WO1999048021A2

WO1999048021A2 - Computer system for motor vehicles

Info

Publication number: WO1999048021A2
Application number: PCT/EP1999/001613
Authority: WO
Inventors: Peter Fiedler
Original assignee: Valeo Electronics Gmbh & Co. Kg
Priority date: 1998-03-14
Filing date: 1999-03-12
Publication date: 1999-09-23
Also published as: DE19811235A1; WO1999048021A3

Abstract

The invention relates to a computer system for multi-media applications in motor vehicles. Said computer system comprises different modules (3, 4, 5) as well as at least two processor modules (1, 2) which are independent of each other and each have microprocessors.

Description

COMPUTER SYSTEM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES

The invention relates to a computer system for motor vehicles. Computer systems of this type are installed in motor vehicles in order to inform the vehicle occupants about partially safety-relevant vehicle data while driving.

Typical data collected with such computer systems are e.g. the engine speed, air conditioning setting, outside temperature display and others also the set radio frequency. The recorded vehicle data are usually transmitted to the computer system via the in-vehicle data bus and displayed to the occupants via suitable vehicle instruments.

In addition to the pure vehicle data acquisition, however, the occupants are now increasingly expected to be able to carry out information processing processes in the motor vehicle. This can be, in particular, internet applications, the processing of CD-ROM data or office communication via fax and telephone.

Such applications require computing capacities and graphics services that have not been provided by previous computer systems suitable for motor vehicles. In addition, it is also from a security perspective it is not advisable to employ the known automotive computer systems with such applications, since in this case real-time monitoring of important vehicle data would no longer be possible.

The object of the invention is to create an expandable computer system for motor vehicles which can thus be adapted to different and growing requirements, in which the system parts, the multimedia tasks and those which perform safety-related tasks are also strictly decoupled for security reasons. Furthermore, the computing power, memory expansion and graphics capabilities must be kept variable for future applications.

This object is achieved in that the computer system, in addition to further assemblies, is divided into at least two mutually independent processor assemblies, each of which has microprocessors. The independent processor modules provide a high degree of variability, since both processor modules can be used simultaneously for different, mutually independent tasks and can also be adapted to different vehicle manufacturers and vehicle types.

Thus, in addition to the execution of multimedia applications, the computer system for motor vehicles according to the invention can simultaneously meet the high security requirements of the automotive industry.

It is considered particularly advantageous in the computer system for motor vehicles according to the invention that the first processor module is used for real-time monitoring of safety and comfort-relevant vehicle data and for communication with the vehicle environment and the second processor module is used for multimedia tasks. This results in a complete decoupling of the two processor modules, so that the first processor module also important vehicle data such as engine speed, fuel consumption, remaining range, air conditioning and other interior settings, system failures or, for example, the station identification on the radio can also be monitored in real time. At the same time, it is possible to use the second processor module to carry out multimedia applications, such as information and data exchange via the Internet, for example e-mail, World Wide Web, fax or other services.

For security reasons too, it is preferred if different operating systems can be used simultaneously on the different processor assemblies. For example, the second processor module for multimedia applications generally requires operating systems, as are known from currently customary personal computers. Such an operating system can e.g. deal with the program "Windows", so that, among other things, conventional PC programs can also be run with the vehicle-internal computer system.

Due to the sometimes inadequate system stability in such applications, it is advisable to use the first processor module, which i.a. is used for security-relevant data processing to use a different and much more stable operating system. This can e.g. are the operating system "OSEK" that was specially developed for use in motor vehicles.

With this operating system it is e.g. possible to record, evaluate and display important vehicle data in real time without the risk of system failures.

Furthermore, it is recommended that each processor module has its own memory area, so that memory-intensive programs can also be executed, particularly in the field of multimedia applications. Also from the Security-related considerations regarding the operating systems used, as already mentioned above, are recommended to equip the first processor module intended for security applications with its own memory in which the vehicle data is stored and further processed.

For graphics applications such as A graphic input / output module is provided for the input of video and TV signals or other graphic information as well as the output of these signals and graphic data. The input / output module, which among other things responsible for displaying the screen memory on an in-vehicle screen can also be used for communication between the two processor modules, each of which can store its data in a part of a graphics memory.

