DE102022200630A1 - Embedded system and method for controlling an embedded system - Google Patents

Abstract

An embedded system (1) comprises: a circuit (3) comprising at least one integrated circuit (4, 5, 6) with a plurality of voltage inputs (7, 8, 9); a voltage control module (2), which has several voltage supply units (10, 11, 12), each with a voltage output (13, 14, 15) for supplying an electrical voltage and at least one FPGA and/or ASIC module (16) as a control unit (16 ) for driving the voltage supply units (10, 11, 12); each voltage supply unit (10, 11, 12) being connected to one of the voltage inputs (7, 8, 9) via its voltage output (13, 14, 15); wherein the control unit (16) is configured to control the voltage supply units (10, 11, 12) in such a way that the voltages at the voltage outputs (13, 14, 15) are supplied in a defined sequence.

Description

field of invention

The invention relates to an embedded system. Furthermore, the invention relates to a computer-implemented method for controlling an embedded system, a computer program for executing this method and a computer-readable medium on which this computer program is stored.

State of the art

integrated circuits such as microcontrollers, FPGAs (FPGA = field programmable gate array; "field programmable gate array"), ASICs (ASIC = application-specific integrated circuit; "application-specific integrated circuit") or SoCs (SoC = system on a chip; "One-chip system") are usually supplied with several different voltages, which can have different requirements in terms of sequence, accuracy and time dependencies.

Analog circuits, for example, can be used to provide the required voltages or voltage sequences, also referred to as power sequencing. In addition, various sequencers are commercially available that enable the generation of voltage sequences with a predetermined number of voltages. While it is possible to interconnect multiple such sequencers to generate larger voltage sequences, this can result in very complex analog circuits that require a corresponding amount of board space.

In addition, additional circuit parts are often required to implement additional control functions, which can make the entire circuit even more complex.

Disclosure of Invention

Against this background, an embedded system, a computer-implemented method for controlling such an embedded system, a corresponding computer program and a corresponding computer-readable medium according to the independent claims are presented below. Advantageous developments and improvements of the approach presented here result from the description and are described in the dependent claims.

Advantages of the Invention

Embodiments of the present invention make it possible to improve the control of the power supply of one or more integrated circuits of an embedded system.

A first aspect of the invention relates to an embedded system. The embedded system has at least the following components: a circuit comprising at least one integrated circuit with multiple voltage inputs; a voltage control module, which comprises a plurality of voltage supply units, each with a voltage output for supplying an electrical voltage, and at least one FPGA and/or ASIC component as a control unit for controlling the voltage supply units. Each voltage supply unit is connected to one of the voltage inputs via its voltage output. The control unit is configured to control the voltage supply units in such a way that the voltages at the voltage outputs are supplied in a defined sequence.

The control unit can be implemented exclusively in hardware. However, it is also possible to implement the control unit in hardware and software.

For example, the control unit can include or consist of exactly one FPGA module, exactly one ASIC module, a combination of several FPGA modules, a combination of several ASIC modules or a combination of one or more FPGA modules with one or more ASIC modules.

In other words, the voltage supply units can be controlled by the control unit without the additional use of a (hardware and software-based) microcontroller.

It is also conceivable that the entire voltage control module is designed in the form of one or more FPGA components and/or one or more ASIC components.

A voltage supply unit can be understood, for example, as a voltage regulator for generating a single supply voltage. The voltage supply units, which are connected to the same integrated circuit, can be controlled by the control unit, for example, in such a way that different voltages—at different and/or the same points in time—are present at different voltage inputs of the integrated circuit. In addition, the control unit can be configured to simultaneously drive voltage supply units connected to different integrated circuits.

It is possible for each voltage supply unit to be connected via its voltage output to a different voltage input than the other voltage supply units. In other words, exactly one voltage supply unit, for example exactly one voltage regulator, can be provided for each voltage input.

The defined sequence can, for example, include at least 10, preferably at least 20, in particular at least 30 different voltages. The voltage control module can include a corresponding number of voltage supply units. In addition to the number of voltages, the sequence can be defined, for example, by an order of the voltages and/or by a time relationship between the voltages of the same sequence and/or different sequences.

