DIAGNOSIS FOR MIXED SIGNAL DEVICE FOR USE IN A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM

• US 20100117788A1
• Filed: 04/26/2007
• Published: 05/13/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP USA, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Inventors: Link, Leonhard
• Granted Patent: US 8,421,587 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/5.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4035 in which slots of a TDMA packet structure are assigned based on a contention resolution carried out at a master unit TDM/TDMA multiplex systems per se H04J3/1694; hybrid switching systems H04L12/64
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/40273 the transportation system being a vehicle

Abstract

A mixed signal device for use in a distributed system of independent and interoperating devices, comprising at least one analog module, characterised in that the mixed signal device further comprises a diagnosis controller coupled to the at least one analog module, said diagnosis controller being operable to determine an operational status of the mixed signal device.

Claims

1. A mixed signal device for use in a distributed system of independent and interoperating devices, comprising:

at least one analog module;

a diagnosis controller coupled to the at least one analog module, said diagnosis controller being operable to determine an operational status of the mixed signal device; and

a comparison circuit operable to compare an operational status information received from another device within the distributed system against an expected pre-calculated operational status information.

2. The mixed signal device of claim 1, wherein the mixed signal device further comprises a timer, and the diagnosis controller is arranged to determine an operational status of the mixed signal device according to a predetermined timed schedule, using an output of the timer.

3. The mixed signal device of claim 1, wherein the mixed signal device (100) further comprises a communication interface coupled to the diagnosis controller for coupling to other devices in the distributed system via a communications link.

4. The mixed signal device of claim 1, wherein the mixed signal device has at least two analog modules and a multiplexer to multiplex an operational status of a one of the analog modules to the diagnosis controller.

7. The mixed signal device of claim 1, wherein the communications links between devices are low bandwidth links.

8. The mixed signal device of claim 7, wherein the communications links are Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) links.

9. The mixed signal device of claim 7, wherein operational status information is sent to another one of the devices in the distributed system only upon request by said another one of the devices.

10. The mixed signal device claim 1, wherein the communications links between devices are high bandwidth links and wherein operational status information is sent to another one of the devices in the distributed system continuously.

11. The mixed signal device of any of claim 1, wherein the diagnosis controller comprises a processor and a memory containing instructions for execution by the processor to carry out the operation of a diagnosis controller.

12. The mixed signal device of claim 11, wherein the memory is a programmable memory, and wherein the instructions are updateable in operation and/or include pre-calculated expected compressed operational status information.

13. The mixed signal device of claim 12, wherein the instructions are secured prior to updating the instructions using Cyclic Redundancy Check protection.

15. The mixed signal device of claim 1, further comprising an operational status compression unit operable to compress the operational status information.

16. The mixed signal device of claim 15, wherein the operational status compression unit is a signature calculating unit operable to produce a compacted signature indicative of the operational status information.

17. The mixed signal device of claim 1, wherein the diagnosis controller is operable to control at least one of the analog modules.

18. The mixed signal device of claim 1, wherein the timer is synchronous with a master timer for the distributed system.

19. The mixed signal device of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one analog module comprises one of:

a power module;

an actuator module; and

an air bag squib detonator.

20. A distributed system comprising an MCU and at least one mixed signal device according to 1, wherein, in operation, diagnosis of the operational status of the mixed signal device is carried out by the diagnosis controller local to the mixed signal device under supervision of the MCU.

32. The mixed signal device of claim 2, wherein the mixed signal device further comprises a communication interface coupled to the diagnosis controller for coupling to other devices in the distributed system via a communications link.

33. The mixed signal device of claim 2, wherein the mixed signal device has at least two analog modules and a multiplexer to multiplex an operational status of a one of the analog modules to the diagnosis controller.

5-6. -6. (canceled)

14. (canceled)

21. A method of determining operational status information of a distributed system having at least two independent and interoperating devices linked together by a communications link, at least one of the interoperating devices being a mixed signal device having an analog module, a comparison circuit (90) and a diagnosis controller, the method comprising:

determining an operational status of the mixed signal device using the diagnosis controller within the mixed signal device;

sending the determined operational status information to another one of the interoperating devices for comparison with a pre-calculated expected compressed operational status information; and

comparing by the comparison circuit the operational status information received from another one of the interoperating devices within the distributed system against an expected pre-calculated operational status information.

22-31. -31. (canceled)