Method and apparatus for isolating a fault in a controller area network

• US 9,417,982 B2
• Filed: 07/16/2014
• Issued: 08/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Jiang, Shengbing
• Primary Examiner(s): Guyton, Philip
• Application Number:
  US14/333,304
• Publication Number:
  US 20150082078A1
• Time in Patent Office: 762 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0739 in a data processing system embedded in automotive or aircraft systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/079 Root cause analysis, i.e. error or fault diagnosis in a hardware test environment G06F11/22; in a software test environment G06F11/36
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/30 Monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3006 where the computing system is distributed, e.g. networked systems, clusters, multiprocessor systems multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46; allocation of resources G06F9/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40169 Flexible bus arrangements arrangements for maintenance or administration involving management of faults; events, alarms H04L41/06; automatic restoration of network faults H04L41/0654
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/40215 Controller Area Network CAN
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0823 Errors, e.g. transmission errors

Abstract

A controller area network (CAN) includes a plurality of CAN elements comprising a communication bus and a plurality of controllers. A method for monitoring includes periodically determining vectors wherein each vector includes inactive ones of the controllers detected during a filtering window. Contents of the periodically determined vectors are time-filtered to determine a fault record vector. A fault on the CAN is isolated by comparing the fault record vector and a fault signature vector determined based upon a network topology for the CAN.

Claims

1. Method for monitoring a controller area network (CAN) including a plurality of CAN elements comprising a communication bus and a plurality of controllers, comprising:

periodically determining vectors, each vector comprising inactive ones of the controllers detected during a filtering window;

time-filtering contents of the periodically determined vectors to determine a fault record vector; and

isolating a fault on the CAN by comparing the fault record vector and a fault signature vector determined based upon a network topology for the CAN.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein isolating a fault on the CAN comprises isolating a fault associated with one of a communications link, a power link and a ground link of the CAN.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein time-filtering contents of the periodically determined vectors to determine a fault record vector comprises time-filtering the periodically determined vectors to determine a fault record vector comprising inactive ones of the controllers.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein time-filtering the periodically determined vectors to determine a fault record vector comprising inactive ones of the controllers comprises time-filtering the periodically determined vectors to determine a fault record vector comprising ones of the CAN controllers that fail to send a message on the CAN during one of the filtering windows.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein periodically determining vectors, each vector comprising inactive ones of the controllers detected during a filtering window comprises detecting as inactive any of the CAN controllers that fails to send a message on the CAN during a complete one of the filtering windows.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein isolating a fault on the CAN by comparing the fault record vector and a fault signature vector determined based upon a network topology for the CAN comprises:

isolating a fault on the CAN by comparing a set of controllers contained in the fault record vector and a plurality of fault signature vectors; and

isolating the fault on the CAN based upon correspondence between the set of controllers contained in the fault record vector and a set of controllers contained in one of the fault signature vectors.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein comparing the fault record vector and a fault signature vector determined based upon a network topology for the CAN comprises comparing the fault record vector and a fault signature vector determined based upon a reachability analysis of the network topology for the CAN.

8. Method for monitoring a controller area network (CAN) including a plurality of CAN elements comprising a communication bus and a plurality of controllers, comprising:

periodically determining vectors, each vector comprising inactive ones of the controllers detected during a filtering window;

determining a fault record vector based upon results associated with a time-filtering of successive ones of the vectors;

isolating a fault on the CAN by comparing the fault record vector and a plurality of fault signature vectors associated with a network topology for the CAN.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein isolating a fault on the CAN comprises isolating a fault associated with one of a communications link, a power link and a ground link of the CAN.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein determining a fault record vector based upon results associated with a time-filtering of successive ones of the vectors comprises time-filtering the successive ones of the vectors to determine a fault record vector comprising inactive ones of the controllers.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein time-filtering the successive ones of the vectors to determine a fault record vector comprising inactive ones of the controllers comprises time-filtering the successive ones of the vectors to determine a fault record vector comprising ones of the CAN controllers that fail to send a message on the CAN during a complete one of the filtering windows.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein periodically determining vectors, each vector comprising inactive ones of the controllers detected during a filtering window comprises detecting as inactive any of the CAN controllers that fails to send a message on the CAN during a complete one of the filtering windows.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein isolating a fault on the CAN by comparing the fault record vector and a fault signature vector determined based upon a network topology for the CAN comprises:

isolating a fault on the CAN by comparing a set of controllers contained in the fault record vector and a plurality of fault signature vectors; and

isolating the fault on the CAN based upon correspondence between the set of controllers contained in the fault record vector and a set of controllers contained in one of the fault signature vectors.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein comparing the fault record vector and a fault signature vector determined based upon a network topology for the CAN comprises comparing the fault record vector and a fault signature vector determined based upon a reachability analysis of the network topology for the CAN.

15. Method for isolating a fault in a controller area network (CAN), comprising:

identifying each of a plurality of controllers configured to communicate on the CAN as active or inactive based upon a capability to send a message on the CAN during a present filtering window;

isolating a fault on the CAN by comparing a fault record vector comprising the identified inactive controllers and a plurality of fault signature vectors determined based upon a reachability analysis of a network topology for the CAN.

16. The method of claim 15, comprising identifying one of the controllers as active when said controller successfully sends a message on the CAN during the present filtering window.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein identifying each controller as inactive based upon a capability to send a message on the CAN during the present filtering window comprises identifying one of the controllers as inactive when said controller has failed to send a message on the CAN during an entire period of a previous filtering window.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising expanding the filtering window to include the previous filtering window when a previously inactive controller reactivates prior to isolating the fault on the CAN.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising delaying said isolating the fault on the CAN until an end of a subsequent filtering window upon identifying one of the controllers as inactive during the present filtering window.