Title of Invention

ELECTRONIC SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE AND SYSTEM LAYER FOR OPERATING FUNCTIONS

Abstract

Electronic system 200 for a vehicle which is composed of first components for carrying out control tasks during operating sequences and second components which coordinate interaction between the components in order to carry out control tasks, the first components carrying out the control tasks by using operating functions FI-F6 and basic functions BaF, characterized in that the system is constructed in such a way that the basic functions BaF are combined in a basic layer 202 and a system layer 203 is included which is based on the basic functions BaF and which comprises at least two of the second components, at least one open interface 204 between the system layer and the operating functions FI-F6 being also provided, and the system layer 203 connecting the basic functions BaF to any desired operating functions FI-F6 in such a way that the operating functions FI-F6 can be integrated and/or used in a modular fashion.

Full Text

07.09.00 Sy/Bc ROBERT BOSCH GMBH, 70442 Stuttgart Electronic system for a vehicle and system layer for ope ratine; functions Prior art The invention relates to an electronic system for a vehicle and a system layer of the electronic system according to the preambles of the independent claims. The number of electronic systems in vehicles is continuously increasing. It is expected that further new electronic vehicle systems will be introduced in series fashion. Since the effects of the individual systems are not independent of one another, significant additional benefits can be obtained from synergies of a collection of systems in a vehicle. In order to overcome the complexity of such a collection of systems in a vehicle, a system concept has been presented as a basis for comprehensive implementation of a collection of electronic vehicle systems in the SAE paper 980200 "CARTRONIC - An Open Architecture for Networking the Control Systems of an Automobile", which was disclosed at the international congress in Detroit, Michigan on 23.02,1998. The concept presented in said paper have an open control architecture for the entire vehicle. This control architecture can be transposed to an electronic driver/vehicle system which is then composed of components for carrying out control tasks in the vehicle, as is disclosed in DE 41 11 023 Al (US 5,351,776). These control tasks relate at least to the movement of the vehicle and the drive train, components being included which coordinate the interaction between the components for the control tasks. The components are arranged in a plurality of layers in the manner of a hierarchy which is tailored to the vehicle topology, in which case, during the conversion of the driver's wishes into corresponding operating behavior, the at least one coordination component of a hierarchy level accesses the components of the next hierarchy level and thus a subsystem of the driver/vehicle system while maintaining the behavior which is respectively required for the subsystem by the higher hierarchy level. In the process, a distinction is made between at least coordination components of the entire vehicle, the drive train and the movement of the vehicle, each of the subsystems coordinating its subsystems itself. In general, such a system concept according to the abovementioned prior art is based on a general or standardized real-time operating system. Such a standard operating system is, for example ERCOS or OSEK or OSEK/VDX. OSEK/VDX is described, for example, in the binding specification. Version 1.0 of 28.07.2000 and forms, with its interfaces for the electronics in the motor vehicle as open system, the basis for a system concept. A comparable real-time operating system is, as described above, ERCOS which is presented in DE 195 00 957 Al. Until today it has been customary to use embedded software solutions based on the real-time operating system in order to control operating sequences of a vehicle. In the process, application-specific functions, system basic functions, core functions and the corresponding driver software, that is to say, on the one hand, the specific basic functions with, on the other hand, the different operating functions and operating sub-functionalities which determine the actual operating behavior of the vehicle are inter¬connected. Necessary or desired changes to functions or the subsequent insertion of functions can give rise. with software solutions which are interconnected in such a way, to very complex system configurations, in particular in relation to the interfaces. This situation, in particular in terms of a simple way of changing functions or of inserting new functions, will then be optimized according to the invention in the text which follows. Advantages of the invention The preconditions provided by the system concept in the SAE paper 980200 in this respect will be optimized according to the invention in the text which follows by means of the clear separation of the operating functions and the basic functions and the introduction of a system layer with an open interface function. Here, the contents of DE 41 11 023 Al and of the SAE paper 980200 are expressly the basis for this invention here which is wider ranging, The invention