Vehicle Power Architecture, Trigger, and Method of Initiating the Wake-Up of Functional Blocks

Abstract

A vehicle power architecture is disclosed that includes a plurality of functional blocks for implementing functions and a power supply input for receiving a power supply. The vehicle power architecture also includes an electronic control unit (ECU) comprising a plurality of power control switches, each being switchable between an open state where at least one of the functional blocks is disconnected from the power supply input and a closed state where the at least one functional block is connected to the power supply input. The vehicle power architecture further includes a trigger having a wake-up input for configuring the plurality of power control switches between the open state and the closed state.

Claims

1. A vehicle power architecture comprising: a plurality of functional blocks for implementing functions; a power supply input for receiving a direct current power supply; and an electronic control unit (ECU) comprising: a plurality of power control switches, each of the power control switches: being configured to control an operation of at least one functional block; and being switchable between an open state where the at least one functional block is disconnected from the power supply input and a closed state where the at least one respective functional block is connected to the power supply input; and a trigger: comprising a wake-up input for receiving external wake-up signals; and configured to configure the power control switches between the open state and the closed state in response to receiving the external wake-up signals.

2. The vehicle power architecture according to claim 1, wherein the ECU further comprises a controller block configured to control the plurality of power control switches.

3. The vehicle power architecture according to claim 2, wherein the controller block comprises a controller block wake-up input configured to receive the external wake-up signals.

4. The vehicle power architecture according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of switches are smart fuses.

5. The vehicle power architecture according to claim 1, wherein the trigger comprises an instruction distributor connected to the wake-up input and configured to determine a configuration of the plurality of power control switches based on the external wake-up signals.

6. The vehicle power architecture according to claim 5, wherein the instruction distributor determines the configuration of the plurality of power control switches based further on voltages of the received external wake-up signals.

7. The vehicle power architecture according to claim 5, wherein the instruction distributor determines the configuration of the plurality of power control switches based further on digital commands within the external wake-up signals.

8. The vehicle power architecture according to claim 1, wherein: the vehicle power architecture is a zonal architecture; and the ECU is a zone controller.

9. The vehicle power architecture according to any claim 1, further comprising a trigger communication line configured to communicate the external wake-up signals to the wake-up input.

10. The vehicle power architecture according to claim 9, further comprising at least one remote microprocessor unit connected to the trigger communication line and configured to generate the external wake-up signals.

11. The vehicle power architecture according to claim 9, further comprising a timing signal generator connected to the trigger communication line and configured to generate a timing signal, wherein the ECU is configured to perform time synchronization based on the timing signal.

12. A trigger comprising: a wake-up input for receiving external wake-up signals; and an output for configuring, based on the external wake-up signals, one or more power control switches of an electronic control unit (ECU) between an open state where at least one functional block of a plurality of functional blocks of a vehicle power architecture configured to implement functions is disconnected from a power supply input to a closed state where the at least one respective functional block is connected to the power supply input.

13. The trigger according to claim 12, further comprising an instruction distributor connected to the wake-up input for determining configurations of the one or more power control switches based on characteristics of the received external wake-up signals.

14. The trigger according to claim 13, wherein the instruction distributor determines the configurations of the one or more power control switches based on voltages of the received external wake-up signals.

15. The trigger according to claim 13, wherein the instruction distributor determines the configurations of the one or more power control switches based on digital commands within the external wake-up signals.

16. A method of operating a vehicle power architecture, the method comprising: generating a wake-up signal on a trigger communication line by a first microprocessor unit; receiving the wake-up signal on the trigger communication line at a trigger in an electronic control unit (ECU); and configuring, by the trigger and based on the wake-up signal, one or more power control switches of the ECU between an open state where at least one functional block is disconnected from a power supply input and a closed state where the at least one functional block is connected to the power supply input.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein: the vehicle power architecture is a zonal architecture; the first microprocessor unit is associated with a first zone or comprised by a central vehicle controller; and the ECU is associated with a second zone.

18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising: receiving the wake-up signal on the trigger communication line at a second trigger in a second ECU associated with a third zone; and configuring, by the second trigger and based on the wake-up signal, one or more power control switches in the second ECU between the open state and the closed state in response to the wake-up signal.

19. The method according to claim 16, further comprising synchronizing the ECU based on a timing signal received on the trigger communication line.

