Error reporting at a pulse level lying below the power supply level

Abstract

A method for transmitting error information of a sensor, in a signal exchanged between the sensor and a master receiver, said signal being designed with a minimum level for supplying electric power to the sensor and carrying measurement data. One disclosed method involves identifying the error in the sensor; switching off a component of the sensor consuming electric power; and transmitting the error information at an error level lying below the minimum level.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting sensor error information in a signal comprising: detecting the error information in the sensor; switching off a component of the sensor which consumes electrical energy; and transmitting the error information to a superordinate receiving device having a minimum level for supplying electrical energy to the sensor, wherein the error information is transmitted with an error level below the minimum level.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting the error information in a pulse which is kept at the error level over a predetermined length of time.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising describing measurement information in the signal with measurement pulses between the minimum level and a second, measurement pulse level above the minimum level.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising suppressing the transmission of a measurement pulse when the error information to be transmitted has been detected in the sensor.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising performing a check when the error to be transmitted has been detected, and wherein the check determines whether the error is still present before each transmission of a measurement pulse.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising restarting the sensor after the error information has been transmitted with the error level.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the error information in memory before the component is switched off.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising switching off the component by interrupting an electrical energy supply for the memory.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the component of the sensor which consumes electrical energy comprising parts of a signal processing circuit for entering measurement information in the signal.

10. A sensor comprising a control apparatus having instructions for: detecting error information in the sensor; switching off a component of the sensor which consumes electrical energy; and transmitting the error information to a superordinate receiving device having a minimum level for supplying electrical energy to the sensor, wherein the error information is transmitted with an error level below the minimum level.

11. The sensor of claim 10, further comprising transmitting the error information in a pulse which is kept at the error level over a predetermined length of time.

12. The sensor of claim 10, further comprising describing measurement information in the signal with measurement pulses between the minimum level and a second, measurement pulse level above the minimum level.

13. The sensor of claim 12, further comprising suppressing the transmission of a measurement pulse when the error information to be transmitted has been detected in the sensor.

14. The sensor of claim 13, further comprising performing a check when the error to be transmitted has been detected, and wherein the check determines whether the error is still present before each transmission of a measurement pulse.

15. The sensor of claim 10, further comprising restarting the sensor after the error information has been transmitted with the error level.

16. The sensor of claim 10, further comprising storing the error information in memory before the component is switched off.

17. The sensor of claim 16, further comprising switching off the component by interrupting an electrical energy supply for the memory.

18. The sensor of claim 10, wherein the component of the sensor which consumes electrical energy comprising parts of a signal processing circuit for entering measurement information in the signal.

19. The sensor of claim 10, wherein the sensor is a wheel speed sensor.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The above-described properties, features and advantages of this invention and the manner in which they are achieved become clearer and more clearly comprehensible in connection with the following description of the exemplary embodiments which are explained in more detail in connection with the drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a vehicle having a vehicle dynamics control system;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of a wheel speed sensor in the vehicle from FIG. 1; and

(4) FIG. 3 shows a graph having an output signal from the wheel speed sensor from FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(5) In the Figures, identical technical elements are provided with identical reference symbols and are described only once.

(6) Reference is made to FIG. 1 which shows a schematic view of a vehicle 2 having a vehicle dynamics control system which is known per se. Details of this vehicle dynamics control system can be gathered from DE 10 2011 080 789 A1, for example.

(7) The vehicle 2 comprises a chassis 4 and four wheels 6. Each wheel 6 can be decelerated with respect to the chassis 4 via a brake 8 fastened to the chassis in a stationary manner in order to decelerate a movement of the vehicle 2 on a road (not illustrated any further).

(8) In this case, it may happen, in a manner known to a person skilled in the art, that the wheels 6 of the vehicle 2 lose their traction and the vehicle 2 even moves away from a trajectory, which is predefined using a steering wheel (not shown any further) for example, as a result of understeering or oversteering. This is avoided by means of control circuits which are known per se such as ABS (anti-lock braking system) and ESP (electronic stability program).

(9) In the present embodiment, the vehicle 2 has speed sensors 10 on the wheels 6 for this purpose, which sensors sense a speed 12 of the wheels 6. The vehicle 2 also has an inertial sensor 14 which captures vehicle dynamics data 16 relating to the vehicle 2, which data may comprise, for example, a pitch rate, a roll rate, a yaw rate, a transverse acceleration, a longitudinal acceleration and/or a vertical acceleration in a manner known per se to a person skilled in the art.

(10) On the basis of the sensed speeds 12 and captured vehicle dynamics data 16, an evaluation apparatus in the form of a controller 18 can determine, in a manner known to a person skilled in the art, whether the vehicle 2 is sliding on the road or even deviates from the predefined trajectory mentioned above and can accordingly react to this with a controller output signal 20 which is known per se. The controller output signal 20 can then be used by an actuating device 22 to activate actuators, such as the brakes 8, by means of actuating signals 24, which actuators react to the sliding and the deviation from the predefined trajectory in a manner known per se.

(11) The present invention is intended to be illustrated in more detail using one of the speed sensors 10 shown in FIG. 1 even though the present invention can be implemented on any desired sensors, for example the inertial sensor 14.

(12) Reference is made to FIG. 2 which shows a schematic view of one of the speed sensors 10 in the vehicle dynamics control system from FIG. 1.

(13) In the present embodiment, the speed sensor 10 is in the form of an active speed sensor which comprises an encoder disk 26, which is fastened to the wheel 6 in a rotationally fixed manner, and a reading head 28 which is fastened in a stationary manner with respect to the chassis 4.