The embedded system can be, for example, a component of a vehicle, such as a car or truck, a bus or a motorcycle, or a component of an autonomous, mobile robot.

In particular, the embedded system can be a control unit for a vehicle. For example, a driver assistance function or a combination of several driver assistance functions can be integrated in the control unit.

Accordingly, the embedded system can be configured, for example, to evaluate sensor data generated by sensors in the vehicle or robot and to generate control signals for actuators in the vehicle or robot depending on the result of this evaluation.

The sensor system can include, for example, a camera, a radar, lidar, ultrasonic, acceleration, wheel speed or steering wheel angle sensor or a combination of at least two of these examples.

The actuator system can include, for example, a brake actuator, a steering actuator, a motor control device, an electric drive motor or a combination of at least two of these examples.

The number of voltages to be controlled and the demands on timing accuracy can be relatively high with current SoCs and FPGAs. In high-availability applications such as autonomous driving, multiple SoCs are typically used on one board. It is often useful and necessary to supply the various components independently of one another and to provide them with additional test mechanisms. The space required for such control circuitry increases accordingly when multiple microcontrollers or IPMICs (intelligent power module integrated circuits) are used for voltage control. This also results in a higher number of control and feedback lines, which can limit the use of microcontrollers.

It is therefore proposed to integrate the functionalities required for voltage control into an FPGA and/or ASIC module. The use of one or more microcontrollers can thus be dispensed with. Such an approach has significant advantages in terms of real-time capability, speed, parallelism and flexibility compared to conventional designs based on microcontrollers. In particular, an implementation of the functionalities in software can thus be dispensed with.

Furthermore, voltage control of a number of independent integrated circuits, for example a number of independent SoCs, is thus made possible by one and the same control unit. The voltage control can thus be implemented in a particularly space-saving manner.

In short, such an embedded system enables, among other things, a flexibly configurable voltage control with variable timing requirements, monitoring and reset control as required for current and future SoCs.

A second aspect of the invention relates to a computer-implemented method for controlling an embedded system, as described above and below. The method comprises at least the following steps: receiving a control signal in the control unit and driving the voltage supply units by the control unit based on the control signal, so that electrical voltages are provided at the voltage outputs of the voltage supply units in a defined sequence. The control signal can, for example, be a start-up command, i. H. to power on, and/or to shut down, d. H. to switch off, one or more integrated circuits of the embedded system. For example, powering up or powering down the circuit or circuits may also power up or power down the embedded system itself.

The method can be executed automatically by a processor of the embedded system, e.g wise from its control unit. In addition to the processor, the embedded system may include memory and/or data communication interfaces for data communication with peripheral devices.

Features of the method can also be understood as features of the embedded system, as described above and below, and vice versa.

Further aspects of the invention relate to a computer program and a computer-readable medium on which the computer program is stored.

The computer program comprises instructions which, when the computer program is executed by the processor, cause a processor to carry out the method for controlling an embedded system described above and below.

The computer-readable medium can be volatile or non-volatile data storage. For example, the computer-readable medium can be a hard drive, USB storage device, RAM, ROM, EPROM, or flash memory. The computer-readable medium can also be a data communication network such as the Internet or a data cloud (cloud) enabling a download of a program code.

Features of the computer program and/or the computer-readable medium can also be interpreted as features of the method for controlling an embedded system described above and below, and vice versa.

Embodiments of the invention can be considered as based on the ideas and findings described below, without limiting the invention.

According to one embodiment, the circuit can include at least one integrated first circuit with first voltage inputs and one integrated second circuit with second voltage inputs. Accordingly, the voltage supply units can include at least first voltage supply units, each with a first voltage output, and second voltage supply units, each with a second voltage output. Each first voltage supply unit can be connected to one of the first voltage inputs via its first voltage output. Each second voltage supply unit can be connected to one of the second voltage inputs via its second voltage output. The control unit can be configured to control the first voltage supply units in such a way that the voltages at the first voltage outputs are provided in a defined first sequence, and to control the second voltage supply units in such a way that the voltages at the second voltage outputs are provided in a defined second sequence. The first and the second sequence can differ from one another, for example in their length and/or in the number, order and/or level of their voltages. For example, the control unit may be configured to generate the first and second sequences independently of each other. The first and the second circuit can be identical or different circuits. It is thus possible to simultaneously control two or more than two integrated circuits, each with a plurality of voltage inputs, using one and the same control unit. This enables a particularly space-saving implementation of the embedded system and reduces the manufacturing effort.