20. The method according to claim 16, wherein the configuring is based further on a voltage of the external wake-up signal or a digital command within the external wake-up signal.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0030] Illustrative implementations will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0031] FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a conventional power architecture;

[0032] FIG. 2 shows a schematic illustration of a power architecture according to a related inventive arrangement;

[0033] FIG. 3 shows a schematic illustration of a power architecture according to a first implementation; and

[0034] FIG. 4 shows a schematic illustration of a power architecture according to a second implementation when incorporated into a vehicle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The present disclosure is particularly relevant for vehicle applications and most particularly to multi domain controllers (MDCs) for use in both domain and zonal architectures. The present disclosure is also particularly relevant to the wake-up phase of functional blocks, as well as an optimized power distribution within such a system.

[0036] As background, FIG. 1 shows an illustrative vehicle power architecture 10 including an electric control unit (ECU) 2. The ECU 2 includes a plurality of internal blocks 6,7, such as safety and performance processors. The ECU 2 is also associated with a plurality of external blocks 4,5, such as sensors and actuators. The ECU 2 further includes a controller block 3 to control operations at the different blocks 4-7. Where these blocks may require a direct current power supply, they must be connected to the power supply input 9, such as the KL30 rail, via a plurality of power lines 91,92,93. This allows them to remain live in order to wake-up when instructed by the controller block 3. In use, the controller block 3 may receive an external interrupt from a wake-up source device 8a-b over a common vehicle communication layer 81, such as a control area network (CAN) bus or ethernet. For instance, in a zonal architecture, a central vehicle controller (CVC) may act as a wake-up source device by issuing a wake-up command, which the controller block 3 then processes and transmits a wake-up signal to the block or blocks in question. Communications between block or blocks and the controller block 3 can then be established. Equally, some blocks 5 may be directly connected to the common vehicle communication layer 81, so that wake-up is initiated as soon as a wake-up command is issued.

[0037] To mitigate the above described issues associated with idle current drain, the present inventors have developed the architecture shown in FIG. 2 which utilizes an array of smart fuses 12a-d to selectively turn functional blocks 4-7 on and off as needed. Specifically, the smart fuses 12a-d are each connected between the power supply input 9 and the power lines 91-94 that feed the blocks 4-7. As such, the blocks 4-7 are not directly connected to the power supply, but instead are connected via an associated switchable smart fuse 12a-d, with the smart fuses functioning together as a power control module within the ECU 2.

[0038] In use, the controller block 3 may instruct specific smart fuses 12a-d to switch for connecting their associated block or blocks 4-7 to the power supply input 9 to selectively power them up as needed. It will be understood that in other implementations, more than one block 4-7 may be connected to a particular smart fuse 12a-d. Accordingly, the number of devices that may be permanently connected to the power supply input 9, namely the KL 30 rail, is therefore reduced. This is because the devices hosting the smart fuses 12a-d may be supplied continuously, with these in turn controlling the subsequent activation of the functional blocks 4-7. This smart fuse arrangement therefore allows selective wake-up strategies to be implemented because each device can be powered individually. This is particularly helpful for implementing functions such as keyless entry and OTA, which would normally include several always-on devices. Such arrangements are also applicable in zonal architectures where smart fuses in zonal ECUs may be used to switch on and off functional blocks within the respective zone.

[0039] With the above, each smart fuse 12a-d functions as a single KL 30 device, which is constantly supplied with a current, but which provides for a very low idle power consumption. At the same time, the controller block 3 is used to control switching, allowing for flexibility in terms of the wake-up of blocks and the networking between devices. Accordingly, by having one controller block 3 that can, on demand, wake-up several functional blocks, including other ECUs, a more efficient architecture may be provided. Furthermore, it also allows future development efforts for further power consumption reductions to be focused on the smart fuses and associated wake-up trigger devices.

[0040] The above said, in order to keep idle power consumption low, the controller block 3 controlling the switching may be kept powered off most of the time. As with the arrangement shown in FIG. 1, an external interrupt from one of the wake up devices 8a-b is often used to wake-up the controller block 3 first. As shown in FIG. 2, the controller block 3 then controls the switching of the smart fuses 12a-d to activate functional blocks. This however adds additional delays to the wakeup chain because the controller block 3 first boots some basic software, process the input to determine where the trigger is coming from, and then initialize the communication networks before deciding which fuses 12a-d to switch on. This is especially problematic for functions which may require very rapid response times, such as keyless entry systems. To improve reaction time, the controller block 3 could be connected to the power supply input 9 as a KL 30 device. However, this would increase idle current and complicate the controller block design by necessitating the introduction of additional power management stage sub-blocks, such as power management integrated circuits (PMICs).

[0041] FIG. 3 shows a schematic illustration of a power architecture 30 according to a first implementation. As shown, this arrangement is similar to the related arrangement shown in FIG. 2, with corresponding numerals being used for corresponding features, but with the addition of a trigger module 13 provided as a part of the electric control unit (ECU) 2.