is based here on an electronic system for a vehicle or on a system layer of the electronic system, the electronic system comprising first components for carrying out control tasks during operating sequences of the vehicle, and second components which coordinate interaction between the first components in , order to carry out the control tasks* The first components carry out the control tasks here by using operating functions and basic functions. The system is advantageously constructed in such a way that basic functions and operating functions or operating sub-functionalities (referred to below as operating sub-modules) are clearly separated from one another, the basic functions being combined in a basic layer. The system layer is then expediently based on the basic layer which contains the basic functions, The system layer contains here at least two of the second components which coordinate the interaction between the control components. At least one open interface between the operating functions is advantageously provided in or at the system layer, as a result of which the system layer connects the basic functions to any desired operating functions in such a way that the operating functions can be integrated and/or used in a modular fashion or can be linked to the electronic system in a modular fashion, The operating functions or operating sub-modules can thus advantageously be integrated into the electronic system, re-used and replaced or changed at any time in a modular fashion, It is also advantageous that a well-defined interface is thus defined by the system layer in order to permit, within the scope of the control device software for any desired operating functions, a formation of variants and expansions or changes to the functionality, in particular by means of operating sub-modules, what are referred to as plug-in's. In one appropriate refinement it is thus possible for a system which is already in series production or in use or operation to be further developed, changed and/or expanded by adding new operating functions at any time. In this way, control tasks or specific performance features of an electronic system can be appropriately designed, developed and implemented in a very flexible and individual fashion. » In addition, monitoring functions relating to the operating functions and/or the operating sub-modules are expediently integrated into the system layer. This provides the advantages of modularization of the software functionalities and monitoring functionalities and, associated with this, the possibility of integrating, for example, third-party software into the electronic system with little expenditure. This also permits, in particular, customized variants to be advantageously formed in an exclusive fashion within the operating functions or the operating sub-modules while the system layer can be configured in an application-independent fashion, Of the second components, the system layer expediently comprises at least those relating to the coordination of the entire vehicle and relating to the coordination of the drive train and/or relating to the coordination of the movement of the vehicle. The operating functions or operating sub-modules can advantageously be integrated and/or used in a modular fashion before and/or during compilation and/or before and/or during the execution of the control tasks. Further advantages and advantageous refinements emerge from the description and the claims. Drawing The invention will be explained below with reference to the figures illustrated in the drawing. Figure 1 shows a global circuit diagram of a control device, Figure ,2 shows an electronic system, configured in particular as a software architecture to be transposed onto the electronics of the vehicle. Figure 3 shows an exemplary embodiment of the electronic system within the scope of the drive train management. Description of the exemplary embodiments Figure 1 shows a block circuit diagram of a control device for carrying out control tasks within the scope of operating sequences in a vehicle. The control device is responsible here, for example, for control tasks in conjunction with operating sequences of the vehicle within the scope of an engine controller (petrol diesel, BDE, etc.), a braking or driving function controller (ABS, TCS, ESP, brake by wire, etc. ) , a transmission controller, an electric power steering controller (for example steer by wire) and a controller for vehicle guidance systems and/or all-round view (for example ACC), bodyworks controller (for example door locks, window winder etc.), power controller or vehicle electrical system controller etc. Here, a control unit 100 is provided which has, as components, an input circuit or input interface 102, at least one output unit 101 and one output circuit or output interface 103, A communications system 104, in particular a bus system, connects these components for the mutual exchange of data. Input lines 109 to 112, which are embodied as a bus system in one preferred exemplary embodiment and via which signals, which represent operating variables to be evaluated for the execution of the control tasks, are fed to the control unit 100 are fed to the input circuit 102 of the control unit 100, These signals are picked up by measuring devices 105 to 108 or supplied by