Method and device for synthesising an electrical architecture

• US 20060215825A1
• Filed: 10/21/2003
• Published: 09/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Renault Sas (Renault)
• Original Assignee: Renault Sas (Renault)
• Inventors: Dang-Van-Nhan, Christophe, Boutin, Samuel
• Granted Patent: US 7,912,791 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/111
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/18 Network design, e.g. design based on topological or interconnect aspects of utility systems, piping, heating ventilation air conditioning [HVAC] or cabling circuit design at the physical level G06F30/39; network planning tools for wireless communication networks H04W16/18
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination

Abstract

A method and device for synthesizing an electrical architecture. The method synthesizes a routing that obtains the following parameters: different configurations of service variants and calculator variants and rate of occurrence of the configurations, a sum of the rates of the configurations being considered as equal to one; component cost characteristics stored and weighted according to their respective rates of increase; and partial or full positioning of the service variants on the calculator variants. The method also identifies valid routings, evaluates the routing cost of the valid routings for each configuration, and determines the valid routing that minimizes the average of the routing costs for each configuration, the average being weighted by the rates of increase of each configuration.

Claims

1-8. -8. (canceled)

9. A method for synthesis of a routing, comprising:

a) obtaining parameters of;

different configurations of service variants and calculator variants and a percentage occurrence of the configurations, a sum of proportions of the configurations being considered equal to one,

cost characteristics of components stored and weighted as a function of their respective installation proportions,

partial or complete mapping of service variants onto calculator variants,

b) identifying valid routings;

c) evaluating routing cost of the valid routings for each configuration; and

d) determining the valid routing that minimizes the mean, weighted by the installation proportions of each configuration, of the routing costs for each configuration.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein a quality characteristic expressed as breakdowns per million is considered to compare respective measures of two candidate architectures for a product plan.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein one of the quality characteristics considered is weight.

12. A method according to claim 9, further comprising automatically calculating a cost of assembly of electrical and electronic architecture as a function of a cost of assembly of a strand on a zone, of a cost of assembly of a connector on a zone boundary or on a zone, of a cost of assembly of a calculator on a zone, of a cost of assembly of a sensor or actuator on a zone, and of a cost of connection of a connector between zones or in a zone.

13. A method according to claim 9, further comprising synthesizing optimal routing for all configurations, by repeating operations a) to d), criterion for minimization being a cost composed of:

an estimated recurrent cost of parts,

an estimate of quality cost in anticipation of the cost of repair per zone, this quality cost being increased by a constant cost depending on the zone and its ease of access,

an estimate of the cost of weight, taking into account mechanical wear and consumption related to an increase of the weight of the vehicle, and/or

an estimate of the cost of assembly.

14. A method according to claim 9, applied to synthesis of the electrical architecture of a newly created product or to synthesis of an electrical architecture modified relative to a previous architecture.

15. A manufactured article comprising:

a computer storage means having a computer program for synthesizing a routing, wherein the computer program comprises a code for execution of the method defined in claim 9.

16. A device for synthesis of a routing, comprising:

a) means for obtaining parameters of;

different configurations of service variants and calculator variants and a percentage occurrence of the configurations, a sum of proportions of the configurations being considered equal to one,

cost characteristics of components stored and weighted as a function of their respective installation proportions,

partial or complete mapping of service variants onto calculator variants,

b) means for identifying valid routings;

c) means for evaluating routing cost of the valid routings for each configuration; and

d) means for determining the valid routing that minimizes the mean, weighted by the installation proportions of each configuration, of the routing costs for each configuration.