DE102024201675A1 - Architecture system with an architecture for distributing data in a vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and an architecture system (1, 1a) with an architecture for distributing data in a vehicle, wherein a number of consumers are provided which are divided into at least a first zone and a second zone, wherein the first zone comprises at least one first zone control unit (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e) and the second zone comprises at least one second zone control unit (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e), wherein the first zone control unit (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e) is connected for communication at least to the consumers in the first zone and the second zone control unit (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e) is connected for communication at least to the consumers in the second zone, wherein a central gateway (3) is provided which is designed as a bidirectional data communication gateway and which is designed to establish satellite communication for transmitting data and receiving satellite data, and wherein the central gateway (3) is designed to process of satellite data relating to the vehicle received after the satellite communication has been established, and wherein the central gateway (3) is further configured to provide the processed satellite data in the vehicle for downloading.

Description

The invention relates to an architecture system with an architecture for distributing data in a vehicle and a method.

E/E (electrical/electronic) architectures for modern vehicles, especially autonomous vehicles, are generally very complex due to the number of control units and sensors/actuators or other loads involved, and the combinations that must be considered. E/E architectures exist based on domains or zones.

The electrical and electronic systems in today's cars are typically based on a domain architecture. This means that the ECUs (electronic control units) and the associated wiring are organized according to their function (e.g., powertrain, chassis, comfort, etc.). The classic E/E architecture is characterized by a central gateway with gateway functionality, to which several control units are connected.

Subgroups of control devices can be interconnected for data technology via a sub-gateway with gateway functionality. In a domain-related E/E architecture, the central gateway is again provided, connecting several domain control devices with gateway functionality within them for the purpose of data exchange. Additional control devices or, depending on the architecture, sub-gateways with control devices connected to them can be provided via the domain control devices for the purpose of data exchange.

In contrast, zonal architecture categorizes many or even all functions according to their physical location in the vehicle. In zone-based E/E architecture, multiple zone control unit devices with gateway functionality are provided, which can be located, for example, at different locations in the vehicle. The transition from domain to zone architecture enables a reduction in the dependence of individual sensors and actuators on the central data processing node in the vehicle. Furthermore, zonal architectures require fewer ECUs and shorter cable runs, simplifying the vehicle architecture and the associated system validation. The zone control units are interconnected via a data processing device, in particular a powerful vehicle computer, for the purpose of data exchange. For this purpose, the data processing device also includes gateway functionality. Additional control devices spatially located within this zone (for example, in the vehicle's front left, front right, rear, etc.) are connected via the zone control units. Depending on the application, sub-gateways can also be provided to connect additional control devices.

WO 2022122634 A1 discloses a vehicle having a front zone, a right cabin zone, a left cabin zone and a rear zone, each zone having a defined number of zone control units.

DE 10 2022202068 A1 discloses a method for determining an E/E architecture of a vehicle, in particular an autonomously driving vehicle, with multiple domains and multiple data processing units, comprising the following steps: assigning functionalities of the domains to the data processing units that are to implement the functionalities, determining an initial E/E architecture with the multiple computing units, determining availability states for each of the multiple domains depending on at least one availability of each of the multiple computing units, based on its state of health, determining degradation states of the vehicle that are to be assumed depending on the availability states of the multiple domains, determining, for each of the degradation states, possible availability states for each of the multiple domains, and optimizing the initial E/E architecture by varying the E/E architecture in order to obtain an E/E architecture optimized with respect to the degradation states.

An object of the invention is therefore to provide an improved architecture system and a vehicle with such an architecture system. Furthermore, an object of the invention is to provide a method.

The object according to the invention is achieved by an architectural system having the features of claim 1 and a vehicle having the features of claim 10 and a method having the features of claim 11.