According to an embodiment, the first circuit can be a system on chip. Additionally or alternatively, the second circuit can be a system on chip. The term "system on chip" can be understood as meaning a SoC (see above). The system on chip may include one or more processors (MPSoC = multiprocessor system on a chip). For example, the system on chip can be part of a multi-chip module (MCM). It is thus possible to control two or more than two, for example at least five, preferably at least ten, SoCs simultaneously using one and the same control unit. This enables a particularly space-saving implementation of the voltage control of multiple SoCs and reduces the manufacturing effort.

According to one embodiment, the control unit can be configured to control the first voltage supply units and the second voltage supply units independently of one another. In other words, in the control unit, i. H. in the FPGA and/or ASIC module or the FPGA and/or ASIC modules of the control unit, two or more than two independent voltage control functionalities can be integrated. Thus, the implementation of the voltage control with additional control functions can be simplified and/or made cheaper.

According to one embodiment, the control unit may be configured with configuration data defining at least one of the following parameters for each voltage of the defined sequence: a delay time by which the voltage to be delayed; a time window in which the voltage is to be provided; a position of the voltage within the defined sequence. The delay time can be a positive or negative value, for example, by which a rising and/or falling edge of the voltage can be shifted within the sequence. In other words, the delay time can cause the voltage at the voltage output to be switched on with a delay and/or switched off with a delay in relation to a reference time, for example a start and/or end time of the sequence. For example, the delay time can be specified by a number of clock cycles. Likewise, for example, the time window can be specified by a number of clock cycles. The time window can be construed as a time constraint or a timeout. If the time window is exceeded, ie if the voltage is not provided by the end of the time window, the process can be aborted with an error, for example. Thus, the accuracy of voltage control in the embedded system can be improved.

It is possible that the sequence is divided into several sub-sequences or blocks, each of which can comprise at least two voltages. The voltages of different partial sequences can differ from one another, for example, in terms of their switching times, their number and/or their order. It is possible for the configuration data to additionally define a time interval between two consecutive sub-sequences. In this way, peak loads can be avoided.

According to one embodiment, the embedded system, for example its voltage control module, may further comprise a memory storing configuration data for the control unit. Accordingly, the control unit can be configured with the stored configuration data. At least one of the aforementioned parameters can be defined in the stored configuration data, for example. The stored configuration data can be stored in tabular form, in a VHDL, Verilog or text file, for example. The memory can be volatile or non-volatile memory, such as RAM, ROM, EPROM, or flash memory. For example, the configuration data can be stored internally in the FPGA and/or ASIC module, in a memory on a printed circuit board, i.e. outside the FPGA and/or ASIC module, and/or in a memory outside the printed circuit board or the embedded system. For example, the memory can be arranged on one and the same printed circuit board together with the circuit and/or the voltage control module. This embodiment enables the control unit to be adapted to different configurations of the embedded system without hardware changes. Thus, the adjustment of the control unit can be simplified considerably.

According to one embodiment, the control unit and the integrated circuit can be connected to one another for data communication via at least one data communication line. In particular, the control unit and the integrated circuit can be directly, i. H. be connected to each other without intermediary units. The data communication between the control unit and the integrated circuit, for example a SoC, microcontroller, FPGA or ASIC, can take place in one or both directions. For example, the control unit can be configured to reset the integrated circuit via the data communication line(s) when necessary. However, other applications for the data communication line(s) are also conceivable. If the control unit is configured to control voltage supply units for a number of integrated circuits, it can be connected to each of these circuits via at least one data communication line for data communication, for example.

Additionally or alternatively, each voltage supply unit can be connected via at least one data communication line to the control unit for data communication, for example to transmit a switching signal generated by the control unit for switching the voltage supply unit and/or to transmit a feedback signal generated by the voltage supply unit (see below).

According to one embodiment, the circuit and the voltage control module can be arranged on one and the same circuit board. The embedded system can thus be implemented in a particularly space-saving manner. Alternatively, the circuit and the voltage control module can be on different circuit boards.

