DE102013202405A1 - Method for operating distributed system in motor vehicle, involves providing allocation of modules to operating chains and determining active and inactive operating chains depending on one or more operating modes - Google Patents

Abstract

The method involves providing an allocation of modules (2) to the operating chains (P1,P2) and determining active and inactive operating chains depending on one or more operating modes, in which a motor vehicle is located. The modules are operated, which are associated with one of the active operating chains. The modules are disabled, which are not associated with the active operating chains. Independent claims are included for the following: (1) a management unit for operating a distributed system in a motor vehicle; (2) an insertion system used in a motor vehicle; and (3) a computer program stored in an electronic storage medium of an electronic control device.

Description

Technical area

The present invention relates to distributed systems, in particular modular distributed systems, such as those used in motor vehicles.

State of the art

In motor vehicles, a multiplicity of modules is usually used which communicate or communicate with one another via a bus system, such as a CAN bus. The modules may correspond to controllers having therein hardware and software modules and other components, such as e.g. Sensor units, signal processing units and encoders. As a rule, in such systems, chains of action of several modules, in particular of one or more sensors via one or more modules, such as control devices, filters and the like, exist in one or more positioners. The operation of such a modular system usually requires a non-negligible electric power and it is therefore desirable to reduce the power consumption of such a system.

Disclosure of the invention

According to the invention, a method for operating a distributed system according to claim 1 and the management unit, the system and the computer program according to the independent claims are provided.

Further advantageous embodiments of the present invention are specified in the dependent claims.

• – Bereitstellen einer Zuordnung von Modulen zu den Wirkketten;
• – Bestimmen von aktiven und inaktiven Wirkketten abhängig von einem oder mehreren Betriebsmodi, in denen sich das Kraftfahrzeug befindet;
• – Betreiben der Module, die mindestens einer der aktiven Wirkketten zugeordnet sind; und
• – Deaktivieren der Module, die keiner der aktiven Wirkketten zugeordnet sind.

According to a first aspect, there is provided a method of operating a distributed system in a motor vehicle, the distributed system having a plurality of modules to form chains of action for performing a function, the modules including components as well as hardware and software modules in controllers. The method comprises the following steps:

• - Providing an assignment of modules to the chains of action;
• - determining active and inactive chains of action depending on one or more operating modes in which the motor vehicle is located;
• - operating the modules associated with at least one of the active chains of action; and
• - Disabling the modules that are not assigned to any of the active chains of action.

By the above method, chains of action can be defined and monitored to see if they are active or inactive. If it is determined for a component or a hardware or software module that it is not present in any active chain of action, then the component or the hardware module can be deactivated to save energy.

In this way, selective operation of the individual control devices and / or modules is possible. An advantage of the above method is an energy and / or cost saving, since with partial activation or deactivation of individual modules of a distributed system, the electrical power / energy consumed can be reduced and the requirements for cooling measures can be reduced.

Furthermore, the previously used method of regularly querying an execution of functional software in the control units can be dispensed with. Regular polling reduces the maximum possible deactivation phase and thus limits the potential energy savings, as an inactive phase of a controller is regularly interrupted.

Furthermore, the assignment of the modules to the Wirkkettenmithilfe done by identification information stored in a mapping table.

In particular, the modules may comprise at least one sensor, at least one control unit and at least one control unit, wherein the control unit includes at least one microcontroller with one or more cores as hardware modules.

Furthermore, the software modules for executing a software function can use one or more hardware modules, whereby those hardware modules in which no software function is executed are deactivated.

• – aktive und inaktive Wirkketten abhängig von einem oder mehreren Betriebsmodi, in denen sich das Fahrzeug befindet, zu bestimmen;
• – die Module zu betreiben, die mindestens einem der aktiven Wirkketten zugeordnet sind; und
• – die Module zu deaktivieren, die keiner der aktiven Wirkketten zugeordnet sind.

In accordance with another aspect, a management unit is provided for operating a distributed system in a motor vehicle, the distributed system having one or more controllers and modules to form chains of action to perform a function. The management unit comprises a memory unit to provide an association of software functions and modules to the impact chains. The management unit is also designed to:

• To determine active and inactive chains of action depending on one or more operating modes in which the vehicle is located;
• - operate the modules associated with at least one of the active chains of action; and
• - disable the modules that are not assigned to any of the active chains of action.

According to a further aspect, a system for use in a motor vehicle is provided which comprises a plurality of modules as well as the above management unit.

According to a further aspect, a computer program is provided which is adapted to carry out all the steps of the above method.

Brief description of the drawings

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Show it:

1 a simplified representation of a distributed system with multiple chains of action; and

2 a flowchart for illustrating a method for determining disconnectable modules of a distributed system.