A further graphics microcontroller is provided for graphics processing for particularly demanding and / or fast graphics. The use of such a microcontroller can be recommended if particularly computing-intensive graphics applications are used, e.g. the 3D animation of maps or the like. This graphics controller, which e.g. is responsible for particularly fast drawing of lines, is freely programmable and can thus be variably adapted to the desired task within wide limits. If the graphics application is limited to a certain type from the outset, it can be advantageous that the graphics microcontroller also works with hardware support. In this case it is e.g. conceivable that the graphics microcontroller contains a hardware floating point unit with which particularly computing-intensive applications, such as Matrix operations or polynomial calculations can be carried out.

For the communication of the individual assemblies with each other and with the outside world, specific ones are preferred Interfaces, especially serial interfaces. The first processor module, which is responsible for safety-related applications, for example, can communicate with the various vehicle systems, such as the engine electronics, via a special in-vehicle bus system. This bus system is preferably a CAN bus (controller area network). Other bus systems are also conceivable here.

In addition, it is advantageous if individual modules have access to a common memory, in particular a graphics memory. This graphics memory can be divided into several areas, e.g. Communication areas, program memory or screen memory, etc. can be divided. It is therefore possible that e.g. important vehicle data are stored by the first processor module, which are stored by the second processor module e.g. continue to be used in multimedia applications. Hardware MMUs can be used in the respective processors to ensure secure communication. An MMU is a memory management unit.

If the communication between the three essential modules, i.e. the two processor modules and the graphics module, always takes place via the existing shared memory, it is possible to expand each individual module to such an extent that an individual adaptation to the respective task is possible and communication between the modules is still retained. This adaptation can be done by, for example, depending on the desired application, one or the other processor module or the modules that are responsible for graphics applications, for example with particularly fast ones Processors, controllers, bus systems with a high bit width or large memory areas can be equipped.

In the opposite case, however, it is also possible that individual assemblies, such as the special graphics microcontroller is not required if no particularly computing-intensive graphics applications are to be carried out.

By varying the second processor module intended for multimedia applications as well, a computer system suitable for a motor vehicle is created which takes over the tasks of already known computer systems, but also offers flexible and individual expandability, so that the computer system according to the invention completely replaces the known computer systems can replace and still, depending on the vehicle type or vehicle class, in the simplest way by adding the special modules to the desired requirement.

Exemplary embodiments of the computer system according to the invention are shown in the following figures. Show it:

Figure 1 The basic computer system structure with all essential assemblies

FIG. 2 A computer system that has been expanded to the maximum for multimedia and graphics applications

Figure 3 A computer system for standard applications

Figure 4 A minimally expanded computer system

FIG. 1 shows a computer system for motor vehicles which, in addition to further assemblies, is divided into at least two mutually independent processor assemblies, each of which has microprocessors. The processor modules are module 1, which is used for real-time monitoring of safety and comfort-relevant vehicle data and for communication with the vehicle environment, and processor module 2, which is used for multimedia tasks. To record the vehicle data in real time, the processor module 1 is connected to the CAN bus of the vehicle via serial connections 7. Just like the processor module 2 for multimedia applications, the processor module 1 has its own memory area 10, which can be expanded depending on the desired application.

From the security considerations already mentioned, different operating systems, such as e.g. "OSEK" can be used on processor module 1 and "Windows" on processor module 2. The two process sensor modules 1 and 2 also communicate with one another and with the outside world via interfaces 6, which are connected to the common graphics memory 4 via the graphic input / output module 3. This graphics memory 4 is subdivided into a communication area 11, a program memory 12 for a graphic microcontroller and a screen memory 13. Via the communication area 11 of the graphics memory 4, there is the possibility that data stored by one of the processor modules 1 or 2 in this area will be used by another assembly 3,4,5. In this respect, data exchange between the individual modules (1, 2, ... 5) is guaranteed.

The graphic input / output module 3 is in turn subdivided into a DMA controller 14, a memory bus interface 15 and input and output units 16 and 17 for video data. It is therefore possible that, for example, video data present at video input 8, which is made available, for example, by a video camera or also by a TV receiver, via video input 16 of module 3 and a subsequent DMA transfer (direct memory access) is read into the screen memory 13 of the graphics memory 4 via the memory bus interface 15 of the module 3. The screen memory of the graphics memory 4, to which in turn all modules of the computer system have access, can conversely be displayed on a screen 9 via the memory bus interface 15 of the module 3 and a DMA transfer via the video output unit 17.

