Method for controlling an operating mechanism and a manipulation unit

• US 8,166,344 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2010
• Issued: 04/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dspace GmbH
• Original Assignee: Dspace Digital Signal Processing And Control Engineering Gmbh
• Inventors: Dressler, Marc, Hofmann, Daniel, Kellers, Bastian, Hufnagel, Thorsten
• Primary Examiner(s): Baderman, Scott
• Assistant Examiner(s): PATEL, KAMINI B
• Application Number:
  US12/695,813
• Publication Number:
  US 20100192017A1
• Time in Patent Office: 817 Days
• Field of Search: 714/30
• US Class Current: 714/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3656 using a specific debug interface

Abstract

A method for controlling an operating mechanism using a manipulation unit, in which the operating mechanism includes at least one microcontroller, at least one memory with a plurality of memory cells and at least one first value in a first memory cell and at least one debug interface, and the debug interface exhibits a monitoring functionality for monitoring a program code executed by the operating mechanism and using the debug interface a first pre-set timepoint is detected when processing the program code and, using the information transmitted by the debug interface for the first timepoint to the manipulation unit, a trigger timepoint results for a processing routine through the manipulation unit (IN) and a second value is written using the debug interface by the manipulation unit using the processing routine for a second timepoint in the first memory cell before the first memory cell is read by the operating mechanism for a third timepoint.

Claims

1. A method for controlling an electronic control unit by means of a manipulation unit, in which the electronic control unit includes at least one microcontroller, at least one memory with a plurality of memory cells and at least one first value in a first memory cell and at least one debug interface, and the debug interface exhibits a monitoring functionality for monitoring a program code executed by the electronic control unit, the method comprising

detecting, by using the debug interface, a first pre-set timepoint when processing the program code,

transmitting, by the debug interface, information comprising the first timepoint to the manipulation unit,

generating a trigger timepoint for a processing routine, and

writing, by the manipulation unit using the debug interface, a second value generated by using the processing routine at a second timepoint into the first memory cell of the first memory before the first memory cell of the first memory is read by the electronic control unit at a third timepoint.

2. A computer-implemented method comprising:

controlling an operating mechanism using a manipulation unit in which the operating mechanism includes at least one microcontroller, at least one memory with a plurality of memory cells, at least one first value in a first memory cell and at least one debug interface, and the debug interface exhibits a monitoring functionality for monitoring a program code executed by the operating mechanism;

detecting a first timepoint when processing the program code;

transmitting, by the debug interface, information comprising the first timepoint to the manipulation unit, wherein a trigger timepoint results for a processing routine; and

writing a second value by the manipulation unit using the debug interface at a second timepoint into the first memory cell of the first memory before the first memory cell of the first memory is read by the operating mechanism at a third timepoint.

3. The computer-implemented method according to claim 2, further comprising testing the manipulation unit to determine whether the second timepoint is ahead of the third timepoint and issuing a pre-set value depending on results of the testing.

4. The computer-implemented method according to claim 3, further comprising writing the second value into a first memory cell of a second memory at a fourth timepoint;

and reading the second value by the manipulation unit using the processing routine out of the first memory cell of the second memory.

5. The computer-implemented method according to claim 2, further comprising determining, by the operating mechanism, a time period for the operating mechanism to write a first value into a first memory cell and to read the first memory cell.

6. The computer-implemented method according to claim 5, wherein determining the time period comprises analyzing the program code for the operating mechanism.

7. The computer-implemented method according to claim 6, wherein analyzing the program code is done without using the operating mechanism.

8. The computer-implemented method according to claim 7, further comprising issuing by the manipulation unit using the size of the time intervals of the read-write access occurring in the operating mechanism, the memory cells of the operating mechanism.

9. The computer-implemented method according to claim 7, further comprising writing the second value into a first memory cell of a second memory at a fourth timepoint;

and reading the second value by the manipulation unit using the processing routine out of the first memory cell of the second memory.

10. The computer-implemented method according to claim 6, further comprising issuing by the manipulation unit using the size of the time intervals of the read-write access occurring in the operating mechanism, the memory cells of the operating mechanism.

11. The computer-implemented method according to claim 6, further comprising writing the second value into a first memory cell of a second memory at a fourth timepoint;

and reading the second value by the manipulation unit using the processing routine out of the first memory cell of the second memory.

12. The computer-implemented method according to claim 5, further comprising determining, by the manipulation unit using the monitoring functionality of the debug interface, the time period needed by the operating mechanism.

13. The computer-implemented method according to claim 12, further comprising issuing by the manipulation unit using the size of the time intervals of the read-write access occurring in the operating mechanism, the memory cells of the operating mechanism.

14. The computer-implemented method according to claim 12, further comprising further comprising writing the second value into a first memory cell of a second memory at a fourth timepoint;

and reading the second value by the manipulation unit using the processing routine out of the first memory cell of the second memory.

15. The computer-implemented method according to claim 5, further comprising issuing, by the manipulation unit using the size of the time intervals of the read-write access occurring in the operating mechanism, the memory cells of the operating mechanism.

16. The computer-implemented method according to claim 15, further comprising writing the second value into a first memory cell of a second memory at a fourth timepoint;

and reading the second value by the manipulation unit using the processing routine out of the first memory cell of the second memory.

17. The computer-implemented method according to claim 5, further comprising writing the second value into a first memory cell of a second memory at a fourth timepoint;

and reading the second value by the manipulation unit using the processing routine out of the first memory cell of the second memory.

18. The computer-implemented method according to claim 2, further comprising writing the second value into a first memory cell of a second memory at a fourth timepoint;

and reading the second value by the manipulation unit using the processing routine out of the first memory cell of the second memory.

19. The computer-implemented method according to claim 18, wherein the fourth timepoint is ahead of the second timepoint.

20. The computer-implemented method according to claim 18 wherein the fourth timepoint is ahead of the first timepoint.

21. The computer-implemented method according to claim 18, further comprising writing, using a remote control device, the second value into the first memory cell of the second memory.

22. A system, comprising:

an operating mechanism including

at least one microcontroller,

at least one memory with at least one first value in a first memory cell,

at least one debug interface, wherein the debug interface exhibits a monitoring functionality for monitoring a program code executed by the operating mechanism, wherein the debug interface detects a first timepoint when processing the program code; and

a manipulation unit, wherein the manipulation unit runs a processing routine using the first timepoint transmitted and determines a second value using the processing routine; and

wherein the debug interface writes the second value at a second timepoint in the first memory cell of the first memory before the first memory cell of the first memory is read by the operating mechanism.

23. The system according to claim 22, wherein a first memory cell of a second memory receives the second value.

24. The system according to claim 22, further comprising a remote control device writes the first memory call of a second memory.