Device and method for controlling control appliances in an on-board supply system of a motor vehicle

• US 7,869,920 B2
• Filed: 08/07/2006
• Issued: 01/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Original Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Inventors: Mark, Wolfram
• Primary Examiner(s): Keith; Jack
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen; Chuong P
• Application Number:
  US11/499,807
• Publication Number:
  US 20070032916A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,618 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701/29, 701/30, 701/31, 701/32, 701/33, 701/35, 701/36, 701/114, 701/115, 340/438, 340/445, 340/825, 340/3.1, 340/3.2, 340/3.21, 340/3.3, 340/3.32, 340/3.5, 340/3.52
• US Class Current: 701/36
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/282 based on user interaction within the home receiver circuitry for displaying additional information being controlled by a remote control apparatus H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40032 Details regarding a bus interface enhancer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/40273 the transportation system being a vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/50 Testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

An arrangement and method for controlling control devices in an on-board wiring system of a motor vehicle are provided, in which the on-board wiring system has a bus system divided into sub-networks of buses with groups of control devices for controlling operating sequences, and in which the control devices are controllable by way of at least one access to a data transmission via a test instrument. A multifunctional data transmission device is connected to the input side of the bus system, to which data transmission device the sub-networks are connectable directly in parallel and are controllable in a parallel manner with respect to time by way of several control devices distributed on the connected sub-networks. The sub-networks may be structured via a hierarchically defined criteria priority, which takes into account the communication required in the operation between the individual control devices within the sub-networks and between the sub-networks, as well as the data quantities to be transmitted to the individual control devices.

Claims

1. An arrangement for controlling control devices in an on-board wiring system of a motor vehicle, in which the on-board wiring system has a bus system comprising multiple sub-networks of buses, each of the sub-networks of buses further comprising a plurality of control devices for controlling operating sequences in the motor vehicle, and in which the plurality of control devices are controllable by way of at least one access to a data transmission with a test instrument via a multifunctional data transmission device connected to an input side of the bus system, the multifunctional data transmission device being adapted to distribute the data transmission to the multiple sub-networks by using a hierarchically-defined criteria priority, and being connected to the multiple sub-networks directly in parallel to control in a parallel manner with respect to time the plurality of control devices distributed on the connected multiple sub-networks, wherein the hierarchically-defined criteria priority includes a first criterion corresponding to communication of the plurality of control devices among one another, a second criterion corresponding to utilization of the sub-network of buses during the data transmission, a third criterion corresponding to the data quantity to be maximally transmitted to the sub-networks, and a fourth criterion corresponding to the placing-together of control devices with the same operating conditions.

2. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein access of the data transmission device has at least one wire-bound interface.

3. The arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the at least one wire-bound interface is constructed as an Ethernet interface.

4. The arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the at least one wire-bound interface is constructed as a universal serial bus interface.

5. The arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the at least one wire-bound interface is constructed as a Firewire interface.

6. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein access of the data transmission device has at least one wireless interface.

7. The arrangement according to claim 6, wherein the at least one wireless interface is constructed as a Wireless Local Area Network interface.

8. The arrangement according to claim 6, wherein the at least one wireless interface is constructed as a Bluetooth interface.

9. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the data transmission device has an on-board diagnostic access.

10. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein at least one storage medium receiving device for a storage medium is arranged on the data transmission device.

11. The arrangement according to claim 10, wherein the storage medium is constructed as a data memory card, and further wherein the at least one storage media receiving device is constructed as an insertion site for the data memory card.

12. The arrangement according to claim 11, wherein the data memory card is constructed as a Compact Flash card, and further wherein the insertion site is constructed as a Compact Flash insertion site.

13. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein a timer is provided by which the control devices are synchronously supplied with a central system time.

14. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein, when certain operating conditions of the motor vehicle are present, individual sub-networks not required for these operating conditions are switched-off.

15. A method of controlling control devices in an on-board wiring system of a motor vehicle, the method comprising the acts of:

addressing a plurality of control devices, disposed in multiple sub-networks of buses, for a control of operating sequences for a data transmission by use of a test instrument; and

by way of a multifunctional data transmission device, adapted to use a hierarchically-defined criteria priority, distributing the data transmission to the multiple sub-networks by addressing, in a parallel manner with respect to time, the plurality of control devices arranged in the multiple sub-networks of buses, the multiple sub-networks forming a bus system of the on-board wiring system of the motor vehicle connected to the test instrument by way of the multifunctional data transmission device, wherein the hierarchically-defined criteria priority includes a first criterion corresponding to communication of the plurality of control devices among one another, a second criterion corresponding to utilization of the sub-network of buses during the data transmission, a third criterion corresponding to the data quantity to be maximally transmitted to the sub-networks, and a fourth criterion corresponding to the placing-together of control devices with the same operating conditions.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein during update programming and/or during new programming of control devices, first the data transmission device is supplied with data, and subsequently the control devices to be programmed are programmed in parallel on the sub-networks of the on-board wiring system.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein first a storage medium is written with data, and, as required, the data of the storage medium inserted in a storage media receiving device of the data transmission device are transmitted to the on-board wiring system.

18. The method according to claim 15, wherein control device addresses assigned to the control devices (SG1 to SGn) are allocated in a multiple manner on the sub-networks.

19. The method according to claim 15, wherein, by way of a wireless access of the respective data transmission device, the on-board wiring systems of several motor vehicles are simultaneously fed with data and/or diagnosed.