According to one embodiment, the method can further comprise the following steps: receiving a feedback signal in the control unit, the feedback signal having been generated by each voltage supply unit in response to the voltage supply unit being activated by the control unit; Evaluation of the feedback signal by the control unit in order to obtain an evaluation result. The evaluation result can, for example, be used for further processing by the control unit and/or a Peripheral device are stored in a memory of the embedded system. When evaluating the feedback signal, it can be checked, for example, whether the correct voltage has been provided at the voltage output of the relevant voltage supply unit.

According to one specific embodiment, the method can also include the following step: activating the voltage supply unit and/or the at least one integrated circuit as a function of the evaluation result by the control unit. The activation can take place, for example, when the evaluation result indicates an error. In this case, the control unit can, for example, interrupt the startup and/or shutdown of the relevant integrated circuit and/or the entire embedded system. Damage and/or malfunctions can thus be avoided.

character list

• 1 zeigt ein eingebettetes System gemäß einer Ausführungsform der Erfindung.
• 2 zeigt ein Flussdiagramm zur Veranschaulichung eines Verfahrens zum Steuern eines eingebetteten Systems gemäß einer Ausführungsform der Erfindung.

Embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, neither the drawings nor the description being to be construed as limiting the invention.

• 1 Figure 12 shows an embedded system according to an embodiment of the invention.
• 2 FIG. 12 shows a flow chart for illustrating a method for controlling an embedded system according to an embodiment of the invention.

The figures are merely schematic and not true to scale. In the figures, the same reference symbols denote the same features or features that have the same effect.

Embodiments of the invention

1 FIG. 1 shows an embedded system 1 comprising a voltage control module 2 and a circuit 3. FIG. The circuit 3 comprises a plurality of integrated circuits 4, 5, 6, here by way of example a first circuit 4 with a plurality of first voltage inputs 7, a second circuit 5 with a plurality of second voltage inputs 8 and a third circuit 6 with a plurality of third voltage inputs 9.

The circuit 3 can also include more or fewer than three circuits, for example just one circuit.

The circuits 4, 5, 6 can be of the same type or of different types. The circuits 4, 5, 6 can each be designed as a SoC, microcontroller, FPGA or ASIC, for example.

The embedded system 1 can be, for example, a component of a vehicle or a robot, such as an industrial or household robot.

• - erste Spannungsbereitstellungseinheiten 10 mit je einem ersten Spannungsausgang 13, der mit einem der ersten Spannungseingänge 7 elektrisch leitfähig verbunden ist;
• - zweite Spannungsbereitstellungseinheiten 11 mit je einem zweiten Spannungsausgang 14, der mit einem der zweiten Spannungseingänge 8 elektrisch leitfähig verbunden ist;
• - dritte Spannungsbereitstellungseinheiten 12 mit je einem dritten Spannungsausgang 15, der mit einem der dritten Spannungseingänge 9 elektrisch leitfähig verbunden ist.

The voltage control module 2 is used to control a voltage supply for the three circuits 4, 5, 6. For this purpose, the voltage control module 2 comprises a plurality of voltage supply units 10, 11, 12, each with a voltage output 13, 14, 15 for supplying an electrical voltage, namely:

• - First voltage supply units 10 each having a first voltage output 13 which is electrically conductively connected to one of the first voltage inputs 7;
• - Second voltage supply units 11, each with a second voltage output 14 which is electrically conductively connected to one of the second voltage inputs 8;
• - Third voltage supply units 12, each with a third voltage output 15, which is electrically conductively connected to one of the third voltage inputs 9.

As in 1 indicated with three vertical dots, the embedded system 1 for each circuit 4, 5, 6, depending on the number of voltage inputs 7, 8, 9, can also include more than two voltage supply units 10, 11, 12, for example more than 5, more than 10 or even more than 20 power supply units 10, 11, 12.

Each voltage supply unit 10, 11, 12 can be controlled by a control unit 16 of the voltage control module 2, which is designed as an FPGA, ASIC or a combination of both. The control unit 16 can, for example, also include more than one FPGA module and/or more than one ASIC module. In particular, the control unit 16 can be designed exclusively as an FPGA and/or ASIC.

