KR101745199B1 - Failure detection method of sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

A signal checking step of confirming whether the analog signal detected from the detecting means provided in the engine is received in the SENT module; A signal converting step of converting the analog signal received in the signal checking step into a digital signal in the SENT module; A signal transmission step of the SENT module transmitting the analog signal received in the signal checking step and the digital signal converted in the signal converting step to a controller; And a failure determination step of determining, based on the signal received in the signal transmission step and the signal input to the control unit, whether or not the detection unit is in failure.

Description

[0002] FAILURE DETECTION METHOD OF SENSOR [0003]

Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a method of detecting a failure of a detection means provided in each part of a vehicle, and more particularly, to a failure detection method of a detection means for detecting a failure of a detection means using an analog signal.

As the technology of the vehicle evolves, the user's desire for performance and safety grows bigger and bigger, requiring a more powerful, safe, and comfortable vehicle. In order to cope with this problem, many control parts and convenience devices are applied to the vehicle, and the wiring and parts therefor are gradually increasing. On the other hand, there are a lot of failures due to this. That is, when a large number of electrical equipments are added, the wiring must be added together as much, and the frequency and the area where the failure can occur are increased. Accordingly, in order to solve such a problem, communication is applied to each control unit of the vehicle, and information to be commonly recognized is shared with each other.

Therefore, the vehicle is provided with a plurality of detecting means for detecting the state of each part and transmitting it to the control unit. In the case of the detecting means, analog signals or digital signals may be used. These detected signals may be transmitted by MUX (Multiplex) communication, serial communication, LIN (Local Interconnect Network) communication, LAN (Local Area Network) Controller Area Network) communication to the control unit.

Therefore, by applying the above-mentioned communications, it is possible to reduce the wiring by reducing the number of wiring by communication of the control unit frame to perform control, and it is easy to secure the installation place of the electric device, so that the electric component can be controlled by the nearest control unit of the electric device , It is advantageous to repair the car by using diagnostic equipment.

However, noise is frequently generated in transmitting data of detection means requiring high resolution such as temperature / pressure / TPS / air mass sensor, and there is a disadvantage in cost in case of CAN communication or LIN communication.

It should be understood that the foregoing description of the background art is merely for the purpose of promoting an understanding of the background of the present invention and is not to be construed as an admission that the prior art is known to those skilled in the art.

KR 1995-0000452 A

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed in order to solve such problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a communication apparatus and a communication method capable of communicating signals of detection means requiring high resolution without noise, The present invention provides a fault detection method for a fault detection system.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fault detection method for a detection means, comprising: a signal checking step for checking whether an analog signal detected from a detection means provided in an engine is received in a SENT module; A signal converting step of converting the analog signal received in the signal checking step into a digital signal in the SENT module; A signal transmission step of the SENT module transmitting the analog signal received in the signal checking step and the digital signal converted in the signal converting step to a controller; And a failure determination step of determining whether the detection unit is malfunctioning based on the signal received in the signal transmission step and the signal input to the control unit in the control unit.

The SENT module may be connected to the control unit by a wire, thereby transmitting the analog signal of the detection unit to the control unit through the PIN to PIN communication.

And a preparation step of checking whether the SENT module can be used by the controller when the engine starts to be driven before the signal check step is performed.

A plurality of detection means are provided, and in the signal transmission step, a flag signal capable of recognizing the detection means can be transmitted together with the analog signal.

The flag signal can distinguish the detection means by making the number of times of the maximum value of the signal received during the unit time different.

In the signal transmission step, the digital signal, the analog signal, and the flag signal are transmitted in parallel with each other, and the analog signal and the flag signal can be sequentially transmitted at unit time intervals.

And a failure notifying step of informing the user of the failure when the control unit determines that the detection unit is in failure.

According to the fault detection method of the detection means having the above-described structure, the SENT is a progressive technology for converting the data of the detection means requiring high resolution, such as temperature / pressure / TPS / air mass sensor, from analog to digital, And is suitable for signal processing that requires a high resolution because it is robust against noise since the signal itself is a digital signal and is advantageous in that no additional cost is incurred when applied.

Also, in the case of communication over the wiring between the control unit and the SENT module, it is designed to directly receive the analog signal of the PIN to PIN, thereby improving the reliability when there is a problem such as signal reception abnormality and signal interruption. There is no history of mass production of other companies. Recently, OEM and parts companies are actively developing the technology. Therefore, it is possible to judge whether or not the detection means is more robust in a competitive way to future technology.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration for implementing a failure detection method of a detection means according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a flowchart showing a method of detecting a failure of a detection means according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing details of the signal transmission step of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing details of the failure determination step of FIG. 1;
5 is a diagram illustrating the main signal and the backup signal of FIG. 1 as an example.

Hereinafter, a fault detection method of a detection unit according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration for implementing a method for detecting a failure of a detecting means according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a method for detecting a failure of a detecting means according to an embodiment of the present invention, to be. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing details of the signal transmission step (S500) of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating details of a failure determination step (S700) of FIG. 1, For example, as shown in Fig. Although the present invention has been shown and described as an example of determining the failure of the detection means 300 applied to the engine 100, the present invention is not limited thereto and may be applied to all of the detection means 300 using analog signals will be. Further, the detecting means 300 referred to in this specification may be a sensor.