Advantageous embodiments of the architectural system according to the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

The object is achieved by an architecture system with an architecture for distributing data in a vehicle, wherein a number of consumers are provided which are divided into at least a first zone and a second zone, wherein the first zone comprises at least one first zone control unit and the second zone at least a second zone control unit, wherein the first zone control unit is connected for communication at least to the consumers in the first zone and the second zone control unit is connected for communication at least to the consumers in the second zone, wherein a central gateway is provided which is designed as a bidirectional data communication gateway and which is designed to establish satellite communication for sending data and receiving satellite data, and wherein the central gateway is designed to process satellite data relating to the vehicle which is received after the satellite communication has been established, and wherein the central gateway is further designed to provide the processed satellite data in the vehicle for downloading.

In particular, the architecture is an E/E architecture with zones. These can be a front region zone, a right interior zone, a left interior zone, and a rear region zone, with each of the zones comprising a certain number of zone control units.

However, the zones can also be configured as E/E domains, i.e., an E/E architecture with networked vehicle domains, i.e., separate, usually star-shaped communication networks and tree-shaped vehicle power system structures for each domain (chassis, drivetrain, body (interior or exterior)). Each of the domains comprises a number of domain control units.

It was recognized that the zonal control units can process sensor data and perform functions such as perception and sensor fusion. They can also process cloud data.

It was also recognized that, in the case of satellite data, only GPS data can currently be received and used for functionality. Sensor data processing is coupled with functions and located in the zonal ECU (unit). Processing the enormous amount of sensor data and integrating it with other functions requires high processing power.

In addition to processing large amounts of sensor data, processing satellite data would also lead to greater complexity. This is now solved by the inventive architectural system.

The invention recognizes that a central gateway in the autonomous vehicle is one way for the vehicle to communicate internally and with the outside world, such as infrastructure, etc. A central gateway is a hub that connects and transfers data across the many different networks found in vehicles in a secure, reliable, and trustworthy manner.

The inventive E/E (electrical/electronic) architecture consists of zone control units (ECUs) and a central gateway with the capability of processing and separating satellite data, for example for remote operation of autonomous vehicles.

The inventive architecture also enables the central gateway to communicate with a satellite to establish satellite communication. Once communication is established, data from the satellite relating to remote vehicles can be received and processed by the central gateway. Examples of satellite data would be vehicle parameters transmitted via satellite communication, vehicle location, vehicle coordinates, etc.

The inventive architecture system enables the central gateway to efficiently process satellite data in an advanced E/E architecture. The central gateway accesses the satellite data necessary for autonomous driving functionalities and performs the processing. Therefore, the architecture system can use satellite communications to access location and status information of the remote vehicle, which can be further used to control the autonomous vehicles from remote locations.

Using the inventive architecture system in an advanced E/E architecture, the latency for accessing and processing remote data can be reduced. The inventive architecture system can provide the processed data for downloading in a separate storage unit.

In a further embodiment, the zones are configured as domains and the zone control units as domain control units. The domain architecture may comprise domain control units, for example in the areas of ADAS, infotainment, body control, and powertrain, i.e., very large control units to which other control units are connected. This means that the control units and the corresponding cabling are organized according to their function. In contrast, zonal architecture categorizes many functions according to their physical location in the vehicle. The zone-oriented E/E architecture usually consists of a few very powerful (zone) control units that communicate via the central zone-oriented E/E architecture. of the vehicle are connected to the embedded control units, sensors and actuators.

In a further embodiment, the central gateway is configured to perform processing by filtering and assigning the satellite data to the various zone control units. The filtering may be such that the satellite data is filtered with respect to the various zones or domains. However, full processing, for example, assigning received data to received vehicle data or processing the satellite data, for example, determining a distance to received location data of another vehicle, may also be provided.

In another embodiment, the central gateway is configured to split the received satellite data relating to the vehicle into first processed satellite data for the first zone control unit and second processed satellite data for the second zone control unit, and is further configured to transmit the first processed satellite data to the first zone control unit and the second processed satellite data to the at least second zone control unit. Processed data may be sent to zonal control units to reduce the processing load and latency when accessing satellite data.

