Open communication system for real-time multiprocessor applications

• US 6,629,033 B2
• Filed: 04/24/2001
• Issued: 09/30/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: MicroPairing Technologies LLC (Micropairing Technologies Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Medius Inc
• Inventors: Lutter, Robert Pierce, Preston, Dan Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): Beaulieu, Yonel
• Application Number:
  US09/841,753
• Publication Number:
  US 20020156564A1
• Time in Patent Office: 889 Days
• Field of Search: 701/70, 701/33, 701/36, 701/45, 701/41, 340/425.5, 307/9.1, 307/10.1, 307/10.2, 709/400
• US Class Current: 701/70
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0421 Multiprocessor system
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25219 Probe packet to determine best route for messages

Abstract

A communication system for a mobile vehicle, home, or office environment includes multiple processors. The multiple processors each run an Open Communication system that controls how data is transferred between processors based on data content as opposed to the links that connect the processors together. The open communication system enables data or messages to be effectively transferred and processed for real-time applications or other server based applications that may be running on the multiple processors in a secure environment regardless of processors, locations, or data links.

Claims

1. A method for communicating between different software applications in a same mobile vehicle, comprising:

associating individual communication managers with individual software applications in the mobile vehicle;

receiving messages at the different individual software applications in the mobile vehicle and generating messages from the different individual software applications in the mobile vehicle;

passing the received messages through the individual communication managers associated with different individual software applications receiving the messages before processing the messages with the different software applications receiving the messages in the mobile vehicle and passing the generated messages through the individual communication managers associated with the different individual software applications before sending the generated messages to other software applications in the mobile vehicle, the communication managers each independently attaching message labels to individual messages that individually identify different priority values for the individual messages; and

performing different real-time mobile vehicle applications in the mobile vehicle according to the message labels.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the communication managers individually associated with the individual software applications include a security manager that prevents messages without individually assigned security labels from being processed by certain software applications or certain processors in the mobile vehicle.

3. A method according to claim 1 wherein the communication managers include logging managers individually associated with individual software applications, the logging managers each independently attaching logging labels to individual messages generated by the associated individual software applications.

4. A method according to claim 3 wherein the logging managers independently log individual messages according to the logging labels attached to the individual messages.

5. A method according to claim 1 wherein the communication managers include a priority manager that submits the messages to the different applications according to an identified priority label included with the messages.

6. A method according to claim 5 wherein the priority manager assigns different priority values to individual sensor data messages received from a sensor application according to a degree of possible vehicle collision associated with the individual sensor data messages.

7. A method according to claim 6 wherein messages indicating a possible vehicle collision are assigned a high priority value by one of the communication managers in the vehicle that causes other communication managers in the vehicle to process the critical collision message before other mobile vehicle messages.

8. A method according to claim 1 including receiving the messages from different processors in the mobile vehicle over different communication links.

9. A method according to claim 1 wherein the different communication links include a wireless communication link and a serial communication link.

10. A method according to claim 1 including:

receiving image sensor data from an image processor;

processing the sensor data in one of the applications when a security label is identified in the sensor data;

logging the image sensor data when a logging label is identified in the image sensor data; and

prioritizing the processing of the image sensor data by one of the applications according to a priority label in the image sensor data.

11. A method according to claim 10 including:

sending a break message to a break control processor when an object in the image data is identified as being within a predetermined range of the mobile vehicle;

attaching a logging label to the break command; and

assigning a high priority value to a priority label in the break command.

12. A method according to claim 10 including sending an annunciation message to speakers in the mobile vehicle when an object in the image data is identified as being within a predetermined range of the mobile vehicle.

13. A system for a vehicle, comprising:

multiple processors in the vehicle operating multiple individual software applications;

multiple links connecting the multiple processors together; and

the multiple processors in the vehicle each operating a communication system that includes individual priority managers associated with the individual software applications, the individual priority managers attaching priority labels to individual messages transferred between individual software applications in the vehicle, the priority labels used independently by the individual priority managers to determine processing priorities for the individual messages for the individual software applications.

14. A system according to claim 13 including individual communication managers each associated one of the individual software applications operating in the vehicle.

15. A system according to claim 13 including security managers associated with the individual software applications, the security managers each individually preventing data or messages from unauthorized applications in the vehicle from sending data to their associated individual software applications.

16. A system according to claim 13 including individual logging managers each associated with individual software applications, the individual logging managers each controlling when data and messages from the different applications are individually logged by their associated software applications.

17. A system according to claim 13 wherein the priority managers assign priority values to different sensor data messages according to a likelihood of objects identified in the sensor data colliding with the vehicle.

18. A system according to claim 13 wherein the applications include a sensor application, a fusion application;

and a break control application.

19. A system according to claim 18 wherein the fusion application receives image data from the sensor application and sends breaking commands to the break control application according to the image data.

20. A system according to claim 19 wherein the fusion application and the sensor application log the image data or messages according to how close objects in the image data are from the vehicle.

21. A system according to claim 20 including a second sensor application that sends image data to the fusion application.

22. A system according to claim 13 including a display application that displays sensor data from a sensor application according to a security label, logging label and priority label attached to the sensor data by the communication system.

23. A system according to claim 13 wherein some of the multiple links use different communication protocols for transferring messages and data between the different processors.

24. A system according to claim 23 wherein one of the links is a wireless link and another one of the links is a hardwired serial link.

25. A communication system, comprising:

a processor adapted to run different individual applications;

multiple interfaces adapted to transfer individual messages and data between the different applications over different communication links; and

the processor further adapted to run independently operating communication managers associated with the different individual applications, the communication managers attaching communication labels to the individual messages and data transferred between the different applications, the communication labels uniquely identifying priority values for the individual messages for controlling how the individual messages and data are processed in real-time by the different applications.

26. A communication system according to claim 25 wherein the communication labels are separate from network headers used to transfer the messages and data over the different communication links.

27. A communication system according to claim 26 wherein the communication manager includes a security manager, a logging manager and a priority manager.

28. A communication system according to claim 27 wherein the processor is part of a multiprocessor network used in an automobile.

29. A communication system according to claim 27 wherein the processor is part of a multiprocessor system used in a home or office.

30. A communication system according to claim 27 wherein the processor performs any one of the following applications:

image sensing in a car;

display control in a car;

breaking control in a car;

audio control in a car;

video control in a car;

engine monitoring in a car;

airbag deployment in a car;

temperature control in a car;

or

security monitoring in a car.