In the present configuration, the expansion stages of the processor modules 1 and 2 as well as the graphics memory 4 and the graphics microcontroller 5 can be freely selected. This means that these modules can be individually adapted to the desired application by differently sized memory areas or by differently fast processors.

The graphic microcontroller 5, which in turn is connected to its program memory 12 in the graphic memory 4 via the graphic module 3 by means of a DMA transfer and the memory bus interface 15, can be used for particularly computationally intensive graphic applications and manipulates e.g. the data to be displayed stored in the screen memory. Because the program memory 12 of the graphic microcontroller 5 is located in the graphic memory 4, the programs for the graphic microcontroller 5 can be individually adapted to any desired application.

By linking the individual assemblies (1, ..., 5) to one another and using the common graphics memory 4, it is therefore possible for both vehicle data and multimedia applications to be displayed independently of one another on a screen 9 in the vehicle interior. FIG. 2 shows a possible maximum expansion stage of the computer system suitable for motor vehicles. Here, in particular, the processor module equipped for multimedia applications is equipped with a 200 MHz processor. The processor can be, for example, standard Pentium processors or other types.

For particularly fast graphics applications, the connection between the graphics module 3 and the common graphics memory 4 is implemented via a 64-bit-wide memory bus interface 15. To further support fast graphics, the graphics microcontroller is also equipped with a 200 MHz processor.

In contrast, FIG. 3 shows a standard version of the computer system for motor vehicles, in which the multimedia processor 2 is equipped with its own smaller memory area and with a CPU clocked at only 80 MHz. With an otherwise identical structure and a 64-bit memory bus interface 15, the graphic microcontroller 5 has only a clock frequency of 80 MHz for smaller graphic applications.

The minimum equipment is shown in Figure 4. The multimedia-compatible processor module 2 is completely omitted here. Because of the low demands on the graphics capability of the entire system, the graphics memory 4 is designed to be smaller and only has a memory bus interface 15 of 32 bit width. The clock frequency of the graphics microcontroller is also only designed for 60 MHz.

With this minimal system, in addition to a video display, only the most important vehicle data can be monitored and displayed on a vehicle-internal screen 9, as is already known from existing computer systems. Compared to these known computer systems the present minimal system, however, still offers the possibility of being subsequently adapted to growing tasks and requirements. As the most cost-effective variant, this minimal system is therefore suitable to replace the existing computer systems and, as a basic version, to be installed in lower-class vehicles.

If the computer system is only to be used to inform the vehicle occupants about data and status of the vehicle systems, the use of a graphics microcontroller 5 and a video input unit 8 can be dispensed with. It is also sufficient to equip communication processor 1 with a data width of only 8 bits. Such a system is shown in FIG. 5.

A subsequent upgrade up to the maximum equipment, as shown in Figure 2, is possible at any time.

It should also be mentioned that it is also conceivable to combine individual modules in terms of hardware in the sense of a higher integration density of the entire computer system and thus to simplify the computer system considerably. It should only be noted here that depending on the realization of this higher integration density, the further expandability may be lost.

Claims

Patent claims

1. Computer system for motor vehicles, characterized in that the computer system, in addition to other assemblies

(3,4,5) is divided into at least 2 independent processor assemblies (1,2), each of which has microprocessors.

2. Computer system according to claim 1, characterized in that the first processor assembly (1) is used for real-time monitoring of safety and comfort-relevant vehicle data and for communication with the vehicle environment and the second processor assembly (2) is used for multimedia tasks.

3. Computer system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that different operating systems can be used simultaneously on the different processor 3 modules (1, 2).

4. Computer system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each processor assembly (1,2) has its own memory area (10).

5. Computer system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a graphic input/output module (3) is provided for graphics applications.

6. Computer system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a graphics microcontroller (5) is provided for graphics processing.

7. Computer system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the graphics microcontroller (5) works with hardware support.

3. Computer system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the individual modules (1,...,5) communicate with one another and with the outside world via interfaces (6,7), in particular via serial interfaces.

9. Computer system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the individual modules (1,...,5) have access to a common memory (4), in particular a graphics memory.

10. Computer system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the expansion level of each assembly (1,...,5) can be freely selected.