SENSOR BUS SYSTEM AND UNIT WITH INTERNAL EVENT VERIFICATION

• US 20160223370A1
• Filed: 02/03/2015
• Published: 08/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Original Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Inventors: Levy, David, Hammerschmidt, Dirk
• Granted Patent: US 10,578,465 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01027 Safing sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01068 between different sensors and airbag control unit
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01 Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents electrical circuits for transmission of signals between steering wheel and the vehicle itself B60R16/027; for electrically actuating belt retractor locking means B60R22/343
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 18/00 Testing or calibrating apparatus or arrangements provided for in groups G01D1/00 - G01D15/00

Abstract

Internal event verification is enabled in sensor bus systems. One example sensor bus system includes a channel master component and one or more channel slave components. A first subset of the channel slave components can include sensors that sense one or more properties (e.g., acceleration) associated with an event (e.g., crash) and output sensor data based on the one or more sensed properties. A second subset of the channel slave components can include channel verification components that can receive, decode, and analyze at least a portion of the sensor data, and output event data indicating whether an event occurred based on the analyzed portion of the sensor data. The channel master component can receive and decode the sensor data and the event data, and output information to a controller, which can send a signal to initiate a response (e.g., airbag deployment) when an event is detected and verified.

Claims

1. A sensor bus unit comprising:

one or more channel slave components coupled together, wherein at least one of the one or more channel slave components comprises a sensor configured to sense one or more properties and to output sensor data associated with the one or more sensed properties, and wherein at least one of the one or more channel slave components comprises a channel verification component configured to analyze at least a portion of the sensor data and to output event data based at least in part on the analysis; and

a channel master component coupled to the one or more channel slave components, wherein the channel master component is configured to receive the sensor data and the event data and is configured to output information associated with the sensor data and the event data to a controller.

2. The sensor bus system of claim 1, wherein a first channel slave component of the one or more channel slave components comprises a first sensor configured to sense the one or more properties and to output first sensor data associated with the one or more sensed properties, and wherein the first channel slave component further comprises a first channel verification component that is configured to analyze at least a first portion of the sensor data and to output first event data based at least in part on the analysis.

3. The sensor bus system of claim 2, wherein the first channel slave component is a channel monitoring sensor, wherein the first channel verification component is configured to analyze sensor data output by at least one sensor other than the first sensor.

4. The sensor bus system of claim 2, wherein the first channel slave component is a self-verifying sensor, wherein the first channel verification component is configured to analyze sensor data output by the first sensor.

5. The sensor bus system of claim 1, wherein one of the at least one channel slave components that comprises a channel verification component comprises a channel event verifier that analyzes sensor data output by one or more other channel slave components.

6. The sensor bus system of claim 1, wherein the channel master component is further configured to output the information associated with the sensor data to an event verification controller.

7. The sensor bus system of claim 1, wherein the one or more channel slave components are configured to transmit and to receive via a common communication mode.

8. The sensor bus system of claim 1, wherein the one or more channel slave components are configured to transmit via a first communication mode and to receive via a second communication mode, wherein the first communication mode is distinct from the second communication mode.

9. The sensor bus system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the channel verification components comprises one or more of a high pass filter or a low pass filter.

10. The sensor bus system of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensed properties comprise at least one of a pressure or an acceleration.

11. A device, comprising:

a communication component configured to be coupled to a sensor bus, wherein the communication component is configured to receive first sensor data associated with one or more first properties; and

a channel verification component configured to analyze at least a portion of the first sensor data and to generate event data that indicates whether an event occurred, wherein the event data is based at least in part on the analyzed first sensor data,

wherein the communication component is further configured to transmit the event data on a channel associated with the sensor bus.

12. The device of claim 11, further comprising a sensor configured to sense one or more second properties and to generate second sensor data associated with the one or more second properties, wherein the communication component is configured to transmit the second sensor data on the channel associated with the sensor bus.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the first sensor data is distinct from the second sensor data, and wherein the communication component is configured to receive the first sensor data from the channel associated with the sensor bus.

14. The device of claim 12, wherein the first sensor data comprises the second sensor data, wherein the channel verification component is configured to analyze the second sensor data, and wherein the event data is based at least in part on the analyzed second sensor data.

15. The device of claim 12, wherein the communication component is configured to transmit the event data appended to the second sensor data.

16. The device of claim 11, wherein the channel verification component is configured to analyze at least the portion of the first sensor data based at least in part on a comparison to one or more threshold values.

17. The device of claim 11, wherein the communication component is configured to transmit and to receive via a common communication mode.

18. The device of claim 11, wherein the communication component is configured to transmit via a first communication mode and to receive via a second communication mode, wherein the first communication mode is distinct from the second communication mode.

19. The device of claim 11, wherein at least one of the communication component or the channel verification component comprises one or more of a high pass filter or a low pass filter that filters the first sensor data.

20. A method comprising:

sensing one or more properties associated with an event;

outputting sensor data associated with the one or more sensed properties to a channel associated with a sensor bus;

analyzing at least a portion of the sensor data;

outputting event data based at least in part on the analyzed portion of the sensor data to the channel associated with the sensor bus;

verifying the event based on the sensor data outputted to the channel associated with the sensor bus and the event data outputted to the channel associated with the sensor bus.