Therefore, greater efficiency can be achieved if the central gateway processes satellite data and provides it to zonal ECUs (zone control units).

This can, for example, improve the functionality of zonal control units by providing information about remote vehicles using satellite data.

Thus, the central gateway accesses and processes satellite data necessary for autonomous driving functionality, for example. Later, if necessary, this data is made available to the zone control units for merging with other sensor data. This increases the performance of the zone control units.

In particular, the central gateway is designed to extract and process satellite data providing information about other vehicles and to forward and/or transmit the extracted satellite data to the corresponding zone control units. This means that less computing power is required for the zone control units (zonal ECUs) to process satellite communications.

In a further embodiment, the central gateway is configured to receive zone data provided by the at least one zone control unit and the at least second zone control unit. Each of the zone control units receives and processes data from the connected electrical loads. The received or processed data from each zone control unit can be transmitted as zone data to the central gateway. There, the data can be transmitted to the satellite, or relevant data can be extracted or merged from the received data and transmitted to the satellite or made available for transmission.

In another embodiment, the central gateway is configured to process the zone data using satellite data or to process the zone data with the satellite data. For example, data on the current location can be provided to other vehicles, as well as the vehicle's status, etc. This increases vehicle security.

In a further embodiment, the central gateway is configured to identify an emergency by fusing all received zone data and is configured to transmit an emergency call via the satellite when an emergency is identified. By fusing all data, false positive emergency calls can be avoided.

In another embodiment, the central gateway is configured to identify an emergency by merging all received zone data and the satellite data. If an emergency is identified, the central gateway is configured to transmit an emergency call via the satellite using the identified emergency data. By transmitting emergency data, a more accurate estimate of, for example, the accident can also be transmitted. This means that better assistance can be provided on site.

The problem is further solved by a vehicle with an architecture system as described above. In particular, the vehicle is designed as an at least partially autonomous vehicle.

• - Bereitstellen einer zonalen Architektur mit einer Anzahl von Verbrauchern, die in mindestens eine erste Zone und eine zweite Zone aufgeteilt werden, wobei die erste Zone mindestens eine erste Zonensteuereinheit umfasst und die zweite Zone mindestens eine zweite Zonensteuereinheit umfasst, wobei die erste Zonensteuereinheit zur Kommunikation mindestens mit den Verbrauchern in der ersten Zone verbunden ist und die zweite Zonensteuereinheit zur Kommunikation mindestens mit den Verbrauchern in der zweiten Zone verbunden ist,
• - Bereitstellen eines zentralen Gateway, das als bidirektionales Datenkommunikations-Gateway ausgelegt ist und das ausgelegt ist zum Herstellen von Satellitenkommunikation zum Senden von Satellitendaten und Empfangen von Satellitendaten,
• - Herstellen der Satellitenkommunikation zum Senden von Daten und Empfangen von Satellitendaten über das zentrale Gateway,
• - Empfangen von Satellitendaten in Bezug auf das Fahrzeug, nachdem die Satellitenkommunikation hergestellt wurde,
• - Verarbeiten der Satellitendaten durch das zentrale Gateway und Bereitstellen der verarbeiteten Satellitendaten im Fahrzeug zum Herunterladen.

Furthermore, the object is achieved by a method for distributing data in a vehicle, comprising:

• - Providing a zonal architecture with a number of consumers divided into at least a first zone and a second zone, wherein the first zone comprises at least one first zone control unit and the second zone comprises at least one second zone control unit, wherein the first zone control unit is connected for communication with at least the consumers in the first zone and the second zone control unit is connected for communication with at least the consumers in the second zone,
• - Providing a central gateway designed as a bidirectional data communication gateway and designed to establish satellite communication for sending satellite data and receiving satellite data,
• - Establishing satellite communication for sending and receiving data via the central gateway,
• - Receiving satellite data relating to the vehicle after satellite communication has been established,
• - Processing of the satellite data by the central gateway and making the processed satellite data available in the vehicle for downloading.