In the present invention, SENT communication is used to perform communication through the SENT module. SENT is an abbreviation of Single-Edge Nibble Transmission. It is a protocol for handling data traffic exchanged between the detection means and the control unit. This SENT communication is a unidirectional standard communication supporting communication from the detecting means to the control unit and serves to transmit data of detection means requiring a high resolution such as a temperature / pressure / TPS / air mass sensor. In addition, it is inexpensive compared to CAN communication and LIN communication, and has an advantage of being robust against noise by converting an analog signal into a digital signal and transmitting it. Therefore, in the present invention, the analog signal detected by the detecting means and the detected analog signal are converted into digital signals, and transmitted using the SENT communication, thereby making it possible to diagnose the failure of the detecting means more robustly.

Accordingly, the method for detecting a failure of the detecting means according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes: a signal checking step (S100) for checking whether the analog signal detected from the detecting means provided in the engine 100 has been received by the SENT module 500; In the SENT module 500, a signal converting step (S300) of converting the analog signal received in the signal checking step S100 into a digital signal; A signal transmitting step (S500) of transmitting the analog signal received in the signal checking step (S100) and the digital signal converted in the signal converting step (S300) to the controller (700) by the SENT module (500); And a failure determination step (S700) for determining whether the detection unit (300) is malfunctioning based on the signal received in the signal transmission step (S500) and the signal input to the control unit (700) .

1, the present invention receives an analog signal through the detection means 300 provided in each part of the engine 100 by the SENT module 500 and outputs the received signal to the SENT module 500 And transmits the converted digital signal and the originally detected analog signal to the control unit 700 to determine whether the detection unit 300 is malfunctioning. Therefore, a plurality of detection means 300 may be provided. The SENT module 500 is connected to the control unit 700 through the wire 900 so that not only the digital signal of the detection unit 300 but also the analog signal is transmitted to the control unit 700 through the PIN to PIN method So that it can be transmitted.

That is, the digital signal is transmitted as a signal according to the SENT communication protocol, and the analog signal is a procedure for confirming whether the analog signal is normally processed and transmitted through the SENT communication. The analog signal is transmitted between the SENT module 500 and the controller 700 Is connected to the wire 900 and transmits an analog signal in a Pin to Pin manner. Therefore, it is possible to perform more robust control when performing the failure determination using the two signals. The SENT communication signal is a digital signal. The controller 700 can directly receive the converted digital signal of the detecting means 300 and use it for signal processing without any additional processing. The analog signal is converted into a digital signal once, It is judged after that.

The fault detection method of the detection means of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 2 through FIG.

First, when the driving of the vehicle engine 100 is started, a preparation step (S200) of checking whether the control module 700 can use the SENT module 500 is performed. If it is confirmed that the SENT communication of the SENT module 500 is available in the preparation step S200, the analog signal detected from the detection means 300 provided in the engine 100 is transmitted to the SENT module 500 And a signal checking step (S100) for confirming whether or not the signal has been received.

A plurality of analog signals detected from the detecting means 300 are received in the SENT module 500 according to the signal checking step S100. In the signal checking step S100, it is preferable that the receiving of the analog signal of the detecting means 300 is performed by the receiving unit 510 of the SENT module 500. The SENT module 500 performs the signal conversion step S300 for converting a plurality of analog signals received in the signal check step S100 into a plurality of digital signals in a conversion unit 550 provided in the SENT module 500, . Hereinafter, the converted digital signal will be referred to as a main signal.

After the signal conversion step S300 is performed, the SENT module 500 transmits the analog signal received in the signal check step S100 and the main signal converted in the signal conversion step S300 to the controller 700 And transmits a transmission signal (S500). The transmission of the signal may be performed by the transmission unit 530 provided in the SENT module 500. In the signal transmission step (S500), since the signals received by the plurality of detection means (300) are transmitted, a flag signal capable of recognizing each of the detection means (300) is transmitted together with the analog signal. The flag signal distinguishes the detection means 300 by differentiating the number of times of the maximum value of a signal received for a unit time, and the method will be described later. Hereinafter, an analog signal and a flag signal will be collectively referred to as a back-up signal.

An example of the waveforms of the main signal and the backup signal is shown in Fig. Of course, the waveform of such a signal can be changed as much as the vehicle type, the design, and the environment, and is not particularly limited to the contents shown in FIG. In addition, since the method of transmitting / receiving the communication module and the method of switching the signal are well known, a detailed description thereof will be omitted herein.

In the signal transmission step (S500), a digital signal as a main signal, an analog signal as a backup signal, and a flag signal are transmitted in parallel with each other. However, unlike the main signal, a plurality of backup signals can not be transmitted at the same time, so that the backup signal is sequentially transmitted at a unit time interval based on a predetermined unit time input from the control unit 700. [ The details of this specific control are shown in Fig.

