,103, 104).