The control unit 16 is configured to control the voltage supply units 10, 11, 12 in such a way that the voltages at the respective voltage outputs 13, 14, 15, and thus at the respective voltage inputs 7, 8, 9, are provided in a defined sequence.

• - die ersten Spannungsbereitstellungseinheiten 10 so anzusteuern, dass die Spannungen an den ersten Spannungsausgängen 13, und damit an den ersten Spannungseingängen 7, in einer definierten ersten Sequenz bereitgestellt werden;
• - die zweiten Spannungsbereitstellungseinheiten 11 so anzusteuern, dass die Spannungen an den zweiten Spannungsausgängen 14, und damit an den zweiten Spannungseingängen 8, in einer definierten zweiten Sequenz bereitgestellt werden;
• - die dritten Spannungsbereitstellungseinheiten 12 so anzusteuern, dass die Spannungen an den dritten Spannungsausgängen 15, und damit an den dritten Spannungseingängen 9, in einer definierten dritten Sequenz bereitgestellt werden.

More specifically, controller 16 may be configured to:

• - To drive the first voltage supply units 10 so that the voltages are provided to the first voltage outputs 13, and thus to the first voltage inputs 7, in a defined first sequence;
• - To control the second voltage supply units 11 so that the voltages at the second voltage outputs 14, and thus at the second voltage inputs 8, are provided in a defined second sequence;
• - To control the third voltage supply units 12 so that the voltages at the third voltage outputs 15, and thus at the third voltage inputs 9, are provided in a defined third sequence.

It is possible that the voltage control module 2 for different circuits 4, 5, 6 comprises different numbers of voltage supply units 10, 11, 12.

In addition, the control unit 16 can be configured to control the first voltage supply units 10 independently of the second voltage supply units 11 and/or independently of the third voltage supply units 12 .

Optionally, the control unit 16 can be configured with configuration data 17, which can be stored in an internal memory 18 of the embedded system 1, for example a RAM, ROM, EPROM or flash memory, or, additionally or alternatively, in an external memory 19. Thus, the configuration of the control unit 16 can be very simple, e.g. H. be adapted to changes in the configuration of the embedded system 1 without hardware changes.

The external memory 19 can be connected to the embedded system 1, more precisely to the control unit 16, via a suitable data communication interface for data communication, such as JTAG or SPI.

The configuration data 17 can, for example, define one or more parameters 20 for each voltage of each sequence, such as a delay time for delayed switching on and/or off of the voltage at the respective voltage output 13, 14, 15, a timeout value for the provision of the voltage at the respective voltage output 13, 14, 15 or a position of the voltage within the respective sequence.

As in 1 As can be seen, it is possible for the circuit 3, the voltage control module 2 and the internal memory 18 to be arranged on one and the same printed circuit board 21 in a space-saving manner. Depending on the application, however, other, less compact configurations are also conceivable.

The control unit 16 can be configured, for example, to carry out a method for controlling the embedded system 1, which is described in more detail below (see 2 ).

In a first step S01, the control unit 16 receives a control signal 22, for example from a higher-level controller of the embedded system 1.

In a second step S02, the control unit 16 processes the control signal 22, with the control unit 16 controlling the individual voltage supply units 10, 11, 12 in such a way that the voltages at the respective voltage outputs 13, 14, 15 are provided in the first, second or third sequence become.

For example, in step S02, the first sequence may be generated to power up the first circuit 4, the second sequence may be generated to power up the second circuit 5, and the third sequence may be generated to power up the third circuit 6. Alternatively, the sequences for shutting down the respective circuit 4, 5, 6 can be generated, for example by reversing the order of the voltages within the respective sequence.

In an optional step S03, the control unit 16 can receive a feedback signal 23 from each voltage supply unit 10, 11, 12, with the feedback signal 23 being sent by each voltage supply unit 10, 11, 12 in response to the activation of the voltage supply unit 10, 11, 12 by the control unit 16 has been generated.

In an optional step S04, the control unit 16 can evaluate the feedback signals 23.

Depending on the evaluation result, the control unit 16 can (again) control the relevant voltage supply unit 10, 11, 12 and/or the circuit 4, 5, 6 connected thereto in a suitable manner in an optional step S05.

