KR100786814B1 - Automotive integrated network system and gateway for same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a vehicle integrated network system supporting a heterogeneous protocol and a gateway therefor. The automobile integrated network system according to the present invention supports a MOST protocol, a Bluetooth protocol, a CAN protocol, a LIN protocol, a Flexray protocol, or an Ethernet protocol. At least one of the devices, at least one gateway converting the MOST protocol, the Bluetooth protocol, the CAN protocol, the LIN protocol, the Flexray protocol, or the Ethernet protocol based on the MOST protocol, and the MOST protocol between the at least one gateway. It includes a MOST backbone providing a redundant network circuit based on the at least one device, characterized in that at least one device is connected to the MOST backbone through a corresponding gateway. Accordingly, it is possible to integrate heterogeneous devices that provide various functions, and to manage and control various devices supporting heterogeneous protocols by using mobile terminals, and to increase the effectiveness of the network by monitoring and diagnosing various conditions inside the vehicle. You can.

MOST, Automotive Integrated Network, Flexray, Redundancy

Description

Integrated network system for automobile and gateway therefor}

1 is a block diagram of a vehicle integrated network system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram of the gateway shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a detailed block diagram of the protocol converter illustrated in FIG. 2.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10: heterogeneous protocol device 20: gateway

30: MOST backbone 200: MOST dual port

202: transceiver 204: MOST communication unit

210: frame detection and routing unit 220: protocol conversion unit

The present invention relates to a network system in an automobile, and more particularly, to a vehicle integrated network system and a gateway for supporting heterogeneous protocols.

Recently, the automotive electronics industry is booming. Software related to electronics installed inside cars is estimated to account for 40% of car prices. Various demands on vehicle systems are continuously increasing, such as information and multimedia reproduction, engine control and exhaust gas control, artificial intelligence, and safety systems for stability control of airbags. Therefore, in order to provide an efficient automotive system, a network bus structure is required to support these various functions and to reduce separate dedicated wiring for each function. Automotive manufacturers are demanding new protocols that provide high-bandwidth, flexible, and deterministic operation to provide this network bus structure.

Recently, various protocols that define the structure of wiring and the communication protocol with higher-level systems have been applied to the mechanical or electrical parts of automobiles. CAN, LIN, Flexray, MOST, etc. are typical protocols. CAN, LIN, and Flexray are protocols used to control the vehicle or to collect various sensor information. Meanwhile, MOST (Media Oriented Systems Transport) is a protocol for high speed communication using plastic optical fiber (POF) as a signal transmission medium, and is a protocol for networking multimedia devices in an automobile.

More specifically, we look at the characteristics of each protocol.

First, the Flexray protocol was developed by companies such as BMW, Bosch, DaimlerChrysler, Freescale, GM, Philps, and Volkswagen. It is intended to network control signals of automobiles. This protocol provides communication speeds up to 10Mbps and offers significant advantages for deterministic operation. It also offers dual channels of copper wire, provides guaranteed message latency, and uses scalable static and dynamic message delivery. Systems based on the Flexray protocol are flexible compared to the CAN protocol, which provides only asynchronous transmission, and can be programmed for either synchronous or asynchronous transmission, respectively. In addition, the protocol supports clock synchronization through world time standards, collision-free access, addressing of originating messages through identifiers, and control of system fault tolerance using single or dual channels.

On the other hand, the MOST protocol is developed as a stable transmission of various multimedia information, although a short distance as the use of multimedia information in the car increases. MOST uses plastic optical fiber (POF) as transmission medium, LED as light emitting device, and PD (Photo detector) as light receiving device. High-speed transmission of up to 155Mbps is possible, and the wiring is light and simple, and high-speed large-capacity information can be transmitted to support reliable multimedia data transmission between sound and high-definition video devices.

If the MOST protocol can be interfaced with existing control protocols such as CAN, Lin, and Flexray, the wiring efficiency of the entire vehicle will be maximized. That is, not only asynchronous signals such as packets, but also real-time synchronous signals are carried in the same frame, and a control code for controlling these frames can be transmitted to diversify the connection type between devices connected to the MOST network. This suggests that control signals can be integrated into a network to extend its application range. It can support star, ring, and bus architectures.

However, although the MOST protocol supports a ring network, redundancy is not supported. In addition, since the plastic optical fiber is used, there is a problem that it cannot be used near a high temperature device.

Meanwhile, Bluetooth is a protocol that simply supports wireless data communication in a narrow space. Recently, wireless headsets, cellular phones, PDAs, etc., using the Bluetooth protocol have been released. However, there is a problem in that the transmission speed and the number of nodes are limited.

As such, various protocols have been developed which have advantages in automobiles. However, there is a problem that these protocols operate independently and operate only and cannot be integrated into one system.

