ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS AND CONTROL MODULE

• US 20120053754A1
• Filed: 08/31/2010
• Published: 03/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Jonas Bereisa Jr, Karen Pease
• Original Assignee: Jonas Bereisa Jr, Karen Pease
• Inventors: Pease, Karen, Bereisa, Jonas Jr.
• Application Number:
  US12/872,846
• Publication Number:
  US 20120053754A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/023 for transmission of signals between vehicle parts or subsystems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0018 Method for the design of a control system
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0098 Details of control systems ensuring comfort, safety or stability not otherwise provided for

Abstract

The present invention includes a system for controlling a motor vehicle. A combination of hardware and software that is modular, redundant and upgradeable communicates with a plurality of vehicle components. The hardware and software combination also communicates with remote computing resources. The system includes a display in the vehicle. The invention also includes an electronic communications and control module that has hardware and software cooperating to facilitate operation of a motor vehicle by using the protocol layer to translate between the device drivers and other software. The hardware includes several identical, hot-swappable circuit boards and one or more communication devices. Both the software and the hardware of the module are upgradeable. And the module may use communication devices to off load computation or storage for one or more vehicle components onto remote computing resources.

Claims

1. A system for controlling a motor vehicle, comprising:

a plurality of vehicle components;

an electronic communication and control module (ECCM) comprising hardware and software, wherein in the ECCM includes hardware and software having a modular design, redundant functionality and that is upgradeable and wherein the ECCM is connected to the plurality of vehicle components and connectable to a remote computing resources; and

at least one display unit connected to the ECCM.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the hardware of the ECCM further comprises at least two, hot swappable circuit boards.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the plurality of vehicle components include one or more latency intolerant systems.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the plurality of vehicle components include one or more latency tolerant systems.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the ECCM communicates with the remote computing resources to accomplishing computing or storage for the one or more latency tolerant systems.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the software of the ECCM further comprises a protocol layer separating an operating system from the remainder of the software of the ECCM.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the software of the ECCM further comprises one or more computation modules that provide upgraded functionality to the software.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the one or more computation modules comprises at least a frontend of an application store through which additional computational modules may be added to the software.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein at least a backend of the application store is found on the remote computing resources.

10. An electronic communications and control module, comprising:

hardware including a plurality of identical, hot-swappable, circuit boards and one or more communication devices; and

software including a protocol layer situated between one or more device drivers and the remainder of the software,

wherein the hardware and software

     1) cooperate to facilitate operation of a motor vehicle by using the protocol layer to translate between the device drivers and the remainder of the software;

     2) are upgradeable; and

     3) off load computation or storage for one or more vehicle components onto remote computing resources.

11. The module of claim 10 further connected to a display device in the motor vehicle.

12. The module of claim 11 wherein the software further comprises one or more computation modules.

13. The module of claim 12 wherein the one or more computation modules comprises at least a frontend for an application store.

14. The module of claim 13 further comprising remote computing resources.

15. The module of claim 12 wherein the one or more computation modules comprises a range calculator.

16. The module of claim 15 further comprising remote computing resources.