Method and device for controlling operational sequences

• US 6,757,608 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2001
• Issued: 06/29/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Baeuerle, Peter, Gross, Helmut, Mencher, Bernhard
• Primary Examiner(s): Wolfe, Willis R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hoang, Johnny H.
• Application Number:
  US09/966,198
• Publication Number:
  US 20020103592A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,005 Days
• Field of Search: 701/115, 701/102, 701/110, 701/101, 700/15, 700/14, 700/17, 700/18, 700/210, 700/211, 123/361, 123/478, 123/479
• US Class Current: 701/115
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/403 with centralised control, e.g. polling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/40215 Controller Area Network CAN
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/40273 the transportation system being a vehicle

Abstract

A method and a device for controlling operational sequences, particularly in a vehicle, at least one sensor having a connection unit being connected via a bus system to at least one control unit for controlling the operational sequences, the control unit likewise having a connection unit, and sensor information being transmitted to the control unit. The control unit reads in and/or processes the sensor information at specifiable synchronization points. A trigger signal is transmitted by the control unit via the bus system to the sensor in such a way with an allowance that the sensor information is available in a manner that it is able to be read in and/or processed exactly at the synchronization point for the control unit.

Claims

1. A method for controlling an operational sequence, comprising the steps of:

connecting at least one sensor that includes a connection unit via a bus system to at least one control unit for controlling the operational sequence, the at least one control unit including a connection unit;

transmitting sensor information to the at least one control unit;

causing the at least one control unit to at least one of read in and process the sensor information at a specifiable synchronization point; and

causing the at least one control unit to transmit a trigger signal via the bus system to the at least one sensor in such a way that with an allowance, the sensor information is available at the specifiable synchronization point for the at least one control unit in a manner that the sensor information is able to be at least one of read in and processed.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

the operational sequence is in a vehicle.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

causing the at least one sensor to preprocess the sensor information; and

adapting the allowance according to a time for preprocessing the sensor information.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:

at least one of predefining and adapting the allowance in a variable manner, as a function of a performance quantity stemming from the operational sequence.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein:

the step of at least one of predefining and adapting the allowance in the variable manner is performed as a function of an engine speed.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:

at least one of predefining and adapting the allowance as a function of at least one of the following influences;

a transmission time from a processing unit of the at least one control unit to the connection unit thereof,

a transmission time of a bus message to be transmitted,

a transmission time of the trigger signal via the bus system,

a transmission time from the connection unit of the at least one sensor to a processing unit thereof,

a processing time until the processing unit in the at least one sensor has finished processing the sensor information, and

a transmission time of the sensor information from the at least one sensor to the at least one control unit.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of:

the allowance is one of determined in the form of a time quantity as a time allowance and determined in the form of an angle quantity as an angle allowance, and

the time allowance and the angle allowance are converted into one another.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein:

when using the angle allowance, a performance quantity is only determined in the specifiable synchronization point.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:

providing various priorities for the bus system, the trigger signal having a highest one of the various priorities.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:

transmitting the sensor information and the trigger signal in a line-less manner between the connection unit of the at least one sensor and the connection unit of the at least one control unit, the connection unit of the at least one sensor and the connection unit of the at least one control unit each including a transmitter/receiver unit.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the allowance is a time allowance.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the allowance is an angle allowance.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the allowance is determined such that the sensor information is available just in time at the synchronization point for the control unit.

14. A device for controlling an operational sequence, comprising:

at least one sensor including a connection unit;

at least one control unit for controlling the operational sequence;

a bus system through which the at least one sensor is connected via the connection unit to a connection unit of the at least one control unit; and

a first arrangement for transmitting sensor information to the at least one control unit, the at least one control unit at least one of reading in and processing the sensor information at a specifiable synchronization point, wherein;

the at least one control unit includes a second arrangement for transmitting a trigger signal via the bus system to the at least one sensor in such a way that with an allowance, the sensor information is available in a manner that the sensor information is able to be at least one of read in and processed at the specifiable synchronization point for the at least one control unit.

15. The device according to claim 14, wherein:

the operational sequence is in a vehicle.

16. The device according to claim 14, wherein:

each one of the connection unit of the at least one sensor and the connection unit of the at least one control unit includes a transmitter/receiver unit, and

the trigger signal and the sensor information are transmitted in a line-less manner.

17. The device according to claim 16, further comprising:

a radio bus system via which the trigger signal and the sensor information are transmitted in a line-less manner.

18. The device according to claim 14, wherein:

the device is used within a framework of an exhaust branch of a vehicle, the at least one sensor including one of a lamda sensor and a hot-film air-mass meter, and the at least one control unit being including an engine control unit.

19. A method for controlling an operational sequence, comprising the steps of:

connecting at least one sensor that includes a connection unit via a bus system to at least one control unit for controlling the operational sequence, the at least one control unit including a connection unit;

transmitting sensor information to the at least one control unit;

causing the at least one control unit to at least one of read in and process the sensor information at a specifiable synchronization point;

causing the at least one control unit to transmit a trigger signal via the bus system to the at least one sensor in such a way with an allowance that the sensor information is available at the specifiable synchronization point for the at least one control unit in a manner that the sensor information is able to be at least one of read in and processed; and

at least one of predefining and adapting the allowance as a function of at least one of the following influences;

a transmission time from a processing unit of the at least one control unit to the connection unit thereof,

a transmission time of a bus message to be transmitted,

a transmission time of the trigger signal via the bus system,

a transmission time from the connection unit of the at least one sensor to a processing unit thereof,

a processing time until the processing unit in the at least one sensor has finished processing the sensor information, and

a transmission time of the sensor information from the at least one sensor to the at least one control unit.

20. A device for controlling an operational sequence, comprising:

at least one sensor including a connection unit;

at least one control unit for controlling the operational sequence;

a bus system through which the at least one sensor is connected via the connection unit to a connection unit of the at least one control unit; and

a first arrangement for transmitting sensor information to the at least one control unit, the at least one control unit at least one of reading in and processing the sensor information at a specifiable synchronization point, wherein;

the at least one control unit includes a second arrangement for transmitting a trigger signal via the bus system to the at least one sensor in such a way with an allowance that the sensor information is available in a manner that the sensor information is able to be at least one of read in and processed at the specifiable synchronization point for the at least one control unit, the allowance being at least one of predefined and adapted as a function of at least one of the following influences;

a transmission time from a processing unit of the at least one control unit to the connection unit thereof,

a transmission time of a bus message to be transmitted,

a transmission time of the trigger signal via the bus system,

a transmission time from the connection unit of the at least one sensor to a processing unit thereof,

a processing time until the processing unit in the at least one sensor has finished processing the sensor information, and

a transmission time of the sensor information from the at least one sensor to the at least one control unit.