In other words, there is a need for a vehicle integrated network system capable of connecting heterogeneous vehicle protocols by converting data between various protocols, integrating and operating heterogeneous protocols through a mobile terminal, and diagnosing a vehicle system.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention for solving the above problems is to provide a vehicle integrated network system incorporating heterogeneous protocols providing various functions.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a gateway that supports a network system by integrating heterogeneous protocols.

According to the present invention, the above object is based on the MOST protocol, the Bluetooth protocol, the CAN protocol, the LIN protocol, the Flexray protocol or at least one of the devices that support the Ethernet protocol in the vehicle integrated network system, based on the MOST protocol At least one gateway for interconverting between the MOST protocol, the Bluetooth protocol, the CAN protocol, the LIN protocol, the Flexray protocol, or the Ethernet protocol, and a MOST backbone providing a redundant network circuit based on the MOST protocol between the at least one gateway; At least one device is connected to the MOST backbone via a corresponding gateway.

In addition, the gateway has a duplicated port consisting of a transceiver for transmitting and receiving the MOST protocol frame to the MOST backbone and a MOST communication unit for controlling the transmission and reception of the MOST protocol frame, each of which is connected to the MOST backbone by a dual network line It is preferable.

Meanwhile, according to another field of the present invention, the above-described object is at least one of devices supporting the MOST protocol, the Bluetooth protocol, the CAN protocol, the LIN protocol, the Flexray protocol, or the Ethernet protocol in the gateway constituting the integrated vehicle network system. A protocol conversion unit which converts a first port connected to the device and a frame transmitted / received from the connected first port to a MOST protocol, a Bluetooth protocol, a CAN protocol, a LIN protocol, a Flexray protocol, or an Ethernet protocol based on the MOST protocol; Path setting unit for setting the path of the converted frame, and a duplicated port (duplicated port) connected to the MOST backbone that transmits and receives the converted frame, and provides a redundant network circuit based on the MOST protocol Achieved by the gateway.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described a preferred embodiment of the present invention; In the following description of the present invention, if it is determined that detailed descriptions of related well-known functions or configurations may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, terms to be described below are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, which may vary according to intention or custom of a user or an operator. Therefore, the definition should be made based on the contents throughout the specification.

1 is a block diagram of a vehicle integrated network system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the vehicle integrated network system according to the present invention includes devices 10 supporting various heterogeneous protocols, gateways 20 converting heterogeneous protocols and MOST protocols into each other, and The MOST backbone 30 is provided between the gateways to provide a redundant network circuit based on the MOST protocol.

Devices supporting heterogeneous protocols (10) include devices that support the MOST protocol, devices that support the Bluetooth protocol, devices that support the CAN protocol, devices that support the LIN protocol, devices that support the Flex protocol, or Ethernet protocols. Supporting devices may be included. Devices supporting each heterogeneous protocol can form their own network by integrating devices supporting the same protocol. For example, devices that support the Flexray protocol can build a Flexray network using redundant copper networks. The same is true for other protocols.

Meanwhile, the gateway 20 converts heterogeneous protocols and MOST protocols. As shown, MOST-Bluetooth gateway converts Bluetooth protocol and MOST protocol, MOST-Flexray gateway converts Flexray protocol and MOST protocol, MOST-Lin gateway converts Lin and MOST protocol, CAN protocol and MOST It may include a MOST-CAN gateway for converting protocols, and a MOST-Ethernet gateway for converting Ethernet protocols and MOST protocols. An automobile designer may employ some or all of the various gateways described above to build a network system according to the functions to be supported. The detailed structure of the gateway will be described later.

The MOST backbone 30 provides a redundant network circuit based on the MOST protocol between each gateway 20, and each device is connected to the MOST backbone through a gateway corresponding to a protocol supported by the MOST backbone 30. In particular, according to the present invention provides a redundant network line constituting the MOST backbone. Existing MOST network has advantages of high bandwidth and transmission of real-time synchronization signal, but there is a tendency that automobile manufacturers are reluctant to apply to automobiles because duplication is not supported. In order to improve this problem, the gateway 20 according to the present invention includes a dual port to enable duplication. Accordingly, even if one line constituting the network network is disconnected, it is possible to provide a network system safely through the other line.

FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram of the gateway 20 shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, the gateway 20 constituting the integrated vehicle network system according to the present invention includes a dual port 200 including a transceiver 202 and a MOST communication unit 204, and a frame detection and routing unit 210. , Hereinafter abbreviated as 'path setting unit', and a protocol conversion unit 220. In addition, a port (not shown) for connecting with a device supporting heterogeneous protocols is further included.