[0042] As with the arrangements shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the architecture 30 includes external blocks 4,5 which are external to the ECU 2 and internal blocks 6,7 which are internal to the ECU 2. The blocks 4,5,6,7 are used to perform various functions in the vehicle. In addition, the ECU 2 further includes a plurality of smart fuses 12a-d which form a power control module that connects between the power supply input 9 (KL 30 rail) and the blocks 4,5,6,7. The ECU 2 controls the switching of the smart fuses 12a-d through the power control wires 31. The ECU 2 is also connected to external devices, such as a central vehicle controller, via an vehicle communication layer, which is not shown in this illustration.

[0043] The trigger module 13 is connected to each of the smart fuses 12 a-d via an associated independent trigger wire 131, through which switching of the smart fuses 12 a-d may be controlled. In this respect, each smart fuse 12 includes an internal control circuit which provides switching control in response to switching signals received on either the trigger wire 131 or the power control wires 31. Each smart fuse further includes a sensor module for sensing the current conducted through the associated current path, thereby allowing diagnostic and performance evaluation data to be transmitted from each smart fuse, back to the controller block 3.

[0044] The trigger module 13 includes a wake-up input 133 which is connected to a trigger network 83 that is external for receiving wake-up trigger signals from one or more external wake-up sources 8a-b, such as a central vehicle controller, sensor devices, or other electronic control units (ECUs). The trigger signals generated by these wake-up sources 8a-b may be, for instance, a pulse signal. In this implementation, the wake-up signal is encoded using a specific voltage level in order to address a specific smart fuse 12a-b. Within the trigger module 13, the wake-up signal is processed by a instruction distributor, and a switching signal is generated on one or more of the trigger wires 131 based on the voltage level for commanding the associated smart fuse 12a-d or fuses to switch. In this implementation, a passive filter within the trigger module 13 is used to determine which trigger wires 131 the switching signal may be applied. As such, in response to a remotely generated wake-up signal, one or more smart fuses 12a-d may be selectively activated for connecting their associated functional blocks 4-7 to the power supply input 9. In other implementations, different wake-up signal encoding and processing methodologies may be used. For example, in implementations, the instruction distributor may be a demultiplexer and the wake-up trigger signals on the trigger network 83 may be communicated in multiplexed channels. For example, the trigger module 13 may include an active demultiplexer circuit for demultiplexing the signal channels and applying switching signals to the appropriate trigger wires 131. Irrespective of whether the trigger module 13 employs active or passive components, it allows switching signals to be directed using a very low power circuit, thereby allowing a smart fuse to be turned on or off from outside the ECU 2.

[0045] In use, the trigger module 13 allows bypassing of the vehicle communication layer and controller block 3, which would otherwise control the switching of the smart fuses 12. Accordingly, an external wake-up source 8a-b may directly trigger control of a smart fuse 12a-d order to rapidly power-up one or more functional blocks 4-7. This may allow functional blocks 4-7 to be activated before or concurrently with the activation of the controller block 22. The powered up functional blocks 4-7 may include, for instance, other electronic control units, sensors, or actuators. The trigger module 13 control option provides for control in addition to the control provided by the controller block 3. Accordingly, once the controller block 3 is booted and ready, it can take over control of a particular smart fuse 12a-d again.

[0046] With the above arrangement, external wake-up sources 8a-b, which may include other electronic control units or sensors, are therefore able to trigger the selective activation of functional blocks associated with a different ECU 2. This thereby allows for rapid response times by facilitating the early wake-up of devices.

[0047] In parallel to the above, the trigger network 83 may also include a link wire 84 connected to the power management integrated circuit part of the controller block 3. This link wire 84 can be used to trigger the waking up of the controller block 3 in parallel to the activation of one or more of the functional blocks 4-7 via the trigger module 13. That is, a wake-up signal applied on the trigger network 83 may cause both the generation of a switching signal from the trigger module 13 and the immediate power up of the controller block 3. This allows the controller block 3 to begin booting immediately, thereby ensuring it is up and running as fast as possible. It will be understood that the link wire 84 may also connect to other devices, such as switches, for activating them at the same time as one or more of the smart fuses 12a-d.

[0048] With the above, because the external wake-up signal is able to trigger the activation of functional blocks independently, without waiting for the controller block 3 to boot, multiple milliseconds in reaction time may be saved. This time saving is significant in the context of vehicle manufacturer requirements for functions such as keyless entry. Furthermore, as the trigger module 13 allows smart fuse control in addition to the control provided by the controller block 3, it may not be used for all functions, but instead can be employed for specific functionality and special use-cases where rapid wake-up is beneficial.