If the evaluation result indicates an error, for example, then the control unit 16 can interrupt the startup or shutdown of the relevant circuit 4, 5, 6 and/or the entire embedded system 1 in step S05. For this purpose, the control unit 16, for example, with each of the circuits 4, 5, 6 via at least one separate data communication line 24 to Data communication can be connected in one or both directions.

Otherwise, i.e. That is, if the evaluation result does not indicate an error, the control unit 16 can, for example, continue the startup or shutdown without interruption in an optional step S06.

Finally, it is noted that terms such as "comprising," "comprising," etc. do not exclude other elements or steps, and indefinite articles such as "a" or "an" do not exclude a plurality. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting.

Claims (13)

Embedded system (1) comprising: a circuit (3) comprising at least one integrated circuit (4, 5, 6) with a plurality of voltage inputs (7, 8, 9); and a voltage control module (2), which has several voltage supply units (10, 11, 12), each with a voltage output (13, 14, 15) for supplying an electrical voltage and at least one FPGA and/or ASIC module (16) as a control unit (16 ) for driving the voltage supply units (10, 11, 12); each voltage supply unit (10, 11, 12) being connected to one of the voltage inputs (7, 8, 9) via its voltage output (13, 14, 15); wherein the control unit (16) is configured to control the voltage supply units (10, 11, 12) in such a way that the voltages at the voltage outputs (13, 14, 15) are supplied in a defined sequence. Embedded system (1) after claim 1 , wherein the circuit (3) comprises at least one integrated first circuit (4) with first voltage inputs (7) and one integrated second circuit (5) with second voltage inputs (8); wherein the voltage supply units (10, 11, 12) comprise at least first voltage supply units (10) each with a first voltage output (13) and second voltage supply units (11) each with a second voltage output (14); each first voltage supply unit (10) being connected to one of the first voltage inputs (7) via its first voltage output (13) and each second voltage supply unit (11) being connected to one of the second voltage inputs (8) via its second voltage output (14); wherein the control unit (16) is configured to control the first voltage supply units (10) in such a way that the voltages at the first voltage outputs (13) are provided in a defined first sequence, and to control the second voltage supply units (11) in such a way that the voltages are provided at the second voltage outputs (14) in a defined second sequence. Embedded system (1) after claim 2 , wherein the first circuit (4) is a system on chip; and/or wherein the second circuit (5) is a one-chip system. Embedded system (1) after claim 2 or 3 , wherein the control unit (16) is configured to drive the first voltage supply units (10) and the second voltage supply units (11) independently of one another. Embedded system (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the control unit (16) is configured with configuration data (17) defining at least one of the following parameters (20) for each voltage of the defined sequence: a delay time by which the voltage is to be delayed; a time window in which the voltage is to be provided; a position of the voltage within the defined sequence. Embedded system (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising: a memory (18) storing configuration data (17) for the control unit (16), the control unit (16) being configured with the stored configuration data (17). Embedded system (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the control unit (16) and the integrated circuit (4, 5, 6) are connected to one another for data communication via at least one data communication line (24). Embedded system (1) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the circuit (3) and the voltage control module (2) are arranged on one and the same printed circuit board (21). A computer-implemented method for controlling an embedded system (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, the method comprising: receiving a control signal (22) in the control unit (16); and activating the voltage supply units (10, 11, 12) by the control unit (16) based on the control signal (22), so that electrical span voltage outputs (13, 14, 15) of the voltage supply units (10, 11, 12) are provided in a defined sequence. procedure after claim 9 , further comprising: receiving a feedback signal (23) in the control unit (16), wherein the feedback signal (23) by each voltage supply unit (10, 11, 12) in response to the actuation of the voltage supply unit (10, 11, 12) by the control unit (16) has been generated; Evaluation of the feedback signal (23) by the control unit (16) in order to obtain an evaluation result. procedure after claim 10 , further comprising: activating the voltage supply unit (10, 11, 12) and/or the at least one integrated circuit (4, 5, 6) by the control unit (16) as a function of the evaluation result. A computer program, comprising instructions which cause a processor, when the computer program is executed by the processor, to carry out the method according to any one of claims 9 until 11 to execute. Computer-readable medium on which the computer program claim 12 is saved.

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