First, the MOST transceiver 202 includes two LEDs as light emitting elements and two PDs as light receiving elements so that duplication is possible, and simultaneously monitors optical signals flowing in clockwise and counterclockwise directions. If there is no disconnection of fiber or failure of LED / PD, frames are recognized at two ports at the same time.

 The routing unit 210 detects a frame received from the dual port, accepts a frame of a port having a high priority set in advance, and uses it for communication. In the event of a disconnection on one of the network lines, the frame is recognized only on the other port that is not disconnected and can be used. In addition, the routing unit 210 controls to transmit to two ports at the same time in the case of transmission.

The protocol converter 220 converts the received frame into the MOST protocol, and converts the frame to be transmitted into a protocol supported by the corresponding device. The detailed structure of the protocol converter 220 will be described later.

As described above, by providing a dual port 200 having a dual transceiver 202 and a dual MOST communication unit 204, the network can be duplexed, and also, through the network conversion unit 220, between the heterogeneous protocol and the MOST protocol. The transformation allows integration of heterogeneous network devices.

Accordingly, the functions supported by the respective devices can be integrated and provided to the user, and the user can operate and diagnose the system of the vehicle through various devices such as a mobile phone or a PDA. For example, a mobile phone or PDA that supports the Bluetooth protocol can be used as a control console for convenient control and monitoring of various machines and electronic devices in the car. Therefore, the vehicle can be operated more conveniently and stably for the user.

3 is a detailed block diagram of the protocol converter 220 illustrated in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 3, the protocol conversion unit 220 constituting the gateway 20 includes a frame separation unit 2201, a FIFO driving circuit 2202, a header FIFO 2203, a payload FIFO 2204, and a local microcomputer. A processor 2205, a lookup storage memory 2206, a decoder and timing generator 2207, and a frame reassembly 2208. Each block is connected to a timing bus, frame bus, CPU data bus, etc. to exchange information. Of course, the structure of the illustrated gateway is only one embodiment according to the present invention, and each block may be designed to be integrated or separated, and the connection structure may be modified.

The local microprocessor 2205 initializes each block, acquires and stores various information of the lower node. The frame separator 2201 recognizes an incoming frame and generates a timing for distinguishing the header portion and the payload portion of the frame. In addition, it checks the bit error (CRC) of the frame to monitor the current frame state and generates an alarm and frame abandon signal when an error occurs. Frame abandonment simply means that the FIFO drive circuit does not generate the associated FIFO Write signal. In addition, a last message signal is generated to form a message that forms a combination of frames. Eventually, the payload FIFO is stored with the entire message assembled. The separated header portion is stored in the header FIFO 2203, and the separated payload portion is stored in the payload FIFO 2204.

The FIFO driving circuit 2202 generates a write signal of the header FIFO 2203 and the payload FIFO 2204 by using the division timings of the header portion and the payload portion provided from the frame separator 2201. The write signal is provided from the FIFO driving circuit 2202, and the read signal is provided from the local microprocessor 2205 to interpret the header part of the read frame and obtain information of the lower node.

In this process, if the frame ID is confirmed and it is confirmed that the node information, the information stored in the payload FIFO (2204) is converted back to another protocol. Translation is used here in the generic sense of prefixing headers for other protocols. The digital frame is sent with the new header attached.

The frame reassembly unit 2208 first transmits the header of another protocol stored therein, and then transmits the contents of the payload FIFO 2204. The frame tail and CRC are also calculated and assembled at the end of the frame.

Decoder and timing generator 2207 generates decode timing at which local microprocessor 2205 approaches each functional block. The node information extracted from the header information is stored in the lower node lookup storage memory 2206. The reverse direction also functions as the same structure, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted.

It is connected to the redundant network circuit through the dual MOST transceiver 202, which in turn can be connected to the dual MOST communication chip 204 to build a redundant MOST network. The digital data of the MOST frame selected in the redundant architecture is delivered to the internal microprocessor if the current node is a MOST node (eg MOST M-Auto PC), and if the current node is a MOST-heterogeneous protocol gateway 20 The data is transferred to the protocol conversion unit 220 and converted into a MOST protocol (when receiving) or a heterogeneous protocol (when transmitting). The converted frame is transmitted through the corresponding port.

On the other hand, the frame conversion method of the gateway according to the present invention can be created by a computer program. Codes and code segments constituting the program can be easily inferred by a computer programmer in the art. The program is also stored in a computer readable media, and read and executed by a computer to implement the frame conversion method. The information storage medium includes a magnetic recording medium, an optical recording medium, and a carrier wave medium.

As described above, according to the present invention, a vehicle integrated network system supporting heterogeneous protocols and a gateway therefor are provided.

