Networking of control devices of a motor vehicle

• US 8,909,418 B2
• Filed: 06/11/2009
• Issued: 12/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Original Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Inventors: Wende, Frank, Siefermann, Otmar
• Primary Examiner(s): Keith, Jack W
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Chuong P
• Application Number:
  US12/482,786
• Publication Number:
  US 20090299548A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,007 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701/36, 326/62, 326/86, 370/254, 370/256, 370/257, 370/355, 370/362, 370/364, 370/365, 370/401, 370/402, 340/500, 340/1.1, 702/2, 702/8, 702 19- 21
• US Class Current: 701/36
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40097 Interconnection with other networks LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone H04L12/462; single bridge functionality H04L12/462
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4625 Single bridge functionality, e.g. connection of two networks over a single bridge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

Control devices in a motor vehicle, having first sequence-controlled control devices being connected to a first data bus and second sequence-controlled control devices being connected to a second data bus, are networked. A first control device sends a first message via the gateway device into the first and second data buses. At least a second control device receives the first message and checks whether the receiving of the first message is required for the corresponding control device. The second control device sends out a response message, which indicates whether the second control device has a corresponding need to receive the first message. In the event of such a need, a routing default is established and/or an existing routing default is changed in a gateway device.

Claims

1. A process for networking control devices in a motor vehicle, having at least two data buses, of which first sequence-controlled control devices are connected to a first data bus and second sequence-controlled control devices are connected to a second data bus, wherein the first data bus is connected to the second data bus by at least one gateway device, the first control devices exchanging messages with the second control devices via the at least one gateway device based on a routing default, wherein the routing default comprising a routing table stored by the gateway device, the method comprising the acts of:

sending a first message from a first control device of the first or second control devices via the gateway device into the at least two data buses, the first message being a message normally emitted by the first control device during operation of the motor vehicle;

receiving the first message by a second control device of the first or second control devices, and checking whether the received first message is required for the second control device to carry out intended tasks of the second control device during operation of the motor vehicle;

sending a response message by the second control device to the first control device indicating at least a result of said checking; and

in response to the response message indicating that the first message is required for the second control device to carry out intended tasks of the second control device during operation of the motor vehicle, affecting the routing default that causes the first message, when sent again by the first control device during operation of the motor vehicle, to arrive at the second control device, and

in response to the response message indicating that the first message is not required for the second control device to carry out intended tasks of the second control device during operation of the motor vehicle, affecting the routing default so that the first message, when sent again by the first control device during operation of the motor vehicle, does not arrive at the second control device.

2. The process according to claim 1, wherein the act of affecting the routing default is performed by at least one of establishing a routing default and changing an existing routing default.

3. The process according to claim 1, wherein each control device of the first and second control devices determines whether the first message is required for it to carry out an intended task of the respective first and second control device during operation of the motor vehicle.

4. The process according to claim 3, wherein the determining that the first message is required to carry out intended tasks during operation of the motor vehicle is made substantially for every message of a respective control device capable of generating said message.

5. The process according to claim 3, further comprising the acts of:

sending the response message from the second control device to at least the first control device; and

affecting the routing default by way of at least one of the first control device, the second control device, and the gateway device.

6. The process according to claim 3, wherein said sending the first message is performed after completion of a networking of the control device during a manufacture of the motor vehicle.

7. The process according to claim 6, wherein said sending the first message is performed again after at least one of an exchange of a control device, an expansion of the networking via an additional control device, and a change of sequence control of at least one control device, whereby the routing default is adapted correspondingly.

8. The process according to claim 1, wherein the determining that the first message is required to carry out intended tasks during operation of the motor vehicle is made substantially for every message of a respective control device capable of generating said message.

9. The process according to claim 1, further comprising the acts of:

sending the response message from the second control device to at least the first control device; and

affecting the routing default by way of at least one of the first control device, the second control device, and the gateway device.

10. The process according to claim 1, wherein the first control device sends out the first message again during operation of the motor vehicle in response to at least one other control device has informed the first control device of a corresponding need for the first message to carry out an intended task of the at least one other control device.

11. The process according to claim 1, wherein the routing default is stored in a non-volatile, re-writable memory.

12. The process according to claim 11, wherein said memory is an NV-RAM.