The advantages and advantageous configurations of the architectural system can be transferred to the method. In particular, the method according to the invention can be implemented on the architectural system.

In another embodiment, the processing is performed by filtering and assigning the satellite data to the various zone control units. In another embodiment, the received vehicle-related satellite data is divided into first processed satellite data for the first zone control unit and second processed satellite data for the second zone control unit, and the first processed satellite data is transmitted to the first zone control unit and the second processed satellite data is transmitted to the at least second zone control unit.

In the following, the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the embodiment shown in the drawings.

• 1: ein Architektursystem gemäß der Erfindung,
• 2: ein weiteres Architektursystem gemäß der Erfindung,
• 3: ein Verfahren gemäß der Erfindung.

They show:

• 1 : an architectural system according to the invention,
• 2 : another architectural system according to the invention,
• 3 : a method according to the invention.

1 shows an architecture system 1 with an architecture for distributing data in a vehicle according to the invention. The vehicle is an autonomous vehicle or a semi-autonomous vehicle.

Architecture system 1 has a number of consumers. These can be actuators or sensors, for example. The architecture system has a zonal E/E architecture.

E/E (electrical/electronic architecture) architectures for modern vehicles, especially autonomous vehicles, are generally very complex due to the number of control units and sensors/actuators or other consumers involved and the combinations that need to be considered.

In particular, the architecture is an E/E architecture with different zones A, B, C, D, E.

This may be a zone in the front area, a zone in the right interior area, a zone in the left interior area and a zone in the rear area, each of the zones comprising a certain number of zone control units 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e.

There may also be more or fewer zones.

The zone control units 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e are connected to the corresponding consumers, such as sensors/actuators, present in the corresponding zone.

According to the invention, a central gateway 3 is provided which is designed as a bidirectional data communication gateway and which is designed to establish satellite communication for transmitting data and receiving satellite data from a satellite 4.

The central gateway 3 accesses the satellite data necessary for autonomous driving functionality and carries out the processing.

Data can be, for example, the locations of other vehicles; processing can be, for example, determining the distance and direction of other vehicles. Other data can be, for example, messages from other vehicles.

Later, these processed satellite data are provided to the zone control units 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e for merging with other sensor data, thereby improving the performance of the zone control units 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e.

In the architecture system 1, the central gateway 3 can communicate with a satellite 4 to establish satellite communication. After communication is established, data from the satellite relating to remote vehicles can be received and processed by the central gateway 3.

This allows for reduced latency when accessing and processing remote data. The processed data can then be sent to zonal control units 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, and 2e, reducing the processing load and latency when accessing the satellite data.

In this way, the functionality of the zone control units 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e can be expanded by providing information about remote vehicles using satellite data. For example, satellite communication is used with the central gateway 3 to access the location and status information of the remote vehicles, which is then used to control the autonomous vehicle.

The central gateway 3 is designed to communicate both internally and externally within the vehicle, for example, with the infrastructure. The central gateway 3 is also designed as a hub that connects and transfers data across the many different networks found in vehicles in a secure, reliable, and trustworthy manner.

Processing can also be performed by simply filtering and extracting the satellite data for the relevant zonal zone control units 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e. Satellite data may also be required for both a first zone A and a second zone B and transmitted by the central gateway 3 to the first zone A and the second zone B, respectively.

2 shows another embodiment of the architectural system according to the invention.

The architecture system has a number of consumers. These can be actuators or sensors, for example. The architecture system has a zonal E/E architecture.

In particular, the architecture is an E/E architecture with different zones A, B, C, D, E.

The zone control units 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e are connected to the corresponding loads, such as sensors/actuators, present in the corresponding zone A, B, C, D, E.

According to the invention, the central gateway 3 is present, which is designed as a bidirectional data communication gateway and which is designed to establish satellite communication for transmitting data and receiving satellite data from a satellite 4.