In other words, heterogeneous networks can be integrated by connecting gateways that provide translation between Flexray, MOST, LIN, CAN, Bluetooth and MOST protocols. In addition, the mobile terminal supporting the Bluetooth protocol can manage and control various devices supporting heterogeneous protocols, and monitor and diagnose various conditions inside the vehicle to increase the utility of the network.

That is, by constructing a network based on the MOST protocol, a user can enjoy various multimedia mobile contents using a multimedia device provided in a vehicle, thereby inducing the development of automobile culture. Through the gateway supporting MOST-Flexray, it collects various vehicle statuses in connection with the vehicle's control wiring system.In particular, through the gateway supporting Bluetooth-MOST, the status of the vehicle can be diagnosed with the mobile terminal and the presence of failure can be determined. The cell phone or other wireless terminal can be used as the console of the car.

Furthermore, by configuring a backbone network of a car network with a redundant MOST and providing various gateways having a MOST interface, it is possible to solve problems caused by disconnection of a network or a failure of a transceiver and to improve the stability of a car system.

In addition, by simplifying the complicated wiring in the vehicle, it is possible to simplify the assembly process of the vehicle to increase productivity. In addition, if MOST technology is generalized, the adoption of multimedia devices in automobiles is expected to increase, leading to an increase in the production scale of related devices. It is expected to rise together.

So far I looked at the center of the preferred embodiment for the present invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be implemented in a modified form without departing from the essential features of the present invention. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments should be considered in descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. The scope of the present invention is shown in the claims rather than the foregoing description, and all differences within the scope will be construed as being included in the present invention.

Claims (10)

In the automotive integrated network system, At least one of devices supporting the MOST protocol, Bluetooth protocol, CAN protocol, LIN protocol, Flexray protocol or Ethernet protocol, At least one gateway for converting the MOST protocol, the Bluetooth protocol, the CAN protocol, the LIN protocol, the Flexray protocol, or the Ethernet protocol based on the MOST protocol; A MOST backbone that provides a redundant network circuit based on the MOST protocol between the at least one gateway, The at least one device is connected with the MOST backbone through a corresponding gateway; The at least one gateway includes a duplicated port including a transceiver for transmitting and receiving a MOST protocol frame to the MOST backbone and a MOST communication unit for controlling transmission and reception of the MOST protocol frame, The dual port is connected to the MOST backbone, respectively, characterized in that the vehicle integrated network system. delete The method of claim 1, And the at least one gateway activates a port on which a frame is recognized, sets an unrecognized port to an idle state, and simultaneously transmits to the dual port when transmitting a frame. The method of claim 3, If one of the dual network circuit is disconnected and the frame is recognized as only one port, the recognized port is activated, and if it is not disconnected, one of the dual ports is set as the master port and the frame for the master port is processed. Car integrated network system. The method of claim 1, The at least one gateway comprises a protocol conversion unit for converting the MOST protocol, Bluetooth protocol, CAN protocol, LIN protocol, Flexray protocol, or Ethernet protocol based on the MOST protocol. In the gateway constituting the integrated vehicle network system, A first port connected to at least one of the devices supporting the MOST protocol, the Bluetooth protocol, the CAN protocol, the LIN protocol, the Flexray protocol, or the Ethernet protocol; A protocol converter converting frames transmitted and received from the connected first port into the MOST protocol, the Bluetooth protocol, the CAN protocol, the LIN protocol, the Flexray protocol, or the Ethernet protocol based on the MOST protocol; A path setting unit for setting a path of the converted frame; A duplicate port connected to the MOST backbone for transmitting and receiving the converted frame and providing a redundant network circuit based on the MOST protocol, The dual port includes a plurality of transceivers for transmitting and receiving MOST protocol frames to and from the MOST backbone, and a plurality of MOST communication units for controlling transmission and reception of the MOST protocol frames. delete The method of claim 6, The routing unit activates a port to which a frame is recognized, sets an unrecognized port to an idle state, and simultaneously transmits to the dual port when transmitting a frame. The method of claim 8, The routing unit, when one of the dual network circuits connecting the gateway and the MOST backbone is disconnected and the frame is recognized only by one port, activates the recognized port, and when not disconnected, turns one of the dual ports into the master port. A gateway for setting and processing frames for the master port. The method of claim 6, The protocol conversion unit, A frame separator for recognizing a received frame and separating the header into a header and a payload; A header FIFO section for interpreting the information of the separated header section and attaching a header of the protocol to be converted to convert the corresponding frame; A payload FIFO unit for processing information of the separated payload unit; A FIFO driver for generating write signals of the header FIFO and the payload FIFO using the separated header and payload units; And a frame reassembly unit configured to first transmit a header of a protocol to be converted attached by the header FIFO unit and then transmit the contents of the payload FIFO.

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