(14) In the present embodiment, the encoder disk 26 consists of magnetic North poles 30 and magnetic South poles 32 which are strung together and together excite a transmitter magnetic field (not illustrated any further). If the encoder disk 26 fastened to the wheel 6 rotates with the latter in a direction of rotation 34, the transmitter magnetic field accordingly concomitantly rotates in a synchronous manner.

(15) In the present embodiment, the reading head 28 is a magnetostrictive element which changes its electrical resistance on the basis of the angular position of the transmitter magnetic field excited by the encoder wheel 26.

(16) In order to sense the speed 12, the change in the angular position of the encoder wheel 26, and therefore the change in the electrical resistance of the reading head 28, is sensed. For this purpose, the reading head 28 may be connected, in a manner known per se, to a resistance measuring circuit (not illustrated any further), for example a bridge circuit known per se. A periodic output signal, called speed transmitter signal 36 below, is generated in the resistance measuring circuit on the basis of the electrical resistance of the reading head 28. A pulse signal 40 which depends on the speed 12 and is shown in FIG. 3 can be generated in a signal preprocessing circuit 38 downstream of the reading head 28 on the basis of the speed transmitter signal 36 and can be output to the controller 18. With respect to this and with respect to further background information on active wheel speed sensors, reference is made to the relevant prior art, for example DE 101 46 949 A1.

(17) The generation of the pulse signal 40 in the signal preprocessing circuit 38 shall be additionally briefly explained below using FIG. 3 in which the pulse signal 40 containing measurement pulses 42 is plotted in a signal 44/time 46 graph. The signal 44 and therefore the pulse signal 40 may be a current signal in this case. Frequency modulation per se is already given by the measurement method in the above-mentioned speed sensor 10, the measurement pulses 42 being able to be generated in a pulse generation device 47 of the signal preprocessing circuit 38 and being able to be modulated onto the pulse signal 40 via a mixer 49.

(18) Starting from a particular reference signal value 48, the measurement pulses 42 have a predetermined first height 50. Within the scope of the frequency modulation, the number of measurement pulses 42 over time 46 is determined by the measured value to be transmitted for the speed 12, which means that the number of measurement pulses 42 increases with increasing speed 12. Therefore, in FIG. 3, the pulse signal 40 is shown in a state in which the speed 12 falls over time 46 and the number of measurement pulses 42 decreases over a particular period.

(19) Within the scope of the present embodiment, the electrical energy 50 needed to generate the measurement pulses 42 is provided by an electrical energy supply circuit 52 via a switch (yet to be described) in the form of a normally closed contact 53. The electrical energy supply circuit 52 takes the input energy 54 required for this purpose from the pulse signal 40, the necessary input energy 54 being fed into the pulse signal 40 by the controller 18 in a manner known per se, for example within the scope of an offset current.

(20) The signal preprocessing circuit 38 also has an error monitoring device 56. The task of this error monitoring device 56 is to detect malfunctions and to report them to the controller 18 so that the latter can accordingly react to them. With the measurement pulses 42 from a defective speed sensor 10, the controller 18 in the vehicle dynamics control system described using FIG. 1 could incorrectly interpret a yaw rate which is not present, for example, and at which the vehicle 2 rotates about its vertical axis. The controller 18 would then intervene via the controller output signal 20 and would impose a yaw behavior on the vehicle 2 in order to counteract the yaw rate which is not present. Since this is highly dangerous to traffic, defective speed sensors 10 should be detected, for which the error monitoring device 56 is respectively provided.

(21) The error monitoring device 56 is also operated with electrical energy from the electrical energy supply circuit 52. The error monitoring device 56 may be in the form of a watchdog known per se, for example, analyzes the function of the speed sensor 10 and monitors it for errors. If an error occurs, the error monitoring device 56 outputs an error pulse 58 which can likewise be modulated onto the pulse signal 40 via a mixer 49.

(22) So that the controller 18 can also identify the error pulse 58 as such, an error pulse height 60 which differs from the height of the measurement pulses 42 must be selected for the error pulse. For good detectability by the controller 18, the error pulse 58 should fall below the reference signal value 48 and should be held there for a predetermined period 62. In principle, this period 62 can be held for any desired time. However, it should last until the controller 18 can also clearly distinguish the error pulse 58 from random signal value fluctuations.

(23) The problem here is that the error pulse 58 with its error pulse height 60 reduces the input energy 54. The reference signal value 48 is expediently selected as the minimum signal value or minimum level in such a manner that a permanent electrical energy supply for all components of the speed sensor 10 and, in particular, of the signal processing circuit 38 is ensured. If the pulse signal 40 permanently falls below the reference signal value 48, like in the error pulse 58, the electrical energy supply for the speed sensor 10 and, in particular, for the signal processing circuit 38 can collapse.

(24) Since the metrological use of the measurement pulses 42 is doubtful in the event of an error, it is proposed within the scope of the present embodiment to reduce the electrical energy consumption of the speed sensor 10 and, in particular, of the signal processing circuit 38. For this purpose, the normally closed contact 53 is controlled using the error pulse 58, for example. Alternatively, however, the error monitoring device 56 can also control the normally closed contact 53 using its own signal. This interrupts the electrical energy supply 50 for the pulse generation device 47 and stops the generation of the measurement pulses 42. The electrical energy consumption of the speed sensor 10 consequently falls and its function is still ensured by the error pulse 58 despite the pulse signal 40 which has fallen below the reference signal value 48.

(25) On the basis of the error pulse 58, a restart 63 of the speed sensor 10 can then also be initiated at the end of the period 62 in order to attempt to eliminate the error. With the restart 63, the period 62 for transmitting the error pulse 58 could be automatically ended. Alternatively or additionally, the error may also be stored in a memory 64 which is only indicated in FIG. 2.

(26) The foregoing preferred embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the structural and functional principles of the present invention, as well as illustrating the methods of employing the preferred embodiments and are subject to change without departing from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the scope of the following claims.