The central gateway 3 accesses the satellite data necessary for autonomous driving functionality and performs the processing. Data can include, for example, the locations of other vehicles; processing can include, for example, determining the distance and direction of other vehicles. Other data could include, for example, messages from other vehicles.

Later, these processed satellite data are provided to the zone control units 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e for fusion with other sensor data, thereby improving the performance of the zonal zone control units 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e.

Each of the zone control units 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e receives data from the connected electrical loads, which are processed in the relevant zone control unit 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e.

The received or processed data from each zone control unit 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e can be transmitted as zone data to the central gateway.

Furthermore, the data may be transmitted to the satellite, or relevant data may be extracted or merged from the received data and then transmitted to the satellites or made available for transmission.

For example, current location data can be provided for other vehicles, as well as the status of the vehicle, etc. This increases vehicle safety.

Furthermore, the central gateway 3 can be configured to process the zone data using satellite data or to process the zone data with the satellite data. For example, current location data for other vehicles, as well as the vehicle's status, can be provided. This increases vehicle safety.

Furthermore, the central gateway 3 can be designed to identify an emergency by fusing all received zone data. Furthermore, the central gateway 3 can be designed to make an emergency call via satellite when an emergency is identified. By fusing all data can prevent false positive emergency calls.

The architecture system 1a according to the invention provides a zonal architecture, with a gateway 3 capable of processing satellite data.

The central gateway 3 processes the satellite data and provides it to the zonal control units 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, and 2e. This allows for high efficiency.

The architecture system 1, 1a according to the invention enables use of satellite communication in the E/E architecture to access remote vehicles.

The architecture system 1, 1a according to the invention enables reduction of the computing power of the zone control units 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e required to process the satellite data.

3 shows the procedure for distributing data in a vehicle.

In a first step S1, a zonal architecture is provided with a number of consumers which are divided into at least a first zone and a second zone, wherein the first zone comprises at least one first zone control unit and the second zone comprises at least one second zone control unit, wherein the first zone control unit is in communication with at least the consumers in the first zone and the second zone control unit is in communication with at least the consumers in the second zone.

In a second step S2, a central gateway 3 is provided, which is designed as a bidirectional data communication gateway and which is designed to establish satellite communication for transmitting satellite data and receiving satellite data.

In a third step S3, satellite communication for sending and receiving data is established via the central gateway.

In a fourth step S4, the satellite data relating to the vehicle are received after satellite communication has been established.

In a fifth step S5, the satellite data are processed by the central gateway, and processed satellite data are made available for download in the vehicle.

In a sixth step S6, the received vehicle-related satellite data are divided into first processed satellite data for the first zone control unit and second processed satellite data for the second zone control unit, and the first processed satellite data are transmitted to the first zone control unit and the second processed satellite data are transmitted to the at least second zone control unit.

It was recognized that, until now, only zone control units were capable of processing sensor data and performing functions such as perception and sensor fusion. They can also process cloud data. However, when it comes to satellite data, only GPS data can be taken and used for functions. The processing of sensor data is linked to functions and takes place in the zone control unit. Processing the enormous amount of sensor data and integrating it with other functions requires significant computing power. In addition to processing a huge amount of sensor data, processing satellite data would add complexity.

This is now solved by the method and the system architecture 1, 1a according to the invention, wherein satellite data can be processed via a central gateway to thereby reduce the load on the zone control units 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e.

The central gateway 3 accesses the data required for autonomous driving functionality and carries out the processing.

Later, these processed data are made available to the zone control units 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e as required to fuse them with other sensor data in order to improve the performance of the zone control units 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e.

The central gateway 3 in the autonomous vehicle is the only way the vehicle communicates internally and externally, for example, with infrastructure, etc. A central gateway 3 is a hub that connects and transfers data across the many different networks found in vehicles in a secure, reliable, and trustworthy manner.

