Vehicle Task Data Exchange Protection Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions for managing data exchanges between tasks in vehicle engine control systems only partially solve data-consistency problems, leading to potential engine misbehavior or damage due to unstable and inconsistent data.
Innovation Solution
A method that groups functions into sets, with data-producing functions executed sequentially in one task and data-consuming functions executed sequentially in another task, ensuring stability and consistency by storing and restoring data copies through a protection mechanism.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If tasks are executed in parallel on multiple cores or in preemptive mode, then processing speed and productivity are improved, but data consistency and stability between tasks deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a protection mechanism as an intermediary component between producing and consuming functions. This mechanism includes a protected memory region and synchronization logic that mediates data transfers between tasks, ensuring that data is consistently copied and transferred even when tasks execute in parallel or in preemptive mode on multiple cores.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary actions by copying data from the producing function to a protected memory region before the consuming function needs it. This preliminary data copying ensures that the data is ready and consistent when the consuming function executes, preventing data race conditions and ensuring reliability while maintaining parallel processing capabilities.
2Adaptability or versatility
If data is transferred between tasks with different execution periods, then adaptability is improved, but data stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The protection mechanism acts as an intermediary that decouples the producing and consuming functions with different execution periods. It provides a stable interface by copying data to protected memory in one task and restoring it in another task, ensuring data stability regardless of the different execution periods of the involved tasks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses data copying as a core mechanism to transfer data between tasks with different execution periods. The producing function copies data to protected memory, and the consuming function restores it from the protected memory. This copying process ensures that data remains stable and consistent across task boundaries with different timing characteristics.
3Speed
If priority-based task interruption is implemented, then responsiveness is improved, but data consistency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The protection mechanism serves as an intermediary that protects data consistency even when tasks are interrupted based on priority. It ensures that data copied to protected memory remains consistent and that restoring operations maintain data integrity, allowing preemptive task scheduling without compromising data consistency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements beforehand cushioning by using protected memory regions that are prepared in advance to receive and hold data consistently. This cushioning mechanism ensures that even when high-priority tasks interrupt lower-priority tasks, the data in protected memory remains consistent and available when needed, preventing data corruption from priority-based interruptions.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a method of managing data exchanges between a plurality of tasks by a computer of a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, the method including a phase of grouping functions into sets, each set including data-producing functions and consuming functions. For each set of functions, a first phase includes the steps of executing the producing functions in order to produce what are referred to as “produced” data, and of storing a copy of each produced datum, and a second phase includes the steps of restoring the data to be consumed by the consuming functions, on the basis of the stored copies, and of executing the consuming functions on the basis of the restored data to be consumed.