System and method for monitoring memory stack size

• US 9,128,630 B2
• Filed: 11/25/2013
• Issued: 09/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group), Kia Motors Corporation (Kia Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group), Kia Motors Corporation (Kia Corp.)
• Inventors: Jung, Ui Jung, Park, Ji Yong
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HIEP T
• Application Number:
  US14/088,873
• Publication Number:
  US 20140359246A1
• Time in Patent Office: 652 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/06 including control of combustion engines
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/52 during program execution, e.g. stack integrity ; Preventing unwanted data erasure; Buffer overflow
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0604 Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. storage management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0653 Monitoring storage devices or systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0673 Single storage device

Abstract

A system and method for monitoring a memory stack size is provided, and more particularly, a method for monitoring a memory stack size, whereby the size of a memory stack applied to an operating system of a controller for a vehicle is monitored so that an overflow phenomenon of the memory stack can be prevented. That is, an accurate usage amount of a memory stack of the entire control system for a hybrid vehicle is efficiently and effectively monitored so that, when the control system reaches a risk level of stack overflow, fail-safe logic is executed and an overflow phenomenon of the memory stack as a result can be prevented.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring a memory stack size, the method comprising:

initializing, by a controller, all stack regions of a memory stack;

dividing, by the controller, all the stack regions of the memory stack into n blocks;

checking, by the controller, a block sampling first section that is sampled among the stack regions of each block, using a first pointer and a second pointer that each designate memory address positions in order to determine whether the memory stack is used from a first block to an n-th block among the n blocks;

determining, by the controller, whether a usage trace is present in the block sampling section;

in response to determining that a usage trace is present in the block sampling first section from the first block to the last, n-th block, determining, by the controller, that a stack overflow phenomenon is able to occur and if so, executing fail-safe logic; and

in response to determining that no usage trace is present in one among first through last, (n−

1)-th blocks, measuring a size of the memory stack.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein when the initializing of the all stack regions is performed, an initial value of each stack region is set to 0xFFFFFFFF where F is a hexadecimal number.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein in order to measure the size of the memory stack, an additional measurement module is connected to a regular code of the memory stack so that stack size measurement per task in which the memory stack is used, is able to be performed.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein in order to check a block sampling first section of each block, after the first pointer and the second pointer designating memory address positions are initialized, the first pointer is designated at a starting point of stack regions of a first block among n blocks, and the second pointer is designated at an ending point of the stack regions of the first block.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein, if one among first through (n−

1)-th blocks is accessed and a usage trace is present in the block sampling first section, the first pointer and the second pointer are designated at a starting point and an ending point of a next block.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein when fail-safe logic is executed, a flag signal identifying that all blocks of the memory stack are being used, is transmitted to a central processing unit (CPU) and simultaneously the CPU performs control that turns on a warning light that is present in a cluster of a vehicle and executes a limited task.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the measuring of the size of the memory stack comprises:

detecting a particular block in which the block sampling first section is not used, of first through n-th blocks;

moving the first pointer in a reverse direction and detecting a data usage trace in the block sampling first section of the particular block;

detecting an existence position of last data by checking a data usage trace in a block sampling second section of the particular block using the second pointer; and

when the second pointer is disposed at a position where a size of the block sampling second section is added to an end of an actually-used data region, subtracting the block sampling second section from a value that is obtained by subtracting an ending address of the entire stack region from an address of second pointer to determine a size of the stack size that is being currently used.

8. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing program instructions executed by a controller for monitoring a memory stack size, the computer readable medium comprising:

program instructions that initialize all stack regions of a memory stack;

program instructions that divide all the stack regions of the memory stack into n blocks;

program instructions that check a block sampling first section that is sampled among the stack regions of each block, using a first pointer and a second pointer that each designate memory address positions in order to determine whether the memory stack is used from a first block to an n-th block among the n blocks;

program instructions that determine whether a usage trace is present in the block sampling section;

program instructions that determine that a stack overflow phenomenon is able to occur and if so, executing fail-safe logic in response determining that a usage trace is present in the block sampling first section from the first block to the last, n-th block; and

program instructions that measure a size of the memory stack in response to determining that no usage trace is present in one among first through last, (n−

1)-th blocks.

9. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein when the initializing of the all stack regions is performed, an initial value of each stack region is set to 0xFFFFFFFF where F is a hexadecimal number.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein in order to check a block sampling first section of each block, after the first pointer and the second pointer designating memory address positions are initialized, the first pointer is designated at a starting point of stack regions of a first block among n blocks, and the second pointer is designated at an ending point of the stack regions of the first block.

11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein, if one among first through (n−

1)-th blocks is accessed and a usage trace is present in the block sampling first section, the first pointer and the second pointer are designated at a starting point and an ending point of a next block.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein when fail-safe logic is executed, a flag signal identifying that all blocks of the memory stack are being used, is transmitted to a central processing unit (CPU) and simultaneously the CPU performs control that turns on a warning light that is present in a cluster of a vehicle and executes a limited task.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the program instructions that measure of the size of the memory stack include:

program instructions that detect a particular block in which the block sampling first section is not used, of first through n-th blocks;

program instructions that move the first pointer in a reverse direction and detecting a data usage trace in the block sampling first section of the particular block;

program instructions that detect an existence position of last data by checking a data usage trace in a block sampling second section of the particular block using the second pointer; and

program instructions that subtract the block sampling second section from a value that is obtained by subtracting an ending address of the entire stack region from an address of second pointer to determine a size of the stack size that is being currently used when the second pointer is disposed at a position where a size of the block sampling second section is added to an end of an actually-used data region.

14. A controller for monitoring a memory stack size in a vehicle, the controller comprising:

a memory configured to store a plurality of program instructions; and

a processor configured to execute the plurality of program instructions, the program instructions operable to;

initialize all stack regions of a memory stack;

divide all the stack regions of the memory stack into n blocks;

check a block sampling first section that is sampled among the stack regions of each block, using a first pointer and a second pointer that each designate memory address positions in order to determine whether the memory stack is used from a first block to an n-th block among the n blocks;

determine whether a usage trace is present in the block sampling section;

determine that a stack overflow phenomenon is able to occur and if so, executing fail-safe logic in response determining that a usage trace is present in the block sampling first section from the first block to the last, n-th block; and

measure a size of the memory stack in response to determining that no usage trace is present in one among first through last, (n−

1)-th blocks.