other control units or control devices. Such operating variables are, for example, accelerator pedal position, engine speed, engine load, exhaust gas composition, engine temperature, transmission transmj-ssion ratio, traveling speed, wheel speed, steering angle, rotational speed (gear torque), distance from vehicle traveling ahead or obstacle etc. The control unit 103 controls or regulates actuators 113 to 116 by means of the output circuit 103 via feeder lines 117 to 120 in accordance with the respective application of the control device, In the scope of the control of, for example, a drive unit, the power of the drive unit is regulated, by means of the output circuit 103, for example. Within the scope of the control of the power of the drive unit, fuel mass to be injected, the injection angle or ignition angle of the internal combustion engine and the position of at least one throttle valve which can be actuated electrically is set by means of the output lines 117 to 120 in order to set the air supply to the internal combustion engine. Here too, the output lines 117 to 120 are also embodied as a bus system in one preferred exemplary embodiment, Here, as is symbolically represented by the elements 121, 122 and 123, a single input/output circuit 121, in particular a bus controller with connection 122 to the communication system 104 and the external connection 123 to actuators, further control units or sensors can optionally also be provided, In addition to the depicted corresponding measuring systems which supply the input variables, further control units of the vehicle or vehicle systems are provided which transmit further preset variables, for example preset setpoint values, in particular setpoint torque values, to the input circuit 102 or optionally to the bus-connection circuit 121. Within the scope of the driving controller, appropriate control systems which supply such preset variables of, for example, control devices (cf. those specified above), are, for example, traction control systems, vehicle dynamics control systems, transmission controllers, engine torque controllers, traveling speed controllers, traveling speed limiters, vehicle guidance controllers etc, Within the scope of an internal combustion engine controller, the air supply to the internal combustion engine, the ignition angle of the individual cylinders in the case of spark ignition engine, the fuel mass to be injected, the injection time and/or the fuel/air ratio etc. are set by means of the actuating paths illustrated. In addition to the preset setpoint values illustrated, the external preset setpoint values which also include the presetting of a setpoint value by the driver in the form of a drivers' requirement and for example a maximum speed limitation, there are internal preset variables for controlling, for example, the drive unit, such as for example a torque change of an idling controller, rotational speed limitation which outputs a corresponding preset variable, the torque limitation etc, This thus indicates which different adjustment and control tasks occur in a motor vehicle and which control systems and control devices have to be the first components to be linked or interconnected. By coordinating these control tasks or the first components to carry them out more intensively than in the past, a better system-oriented behavior is obtained according to the invention. An example of this here is the control and adjustment of the entire drive train including all the coordination components (for example entire vehicle, movement of the vehicle, drive), instead of individual actions of the engine and transmission with mutual exchange of data. This provides the possibility of performing changes and improvements to operating functions, in particular even to or by means of operating sub-modules, what are referred to as plug-in's, within the scope of the system layer. Operating sub-modules vary and/or complement already existing functionality or operating functions without changing the actual core functionality of the operating function. They thus constitute a simple possibility of exerting influence or making changes. Within the sense of the invention, which means representing vehicle-related functions in encapsulated and' transposable fashion, that is to say in a way which can be transferred and re-used in order to be able to apply them to the same extent in- a modular fashion, for example for different control devices or control components, the operating functions and the operating sub-modules can be used to the same extent and applied to the system layer which serves as a basis, One reason for difference is the respectively included functional range, which does not, however, prohibit equality of handling within the scope of the invention, for which reason they are not differentiated below in relation to the electronic system. For this purpose, an electronic system 200, which can be realized, for example, by implementing a software architecture on the hardware or electronics corresponding to the vehicle topology is represented in figure 2. The basic connection to these electronics of the vehicle is provided by the layer 201 which symbolizes the standard operating system, in fact OSEK or ERCOS, for example. According to the invention a separation is now made between