Description of embodiments

1 shows a schematic representation of a distributed system 1 For example, in a motor vehicle. The distributed system 1 has several chains P1, P2, .., Pn with modules 2 on. The modules 2 may correspond to components each having a sensor S1, S2, ..., Sn, a unit F1, F2, ..., Fn for input signal conditioning, such as a filter circuit, a level matching circuit, an amplifier circuit or the like, a controller ST1, ST2 , ..., STn, a unit M1, M2, ..., Mn for output signal processing or an encoder A1, A2, ..., An include.

The control units ST1, ST2,..., STn generally comprise hardware modules 21 and software modules 22 , The hardware modules 21 typically include one or more microcontrollers, analog and digital peripheral ICs for signal inputs and outputs, as well as discrete components and other circuitry. The hardware modules 21 are interconnected for signal communication (not shown). The microcontroller may include one or more on-chip hardware modules such as core (s), memory, ADC (s), timer arrays, interface modules, and the like interconnected via microcontroller internal signal communication.

The software modules 22 are stored in the memory of the microcontroller and can be executed by one of the cores of the microcontroller. The software modules 22 include tasks managed by a real-time OS. The tasks are divided into continuous, cyclic and event-dependent tasks. The task includes processes for control functions to control the modules 2 including the hardware modules 21 and software modules 22 ,

The chains of action P1, P2 are defined in terms of control technology by separable interactions, such as an action chain, the one or more input variables of one or more of the sensors S1, S2, ..., Sn via one or more units F1, F2,. .., Fn for input signal conditioning in one or more of the control units ST1, ST2, ..., STn in one or more hardware modules 21 implemented software modules 22 and / or one or more modules 2 for output signal conditioning M1, M2,..., Mn for controlling one or more regulators A1, A2,..., An.

The hardware modules 2 can within a control unit ST1, ST2, ..., STn with each other via one or more communication links 4 , and outside the controller ST1, ST2, ..., STn via a bus system 3 communicate. The control devices ST1, ST2,..., STn can have one or more microcontrollers with one or more cores which can be separately activated and deactivated.

It is a higher-level management unit 10 intended. In the management unit 10 is a storage unit 11 for storing the topology of the distributed system 1 intended. In this case, the effect chains P 1, P 2 are assigned with effect chain identification numbers PID (effect chain identification information). Furthermore, those in the software modules 22 the control units ST1, ST2, ..., STn software functions assigned to each function identification numbers FID (function identification information), which are assigned depending on the use of the corresponding chains of action P1, P2.

Furthermore, the required by the chains P1, P2 modules 2 (Hardware resources), such as the sensors bS1, S2, ..., Sn, the input signal conditioning units F1, Ff2, ..., Fn, the controllers ST1, ST2, ..., STn with microcontrollers, cores and the like, the units M1, M2,..., Mn for output signal processing, the position encoders A1, A2,..., An are identified by hardware identification numbers HID (hardware identification information) and allocated in the same way to the individual effect chains P1, P2.

In the storage unit 11 the management unit 10 a corresponding assignment table is stored, which thus stores the required software functions or software modules and the required hardware resources in the form of the respective identification numbers FID, HID for each action chain P1, P2. The allocation table thus essentially depicts the function control architecture.

The effect chains P1, P2 carry out functions that are executed either via mode-specific calls, continuously or cyclically. Operating modes are system specific vehicle or subsystem or component states of a motor vehicle, such as

• - Vehicle conditions, such. Parking, living, driving, accelerating, decelerating, etc .;
• - Engine conditions, such. B. a switched off engine or a coasting operation of the engine;
• - Bremsrekuperation, Klimarekuperation;
• - electric or internal combustion engine driving;
• - start / stop functions;
• - exhaust gas recirculation, waste heat recovery;
• - Regulations such as lambda control, air system control and the like.

The individual chains of action P1, P2 are executed cyclically, at fixed times or permanently, resulting in a chain of effects chain according to which a chain of action P1, P2 can be activated or deactivated. The impact chain schedule is also in the storage unit 11 saved. The effect chain schedule indicates at which times and in which operating mode an action chain is executed or whether it is permanently executed. By means of an additional switch-off possibility of an action chain of the impact chain schedule, there is the possibility that the hardware resources assigned to an effect chain can be deactivated for a longer, uninterrupted period of time.

In the event that a module 2 including a hardware module 21 and a software module 22 is used in several chains of action, the module in question must each be assigned several times to the corresponding mode-dependent chains of action P1, P2. Otherwise, if, for example, a software module of a mode-independent, z. B. time-synchronous, task is assigned, it must be checked at the beginning of the function execution, if the execution of the relevant software module is needed at all.

If several control units ST1, ST2, ..., STn are found to be all software modules 22 , which are executed on a microcontroller of the controllers ST1, ST2, ..., STn, are inactive or passive, so the relevant control unit ST1, ST2, ..., STn can be completely switched off or put into a sleep mode. This can be in the management unit 10 be recognized on the assignment table and the deactivated chains of action based on the Wirkkettenzeitplan, with a control unit ST1, ST2, ..., STn is detected as deactivated, if it is needed in any of the defined active chains of action.

