Patent Application
20080042802
Network 10 interconnects one or more vehicle system modules. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, network 10 is a power line communication network including aspects, features and functionality disclosed in SAE technical paper no. 2003-01-0226 titled “Power Line Communication Implementation in Electrical Architecture” available from SAE International, 400 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, Pa. 15096.
As illustrated in
Power is provided to the power line communication network 10 by a power control system 38. Power control system 38 may include a control unit 30, a storage battery 32 and an auxiliary power unit 34.
The trainable radio-frequency interface module 36 illustrated in
Trainable radio-frequency interface module 36 includes a logic processor 38. Logic processor 38 may be an ATA6814 automotive failsafe system integrated circuit available from ATMEL Corporation, 2325 Orchard Parkway, San Jose, Calif., 95131. Other processors may also be implemented, including, but not limited to, a PIC microcontroller.
Communication between the logic processor 38 and the power line communication network 10 is established by network transceiver 44. In an embodiment, the network transceiver 44 is a power line communication transceiver as described in, for example, SAE technical paper no. 2003-01-0226 titled “Power Line Communication Implementation in Electrical Architecture.” The power line communication transceiver 44 is an interface circuit for interconnecting the power line communication network 10 and the logic processor 38. In an embodiment, the logic processor 38 communicates with the power line communication transceiver 44 using the LIN protocol. The LIN protocol is well-known in the art.
Communications between the logic processor 38 and the power line communication transceiver 44 may pass through data buffer 48. In the embodiment of
Communication is also provided between logic processor 38 and a trainable radio-frequency transceiver 42 for establishing wireless communication between the trainable radio-frequency interface module 36 and a remote electronic device 37. Trainable radio-frequency transceiver 42 may include a transmitter such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,091,343 to Dykema et al. Other radio frequency transmitters may be implemented within the scope of the present invention to communicate with the remote electronic device 37.
In the embodiment of
The logic processor 38 is also in communication with look-up table 50. Look-up table 50 may be embodied in ferro-electric random access memory. Look-up table 50 stores packet identifiers (PIDs) for network messages that the trainable radio-frequency interface module 36 is intended to receive and process. Look-up table 50 also stores packet payload information, i.e. messages, received in packets having the appropriate PIDs. Messages are stored for subsequent transmission to the remote electronic device 37. Look-up table 50 further stores action information, associated with a PID, that determines which messages communicating over the power line communication network 10, or which messages received from the remote electronic device 37, are received and processed by the radio frequency interface module 36. Other information may also be stored in look-up table 50.
The types of messages that the radio-frequency interface module 36 may be configured to receive and/or transmit include, but are not limited to, engine status, engine fault diagnostics, fault/diagnostic information from other vehicle systems (e.g., vehicle drive system, braking system, steering system, etc.), vehicle maintenance information, garage door open/close signals, and administrative operations.
Vehicle-as-a-probe messages may also be generated on the vehicle and communicated over the power line communication network 10 to the radio-frequency interface module 36 for communication to the remote electronic device 37. For example, the activation of windshield wipers may cause a “wipers on” message to be communicated over the power line communication network 10. This message may be received by the radio-frequency interface module 36 and communicated to a roadside radio-frequency transmitter configured to relay such vehicle-as-a-probe information to appropriate destinations, such as a weather center. In this example, if enough “wipers on” messages are received at the weather center from different vehicles in a particular area, the weather center may deduce that it is raining in that area. The vehicle-as-a-probe information may be used to increase the quality of weather reports. Similarly, “brakes on” messages may be transmitted to a traffic center to imply traffic congestion in a particular area.
Communication between the radio-frequency interface module 36 and the remote electronic device 37 is initiated by a triggering event that is communicated to the radio-frequency interface module 36 via action information included in a message. A triggering event may be generated from within the vehicle (e.g., by the push of a button, etc.), or remote from the vehicle.
Remotely-generated triggering messages are communicated to the radio-frequency transceiver 42, and then to the logic processor 38. The logic processor 38 accesses the look-up table 50 to determine whether the received message is a triggering message.
A variety of different triggering messages may seek a variety of different information stored by or within the radio frequency interface module 36. For example, an “open garage door” message may be generated from within the vehicle, communicated to the radio frequency interface module 36, and cause the outbound transmission of a “door open” signal to a remote radio-frequency transmitter located within a garage door opener. Similarly, a “get diagnostic codes” triggering message may be sent to the radio frequency interface module 36 from a remote transmitter located at a repair facility. The radio frequency interface module 36 will, in turn, act on this triggering message by sending an outbound transmission that includes some or all vehicle diagnostic codes that were previously saved by or within the radio frequency interface module 36.
Radio frequency interface module 36 may also include a radio-frequency code memory 52. The code memory 52 is non-volatile. Code memory 52 may store program instructions for the logic processor 38. Code memory 52 may store PIDs that allow for the periodic refreshing of the look-up table 50. Example PID categories may include, but are not limited to engine status, engine fault diagnostics, fault/diagnostic information from other vehicle systems (e.g., vehicle drive system, braking system, steering system, etc.), vehicle maintenance information, garage door open/close signals, and administrative operations.
A variety of operations may be executed with the radio-frequency interface module 36 by appropriate triggering messages. As described above, if messages are received from the power line communication network 10 that have an appropriate PID and associated action information within look-up table 50, the message is pushed to the radio-frequency transceiver 42 for communication to the remote electronic device 37.
Another operation includes updating information within look-up table 50. For example, PID information may be added, removed, or changed.
Another operation that may be implemented with the radio-frequency interface module 36 includes a firmware storage or update operation. This operation receives firmware for a vehicle system from a remote electronic device 37, and communicates that firmware over power line communication network 10 with the appropriate PID to achieve a firmware update for the target vehicle system.
Yet another operation that may be implemented with the radio-frequency interface module 36 includes “training” the radio-frequency transceiver 42. This operation enables the transceiver 42 to learn the carrier frequency, modulation scheme, or data code of a received radio frequency signal. This feature is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,091,343 to Dykema et al.
At step 54, a message is received from the power line communication network 10.
At step 56, the message is read from the first data buffer 48.
At step 58, it is determined whether the message is from a vehicle system module. If no, the logic returns to step 54. If yes, the logic enters thread 60.
At step 62, the message is received.
At step 64, it is determined whether the message's PID matches an entry in the look-up table 50. If no, the logic returns to step 62. If yes, at step 66, the message is saved in look-up table 50.
At step 68, it is determined whether the message is a trigger signal based on any action information. If no, the logic returns to step 54. If yes, at step 70, the message is copied from the look-up table 50 and sent by the trainable radio-frequency transceiver 42.
While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