the basic functions or basic functionality and the operating functions or corresponding functionality. The basic functions BaF are based on the real-time operating system 201 in a basic layer 202, Such basic functions are, for example, system core functions. driver software and basic system functionality, that is to say functions which are control device-specific or control unit'-specific. The system layer 203 is then based on these basic functions BaF, said system layer 203 containing an open interface 204 or being connected via the latter to the operating function layer or the operating sub-module layer 205. In contrast to complete operating functions, the operating sub-modules are, as already mentioned, designed in such a way that they can vary an already existing functionality or supplement functionality. When operating sub-modules (plug-in's) are added or exchanged, the core functionality is, however not changed, In one preferred embodiment, interfaces for the operating sub-modules are made available for operating functions for which such operating sub-modules are permitted and they make available, on the one hand, the interface of the plug-in functionality for the system layer and, on the other hand, they constitute the external interface to the plug-in's. This interface functionality can be planned in a plug interface component in the system layer, which then undergoes necessary adaptations when a plug-in is exchanged. Operating functions or operating sub-modules Fl to F4 are realized here by means of the open interface which may contain the abovementioned interface components. In this way, further operating functions or operating sub-modules F5 and F6 can easily be linked, using the opening interface 204 as a basis, or integrated into the electronic system 200. Changes to existing functionality F2 can^ as indicated, also be easily carried out by removing and changing the functionality into a new F2 operating functionality and adding again to the open interface 204. As a result, these vehicle functions, that is to say operating functions, can very easily be configured in a specific fashion, in particular a driver-specific and vehicle-specific fashion and at the same time in a modular and re-usable fashion. Likewise, they can also be integrated and/or linked at any time for compiling and/or the execution of control tasks. Therefore, integration of the functionality, like the application, is also easily possible during operation, Function interfaces to operating functions or operating sub-modules and coordination components are thus stored in the system layer SL or 203 according to the prior art. They are combined in the open interface 204 in figure 2, At the same time, there is provision for monitoring functions for the functionality of the operating functions or of the operating sub-modules to be implemented in the system layer SL or 203. These monitoring functions then individually monitor the plausibility of the input information provided to the operation functions or operating sub-modules, the plausibility of the output information supplied by the latter and the presence and the correct functioning of the functionalities represented by the operating functions or operating sub-modules, A drive train management system which is realized in such a way is explained below in more detail with reference to figure 3 as an embodiment. The respective functionality or the electronic system can be distributed here in any desired fashion among the electronics contained in the vehicle, Figure 3 shows here with respect to the prior art, the combination of the coordinators Kl, K2 and K3; with Kl coordinator for the movement of the vehicle, K2 coordinator for the entire vehicle and K3 coordinator for the drive train in the system layer 203. This combination of the coordinators in one layer is represented here by 300 because the monitoring functions are not illustrated here. The engine management system 301, which is represented, for example, in an embodiment in the not yet published DE 100 166 45, is coupled via an interface 1301, Given separation into engine-dependent and engine-independent functionalities, the engine-dependent functions are classified as basic functions, as a result of which the engine-independent super ordinate traveling functions do not need to take account of the engine-specific selection of the actuating paths in order to implement their request. If a different classification in terms of the basic functions is performed, 1301 is provided as a standard interface and the engine management system can achieve in the region of the plug-in functionality. Such a drive train management system is implemented firstly in a decentralized hardware architecture, i.e. into the already existing control devices of the drive train. However, this function and software architecture also supports distribution of the functions among other computers or computing units or control devices in a vehicle. The interfaces 1302 to 1313 and 13145 and 1316 can be combined here according to the invention in the open interface layer 204 from figure 2. The coordinators for the movement Kl of the vehicle, the entire vehicle K2 and the drive train K3 are contained in the system layer SL* By means of the aforementioned open standard interfaces, functions can then easily be added onto the basic functions BaF through the system layer of the control units or control-device-specific functions. Such operating functions relate, for example, to mechanical, thermal and/or electrical power management 308, navigation 309, vehicle guidance 310, air-conditioning control 307 and generator management 306 as well as other functionalities which are coordinated by means of the coordinator K2 and for which element 311 is represented as a place marker. The same applies with respect to the coordinate K3 for the drive train for coordinated drive train control 302, clutch management 303, transmission control 304 and the starter management 305. ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) 312, drivers' wishes 313, ESP 314, brake controller 315 and element 316 as a place marker for further options are provided here with respect to movement of the vehicle. Here, ESP 314 and the brake controller 315 are provided, for example, with a common interface 13145. Likewise, operating functions can have connections to one another, as is the case with the starter management system 305 and the generator management system 306, The invention presented above thus permits optimized modular implementation of existing vehicle functions and of new vehicle functions. The consistent implementation according to the invention generates an open and modular electronic system for the vehicle which ensures long-term expandability, even in terms of new electronic vehicle systems and vehicle sub-systems. 07,09.00 Sy/Bc ROBERT BOSCH GMBH, 70442 Stuttgart WE Claim, 1, Electronic system for a vehicle which is composed of - first components for carrying out control tasks during operating sequences and - second components which coordinate interaction between the first components in order to carry out the control tasks, - the first components carrying out the control tasks by using operating functions and basic functions, characterized in that the system is constructed in such a way that the basic functions are combined in a basic layer and a system layer is included which is based on the basic functions and which comprises at least two of the second components, at least one open interface between the system layer and the operating functions being also provided, and the system layer connecting the basic functions to any desired operating functions in such a way that the operating functions can be integrated and/or used in a modular fashion. 2, Electronic system according to Claim 1, characterized in that motoring functions relating to the operating functions in the system layer are additionally integrated. 3, Electronic system according to Claim 1, in which, as second components for control tasks, at least those which relate to the entire vehicle, the movement of the vehicle and the drive train are included, characterized in that the system layer of the second components comprises at least those which relate to the entire vehicle and drive train and/or movement of the vehicle. 4, Electronic system according to Claim 1, characterized in that the operating functions are included in a modular fashion before and/or during r compilation and/or before and/or during the execution of the control tasks, 5. System layer of an electronic system of a vehicle which includes first components for carrying out control tasks during operating sequences of the vehicle and second components which coordinate interaction between the first components for carrying out the control tasks, the first components carrying out the control tasks by using operating functions and basic functions, characterized in that at least two of the second components are included in the system layer and the system layer also includes at least one open interface, the system layer linking the operating functions to the basic functions by means of the at least one open interface in such a way that the operating functions are linked to the electronic system, and/or can be integrated into the electronic system, in a modular fashion, 6. System layer according to Claim 5, characterized in that monitoring functions relating to the operating functions are additionally integrated. 7, System layer according to Claim 5, characterized in that, of the second components, it includes at least those which coordinate the interaction of the first components at least in relation to the entire vehicle and the drive train and/or the movement of the vehicle. Electronic system for a vehicle, substantially as hereinabove described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings. System layer of an electronic system of a vehicle, substantially as hereinabove described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying r drawings.

Documents:

abs-in-pct-2002-667-che.jpg

in-pct-2002-667-che-abstract.pdf

in-pct-2002-667-che-claims filed.pdf

in-pct-2002-667-che-claims granted.pdf

in-pct-2002-667-che-correspondnece-others.pdf

in-pct-2002-667-che-correspondnece-po.pdf

in-pct-2002-667-che-description(complete)filed.pdf

in-pct-2002-667-che-description(complete)granted.pdf

in-pct-2002-667-che-drawings.pdf

in-pct-2002-667-che-form 1.pdf

in-pct-2002-667-che-form 26.pdf

in-pct-2002-667-che-form 3.pdf

in-pct-2002-667-che-form 5.pdf

in-pct-2002-667-che-other documents.pdf

in-pct-2002-667-che-pct.pdf