[0049] A further advantage with the above arrangement is that communication interfaces like CAN, LIN or Ethernet may not be used for wake-up. As such, cheaper drivers can be chosen for the trigger network 83, thereby facilitating connection between electronic control units in different parts of the vehicle, as needed by functionality requirements, and without influence by what ECUs may be woken up in the chain. As discussed in further detail below, this can be especially important in zonal architectures where the communication interfaces are no longer domain oriented but zonal.

[0050] In this connection, FIG. 4 shows a schematic illustration of a power architecture according to a second implementation, when incorporated into a vehicle. In this implementation, a zonal architecture is provided. In this zonal architecture, four MCDs 2 are provided as zone controllers for supporting the power distribution and data connection requirements for functional blocks within their respective associated physical quadrant of the vehicle. A central vehicle controller 8 communicates with the MCDs 2 via the common vehicle communication layer 81. Within each MCD 2, is provided a trigger module 13 and a power control module 12. As discussed above, the power control module 12 includes a plurality of smart fuses for controlling the connection of functional blocks 4,5 within the respective zone to the power supply input.

[0051] In this example, an implementation of a keyless entry system will be described for illustration, although it will be understood that the arrangement is equally applicable to other functions and associated blocks. In this case, vehicle's door handles include handle sensor blocks 4 that are used to trigger communication with the vehicle's key fob via entry antenna blocks 5. Each the zonal ECU 2 therefore has a handle sensor block 4 and an entry antenna block 5 associated with it as external functional blocks. In this implementation, the handle sensor blocks 4 are active capacitive sensors. However, it will be understood that other implementations may employ passive sensors connected to an associated electronic control unit. The handle sensor blocks 4 remain active by connection to the power supply (Kl. 30).

[0052] When a user grabs one of the vehicle's handles, the respective handle sensor block 4 generates a first wake-up signal on the trigger network 83. In turn, the trigger network 83 connects to the power control modules 12 within the zonal MCDs 2 which, in response to the detection of the first wake-up signal, then switch their respective smart fuses associated with their respective antenna blocks 5. This powers up the antenna blocks 5 simultaneously. The controller blocks within each zonal ECU 2 may also be simultaneously booted-up to control the antenna blocks 5 to verify the presence of a valid key fob. As such, the keyless entry request may be processed rapidly.

[0053] Accordingly, the above arrangement therefore provides for a more rapid response because optimization of communications within each zone and between zones is no longer dictated by a staged wake-up procedure. That is, as corresponding functional blocks can be powered up simultaneously with minimal delay, important sensors, actuators and control units for specific task can be woken up very fast, with a minimum delay and without necessitating the wake-up of associated microcontrollers first. Nevertheless, the arrangement also provides the flexibility to allow the early wake-up process to be used in combination with subsequent communications with the microcontroller using the common vehicle communication layer 81.

[0054] It will be understood that the implementations illustrated above show applications only for the purposes of illustration. In practice, implementations may be applied to many different configurations, the detailed implementations being straightforward for those skilled in the art to implement.

[0055] For example, it will be understood that the pattern or voltage level used for the external wake-up signals may be configured to be specific to functional blocks associated with specific functions across zones. As such, the application of the specific pattern or voltage originating from one zone would lead to a power-up of sensors, actuators and ECUs for the same function in all zones. At the same time, different functions can be delivered using different specific patterns or voltages.

[0056] It will also be understood that although the example shown in FIG. 3 used a single trigger network which is connected to all the zone ECUs, in other implementations, each zone may have its own trigger network or line for initiating local wake up first. Once the wake-up process has been triggered in one zone, this may then be cascaded through the vehicle by the first zone generating an external wake-up signal which is detected by other power control modules 12 in other zones within the vehicle. For example, it could be transmitted to all zone ECUs to achieve a fast wake-up over the vehicle.

[0057] Furthermore, although implementations use additional wiring for the trigger network or line, it will be understood that the provision of this additional wiring allows it to be used for other tasks. For example, the trigger network may be connected to a controller block for use in early time synchronization by applying a simple pulse signal on the line. In such arrangements, for instance, once the trigger network has been used to trigger a power-up of one or more of the functional blocks and an associated controller block, and once the controller block has finished basic initialization, the timing pulse may be used to establish time synchronization. The timing pulse may be, for example, a Pulse Per Second (PPS) signal. The provision of such a timing signal can be advantageous because the communication layers, such as ethernet in zonal architectures, can take time to initialize after start-up. As such, devices may synchronize before the communication network is fully available.

[0058] Finally, although in the above example, the trigger has been provided as a trigger module with the ECU, it will be understood that other trigger arrangements are possible. For example, the trigger may be provided as a connector input associated with an individual power control switch for directly controlling its switching. For instance, the trigger may be provided as a connector for a digital input.