List of reference symbols

1, 1a

architectural system

2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e

Zone control units

3

central gateway

4

satellite

A, B, C, D, E

Zones

QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• WO 2022122634 A1 [0006]
• DE 10 2022202068 A1 [0007]

Claims (13)

Architectural system (1, 1a) with an architecture for distributing data in a vehicle, characterized in that a number of consumers are provided, which are divided into at least a first zone and a second zone, wherein the first zone comprises at least one first zone control unit (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e) and the second zone comprises at least one second zone control unit (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e), wherein the first zone control unit (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e) is connected for communication at least to the consumers in the first zone and the second zone control unit (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e) is connected for communication at least to the consumers in the second zone, wherein a central gateway (3) is provided, which is designed as a bidirectional data communication gateway and is designed to establish satellite communication for transmitting data and receiving satellite data, and wherein the central gateway (3) is designed to process satellite data with respect to the vehicle, which are received after the satellite communication has been established, and wherein the central gateway (3) is further designed to provide the processed satellite data in the vehicle for downloading. Architecture system (1,1a) according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the zones are designed as domains and the zone control units (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e) are designed as domain control units. Architecture system (1,1a) according to Claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the central gateway (3) is designed to carry out the processing by filtering and assigning the satellite data to the various zone control units (2a, 2b,2c,2d,2e). Architectural system (1, 1a) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the central gateway (3) is designed to divide the received satellite data relating to the vehicle into first processed satellite data for the first zone control unit (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e) and into second processed satellite data for the second zone control unit (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e) and to transmit the first processed satellite data to the first zone control unit (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e) and the second processed satellite data to the at least second zone control unit (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e). Architectural system (1,1a) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the central gateway (3) is designed to extract and process satellite data providing information about other vehicles and to forward and/or transmit the extracted satellite data to the corresponding zone control units (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e). Architectural system (1,1a) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the central gateway (3) is designed to receive zone data provided by the at least one zone control unit (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e) and the at least second zone control unit (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e). Architecture system (1,1a) according to Claim 6 , characterized in that the central gateway (3) is designed to process the zone data using satellite data. Architecture system (1,1a) according to Claim 6 or 7 , characterized in that the central gateway (3) is designed to identify an emergency by fusing all received zone data, and is designed to transmit an emergency call via the satellite (4) when an emergency is identified. Architecture system (1,1a) according to Claim 6 or 7 , characterized in that the central gateway (3) is designed to identify an emergency by fusing all received zone data and the satellite data, and when an emergency is identified, to transmit an emergency call via the satellite (4) using identified emergency data. Vehicle with an architectural system (1,1a) according to one of the preceding claims. A method for distributing data in a vehicle, comprising: - providing a zonal architecture with a number of consumers divided into at least a first zone and a second zone, wherein the first zone comprises at least one first zone control unit (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e) and the second zone comprises at least one second zone control unit (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e), wherein the first zone control unit (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e) is connected for communication with at least the consumers in the first zone and the second zone control unit (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e) is connected for communication with at least the consumers in the second zone, - providing a central gateway (3) designed as a bidirectional data communication gateway and designed to establish satellite communication for transmitting satellite data and receiving satellite data, - Establishing satellite communication for sending data and receiving satellite data via the central gateway (3), - Receiving satellite data relating to the vehicle after the satellite communication has been established, - Processing the satellite data by the central gateway (3) and making the processed satellite data available in the vehicle for downloading. Procedure according to Claim 11 , characterized in that the processing is carried out by filtering and assigning the satellite data to the various zone control units (2a, 2b,2c,2d,2e). Procedure according to Claim 11 or 12 , characterized in that the received satellite data are divided into first processed satellite data for the first zone control unit (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e) and second processed satellite data for the second zone control unit (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e), and the first processed satellite data are transmitted to the first zone control unit (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e) and the second processed satellite data are transmitted to the at least second zone control unit (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e).