Referring to FIG. 3, the flag signal of the backup signal of FIG. 5 is set to vary the number of times of transmission of the maximum value according to each of the detection means 300. Accordingly, the control unit 700 can recognize the detection unit 300 according to the number of times the flag value of the backup signal received during the unit time is received.

That is, in order to recognize the A detection means 300a in the control unit 700, the SENT module 500 transmits the maximum value of the flag signal once for the first unit time (S510), and the B detection means 300b The SENT module 500 transmits the maximum value of the flag signal twice for the second unit time in step S520. In order to recognize the C detecting unit 300c, the SENT module 500 sets the flag for the third unit time The SENT module 500 transmits the maximum value of the signal three times (S530) and transmits the maximum value of the flag signal four times for the fourth unit time in order to recognize the D detection means 300d (S540). Of course, when the number of the detection means 300 increases, the above-mentioned step will be further increased. The term " unit time " means a unit of time previously input to the control unit 700. [

Therefore, in the failure determination step S700, the control unit 700 compares the signal received in the signal transmission step S500 with the signal input to the control unit 700 based on the main signal and the backup signal / Check to determine whether each of the detection means 300 is malfunctioning. The details of the failure determination step (S700) are shown in Fig.

4, if the unit time is set to 5 minutes in the controller 700, the control unit 700 receives the A detection unit 300a in the first 5 minutes after the engine 100 is driven, The control unit 700 detects the A detection means 300a based on the signal inputted to the control unit 700. The A detection means 300a detects the A detection means 300a based on the flag signal in the backup signal, (S700a). When the backup signal of the B detecting means 300b is received in the second 5 minutes and the controller 700 recognizes the B detecting means 300b through the flag signal in the backup signal, (S700b) based on the signal input to the B detection means. Likewise, when the C detecting means 300c is also recognized as the C detecting means 300c in the flag signal in the backup signal, the consistency of the C detecting means 300c is compared (S700c), and the same is also applied to the D detecting means 300d (S700d). When the number of the detecting means 300 is increased, the above-mentioned step is also increased.

 That is, the control unit 700 recognizes the detection unit 300 by distinguishing each signal based on the flag signal in the backup signal received in the signal transmission step S500, and outputs the flag signal to the control unit 700 It is possible to determine whether the detection means 300 is malfunctioning or not by comparing it with a reference value.

In the failure determination step S700, if the control unit 700 determines that the detection unit 300 is failed, the failure notification step S900 notifies the user of the failure. In the failure notification step S900, when the detection means 300 in which the failure has occurred is confirmed, the user visually warns the user through the instrument panel (not shown) of the vehicle, Etc. to alert the user.

Therefore, the failure detection method of the above-mentioned detecting means is a progressive technology for converting the data of the detecting means requiring high resolution, such as temperature / pressure / TPS / air mass sensor, from analog to digital, ). Since the signal itself is a digital signal, it is robust against noise, and therefore, it is most suitable for signal processing requiring a high resolution, and there is an advantage that no additional cost is incurred when applied.

Also, in the case of communication over the wiring between the control unit and the SENT module, it is designed to directly receive the analog signal of the PIN to PIN, thereby improving the reliability when there is a problem such as signal reception abnormality and signal interruption. There is no history of mass production of other companies. Recently, OEM and parts companies are actively developing the technology. Therefore, it is possible to judge whether or not the detection means is more robust in a competitive way to future technology.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.

100: engine
300 (300a, 300b, 300c, 300d): detecting means
500: SENT module
510: Receiver
530:
550:
700:
900: wire
S100: Signal verification step
S200: preparation step
S300: Signal conversion step
S500 (S510, S520, S530, S540): Signal transmission step
S700 (S700a, S700b, S700c, S700d): Fault determination step
S900: Failure notification step

Claims (7)

A signal checking step of checking whether the analog signal detected from the detecting means provided in the engine is received in the SENT module;
A signal converting step of converting the analog signal received in the signal checking step into a digital signal in the SENT module;
A signal transmission step of the SENT module transmitting the analog signal received in the signal checking step and the digital signal converted in the signal converting step to a controller; And
And a failure determination step of determining, based on the signal received in the signal transmission step and the signal input to the control unit, whether or not the detection unit has failed. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the SENT module is connected to the control unit by a wire so as to transmit the analog signal of the detection unit to the control unit through the PIN to PIN communication. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a preparation step of checking whether the SENT module can be used by the control unit when the engine starts driving before the signal checking step is performed. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein a plurality of detection means are provided, and in said signal transmission step, a flag signal capable of recognizing said detection means is transmitted together with an analog signal. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the flag signal distinguishes the detection means by making the number of times of the maximum value of the signal received during the unit time different. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the digital signal, the analog signal, and the flag signal are transmitted in parallel to each other in the signal transmission step, and the analog signal and the flag signal are sequentially transmitted at a unit time interval. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a failure notifying step of notifying a user of a failure when the control unit determines that the detecting unit is failed, in the failure determining step.

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