In-Vehicle Processing Unit Task Suspension for Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
In-vehicle devices with multiple functions face processing overload, leading to task prioritization challenges and potential malfunctions like timeouts and hang-ups, as they require frequent hardware enhancements to manage increasing functionalities.
Innovation Solution
An in-vehicle device with a processing unit that controls radio, television, playback, navigation, and route search tasks, including a processing suspension unit that suspends tasks based on predetermined conditions to manage processing performance, allowing stable operation without hardware modifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple functions are added to the in-vehicle device to enhance functionality, then the versatility and adaptability of the device is improved, but the processing load on the CPU and signal bus increases, leading to system instability and potential malfunctions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the in-vehicle device into multiple independent processing units, each responsible for specific functions (navigation, audio playback, radio/TV tuning). Each processing unit operates independently with its own processor, preventing processing load from one function from affecting others, thus maintaining system stability while supporting multiple functions simultaneously
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal processing architecture where multiple processing units share common resources (display unit, audio output unit, storage medium) through a standardized interface. This allows the system to perform multiple functions using a unified framework, enhancing versatility without proportionally increasing complexity
2Productivity
If the processing speed of the CPU is enhanced to handle more tasks quickly, then the productivity of the device is improved, but the device complexity and cost increase due to hardware modification
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of enhancing a single CPU to handle all tasks, the patent segments processing across multiple independent processing units. Each unit handles its own tasks at adequate speed without requiring extreme performance from any single processor, avoiding the need for costly high-performance hardware modifications
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple processing units into a coordinated system that shares common resources (display, audio output, storage). This consolidation allows moderate-performance processors to achieve collective high productivity by working in parallel, avoiding the need for a single high-performance processor
3Productivity
If multiple tasks are processed simultaneously to improve productivity, then the output of the device is improved, but the processing load exceeds the processing performance, causing tasks to fail and malfunctions to occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments tasks into distinct processing streams, each handled by a dedicated processing unit. This prevents task interference and ensures that each task receives sufficient processing resources to complete successfully, maintaining reliability while achieving high throughput through parallel processing
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces communication interfaces and control logic as intermediaries between processing units and shared resources. These intermediaries coordinate resource allocation and task scheduling, ensuring that processing load is distributed appropriately and that task completion is guaranteed even under heavy load
Data Source
AI summary
A processing unit executes at least one of a task of a radio tuner, a task of a television tuner, a task of a playback control unit for playback of stored image and sound, a task of an indication unit for indicating image according to image data, a task of a navigation unit for detecting a present position and indicating the detected position on a map, and a task of a route search unit for searching for a route and indicating the searched route on the map, in accordance with a predetermined priority. When execution of multiple tasks by the processing unit exceeds processing performance of the processing unit, a processing suspension unit suspends a task, which satisfies a predetermined condition, among the multiple tasks currently executed by the processing unit, irrespective of a priority of the task.