Method, an electrical system, a digital control module, and an actuator control module in a vehicle

• US 20090031198A1
• Filed: 01/08/2008
• Published: 01/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/08/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Saab AB
• Original Assignee: Saab AB
• Inventors: Johansson, Rikard
• Granted Patent: US 8,606,460 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/799
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/182 based on mutual exchange of the output between redundant processing components
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/187 Voting techniques

Abstract

A method, control module and system of a vehicle including at least a first and a second control computer each containing a number of local Digital Control Modules and at least one Actuator Control Module wherein the Actuator Control Module of each control computer is operatively connected to all local Digital Control Modules of the same control computer, wherein the Actuator Control Module of each control computer is further operatively connected to all Digital Control Modules of the electrical system in a manner that enables each Actuator Control Module of the system to receive internal data of each Digital Control Module of the electrical system.

Claims

1. An electrical system of a vehicle, comprising:

a first control computer,

a first actuator,

a first and a second Digital Control Module, and

at least one Actuator Control Module arranged to control the actuator, wherein the Actuator Control Module is operatively connected to the first Digital Control Module, wherein the Actuator Control Module is further operatively connected to the second Digital Control Module of the electrical system, wherein the Actuator Control Module is arranged to receive internal data of the second Digital Control Module from the first Digital Control Module.

2. The electric system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a second control computer, wherein the first and a second control computers each comprise a number of local Digital Control Modules and at least one Actuator Control Module, wherein the first Digital Control Module is arranged at the first control computer and the second Digital Control Module is arranged at the second control computer.

3. The electrical system according to claim 1, wherein the first control computer comprises the first digital control module, the first actuator module is configured to control the first actuator, the second digital control module, and a second actuator module is arranged to control a second actuator, wherein the first and the second digital control module is are arranged to generate data for the first actuator, wherein the first control module is arranged to receive data relating to the first actuator from the second control module, wherein the second control module is arranged to receive data relating to the first actuator from the first control module, and wherein the first control module and the second control module are arranged to transfer the control commands toward the first actuator module.

4. The electrical system according to claim 3, further comprising:

a digital data carrier arranged to connect the first control computer and the second control computer, wherein the second computer comprises a third control module, a third actuator module configured to control a third actuator, a fourth control module, and a fourth actuator module configured to control a fourth actuator, wherein the third control module is configured to generate and transfer control command for the first actuator to the fourth control module and the fourth control module is configured to generate and transfer control command for the first actuator to the third control module, furthermore, is the third control module arranged to receive control command relating to the first actuator from the fourth control module, and the fourth control module is arranged to receive control command relating to the first actuator from the third control module, wherein the third control module and the fourth control module are arranged to transfer the control commands toward the first actuator module via the first and second control modules.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the third control module is arranged to transmit the control commands over a point to point connection on the digital data carrier to one of the digital control modules of the first control computer and the fourth control module is arranged to transmit the control commands over a point to point connection on the digital data carrier to a different digital control modules of the first control computer.

6. The system according to claim 4, wherein the first control module is arranged to receive the control commands relating to the first actuator from the third control module, and the second control module is arranged to receive the control commands relating to the first actuator from the fourth control module, wherein the first control module and the second control module are arranged to transfer the control commands to the first actuator module.

7. The system according to claim 2, where the first control computer comprises a first voting mechanism that allows any number of control modules residing in the first computer to produce an output to be used in voting process to determine the mode of the first actuator connected to the first control computer and where the second control computer is arranged to perform a second voting process, with inputs from any number of control modules residing in the second control computer, and where the result of this second voting is configured to be used as an input to the first voting mechanism in order to determine a mode of said actuator.

8. A digital control module of a first control computer of a control system in a vehicle arranged to calculate a first control command for an actuator of the vehicle, characterised in that the digital control module is arranged to receive a second control command for the actuator from a second digital control module of the first control computer and to transfer the first control command and the second control command toward an actuator control module in the system.

9. The A digital control module according to claim 8, wherein the digital control module is arranged to transfer the control commands over a point to point connection to a third digital control module of a second control computer.

10. The digital control module according to claim 8, wherein the digital control module is arranged to receive a control command over a point to point connection from a fourth digital control module of a third control computer.

11. The digital control module according to claim 10, wherein the digital control module is able to check the validity of the control command.

12. The digital control module according to claim 8, wherein the digital control module is arranged to receive actuator data from an actuator control module from a first control computer and/or a second control computer.

13. The digital control module according to claim 12, wherein the actuator data is used in the calculation of the first control command.

14. The A digital control module according to claim 12, wherein the actuator data is used in determining an output indicating a set condition of an actuator mode valve.

15. An actuator control module of a first control computer of a control system in a vehicle arranged to perform a selection process to determine a control command based on control commands received from at least one digital control module according to claim 8.

16. A method for obtaining data in a control system of a vehicle wherein the data relates to a first actuator in the vehicle, the control system comprising a first control computer, a first and a second digital control modules, and a first actuator control module controlling the first actuator, wherein the first actuator control module is connected with a physical connection to at least the first digital control module wherein the first actuator control module is further connected with a virtual connection to the second digital control module of the electrical system wherein the actuator control module of the control computer is able to communicate the data from/to the second digital control module over the physically connection to the first digital control module.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the first control computer comprises at least two digital control modules and an actuator control module;

and the system further comprises a second control computer comprising at least two digital control modules and an actuator control module, and a digital carrier connecting the first and the second control computer, the method comprising when communicating from each digital control module;

calculating a control command for the actuator unit of the first control computer in each digital control module of each control computer;

transferring internally of the second control computer the calculated control command from each local digital control module to the other local digital control module residing in the second control computer;

receiving internally of the second control computer the calculated control command from the other local digital control module residing in the second control computer;

sending the control commands over a point to point connection on the digital carrier from each local digital control module of the second control computer to a digital control module residing in the first control computer, forming a communicating pair of digital control modules residing in different control computers;

receiving the control commands at a digital control module of the first control computer, and a control command from the other control module residing on the first computer;

transferring the control commands to the actuator control module of the first control computer;

receiving the control commands at the actuator control module; and

determining an actuator control command at the actuator control module based on the received control commands.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein calculating the control commands further comprises receiving actuator data from the actuator control module relating to the first actuator.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the received actuator data is used in order to calculate the control command and/or determine an output to set a actuator module valve.

20. The method according to claim 17, wherein the determining further comprises:

voting the actuator control command based on the number of received control commands, if the number is even voting the actuator control command to the average value of the two middle values, and if the number is odd voting the control command to the middle value of the values.

21. The A method according to claim 17, further comprising:

packing calculated actuator commands and/or feedback data into a data packet, incorporating a mean of detecting corruption of that data packet and/or that the data is no long updated at a predetermined rate.