The effect chain schedule also serves to activate or deactivate the software modules according to the mode-specific chains of action. The impact chain schedule thus becomes dynamic in the management unit 10 and can assign the chains of action to the modes, thereby identifying which chains of action may be disabled for a particular mode or need to be activated.

If it is detected that a hardware resource can be shut down, shutdown can be accomplished by disabling some or all of the hardware resource, for example, by turning off the power or disconnecting from a clock generator.

Furthermore, in order to reduce the recorded power, it is possible to decompose one or more of the mode-specific tasks into a plurality of mode-specific subtasks with different time slots. As a result, the runtime load of individual cores in the relevant control unit ST1, ST2,..., STn can be reduced. In addition, the fixed assignment of the individual functions or software modules to fixed time grids can be made variable by varying the frequency of execution of the mode-specific, time-synchronous tasks in order to achieve a partial activation of a specific function.

In 2 FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating the method for determining disconnectable modules or functions in a distributed system. FIG 1 shown.

In step S1, a description of knitting chains P1, P2 is provided by means of an allocation table, whereby the various knitting chains P1, P2 are identified by means of the corresponding identification information modules 2 , Hardware modules 21 in one or more control units ST1, ST2, ..., Stn and software modules 22 or functions are assigned.

In step S2, one or more operating modes are determined in which the motor vehicle and / or the subsystems and / or components are located.

In step S3, effect chains P1, P2 are activated or deactivated as a function of the operating modes and as a function of a predetermined functional schedule. That is, the effect chains P1, P2 are assigned according to a Wirkkettenzeitplan a specific operating mode and / or a regular execution or execution at certain times.

In step S4, depending on the operating mode or the operating modes in which the motor vehicle and / or the subsystems and / or components are located, inactive modules now become 2 as well as software modules 22 and hardware modules 21 in corresponding control units ST1, ST2, ..., Stn as those modules as well as software modules 22 and hardware modules 21 determined in corresponding control units ST1, ST2, ..., Stn, which are required by none of the active chains P1, P2.

In step S5, the thus determined, inactive modules 2 as well as software modules 21 and hardware modules 21 in corresponding control units ST1, ST2, ..., Stn determined as disabled and disabled. Similarly, previously disabled but now needed modules 2 , Software modules 22 and hardware modules 21 in corresponding control units ST1, ST2, ..., Stn activated again. Are all executed in a core of the relevant control unit ST1, ST2, ..., STn software modules 22 deactivated, the entire core can be switched off.

The process of steps S2 to S5 is performed cyclically.

Claims (9)

Method for operating a distributed system ( 1 ) in a motor vehicle, the distributed system ( 1 ) several modules ( 2 ) to form chains of action (P1, P2) for performing a function, the modules ( 2 ) Components and hardware ( 21 ) and software modules ( 22 ) in control devices (ST1, ST2, ..., STn), comprising the following steps: - providing an allocation of modules ( 2 ) to the chains of action (P1, P2); - Determining active and inactive Wirkketten (P1, P2) depending on one or more operating modes in which the motor vehicle is located; - operating the modules ( 2 ) associated with at least one of the active chains of action (P1, P2); and - deactivating the modules ( 2 ), which are not assigned to any of the active chains of action (P1, P2). Method according to claim 1, wherein the assignment of the modules ( 2 ) to the knitting chains (P1, P2) using identification information stored in an allocation table. Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the modules ( 2 ) comprise at least one sensor (S1, S2, ..., Sn), at least one control device (ST1, ST2, ..., Sn) and at least one position indicator (A1, A2, ..., An), wherein the control device (ST1, ST2, ..., STn) at least one microcontroller with one or more cores as hardware modules ( 21 ). Method according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the software modules ( 22 ) for executing a software function one or more hardware modules ( 22 ), whereby those hardware modules ( 22 ), in which no software function is executed, are deactivated. Management unit ( 10 ) for operating a distributed system ( 1 ) in a motor vehicle, the distributed system ( 1 ) several modules ( 2 ) to form chains of action (P1, P2) for performing a function, the modules ( 2 ) Components and hardware ( 21 ) and software modules ( 22 ) in controllers (St1, ST2, ..., STn), comprising: - a memory unit ( 11 ) to assign modules ( 2 ) to the chains of action (P1, P2); the management unit ( 10 ) is configured to: - determine active and inactive action chains (P1, P2) depending on one or more operating modes in which the vehicle is located; - the modules ( 2 ) associated with at least one of the active chains of action (P1, P2); and - the modules ( 2 ), which are not assigned to any of the active chains of action (P1, P2). System for use in a motor vehicle, comprising: a plurality of modules ( 2 ); and a management unit ( 10 ) according to claim 5. Computer program adapted to carry out all the steps of a method according to one of Claims 1 to 4. An electronic storage medium on which a computer program according to claim 7 is stored. Electronic control unit, which has an electronic storage medium according to claim 8.

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