CONTROL DEVICE AND VOLTAGE SUPPLY METHOD FOR A CONTROL DEVICE

Abstract

A control device for a motor vehicle. In the event of an interruption of an external voltage supply, limited functionality can continue to be maintained. For this purpose, it is provided to deactivate some functional modules of the control device in the event of an interruption of the external supply voltage and to use electrical energy stored in the deactivated functional modules for the voltage supply of further functional modules.

Claims

1-10. (canceled)

11. A control device for a motor vehicle, comprising: a voltage supply module configured to be connected to an electrical voltage source at an input terminal and to provide an electrical supply voltage for several functional modules of the control device; wherein the voltage supply module is configured to generate, in the event of an interruption of an input voltage at the input terminal, an intermediate voltage for an energy supply of a predetermined subset of the several functional modules and to provide the generated intermediate voltage at the predetermined subset of the plurality of functional modules.

12. The control device according to claim 11, wherein the voltage supply module is configured to draw electrical energy for providing the intermediate voltage from one or more electrical energy stores of the control device.

13. The control device according to claim 11, wherein the voltage supply module is configured to draw electrical energy for generating the intermediate voltage from one or more capacitors of functional modules that are not supplied with the intermediate voltage in the event of an interruption of the input voltage at the input terminal.

14. The control device according to claim 11, further comprising a DC-to-DC converter arranged between the voltage supply module and at least one of the functional modules and configured to transmit electrical energy from the at least one of functional modules to the voltage supply module in the event of an interruption of the input voltage at the input terminal of the voltage supply module.

15. The control device according to claim 14, wherein the DC-to-DC converter includes a bidirectional DC-to-DC converter.

16. The control device according to claim 14, wherein, during the interruption of the input voltage at the input terminal of the voltage supply module, electrical energy is transmitted to the voltage supply module via an internal body diode of the DC-to-DC converter.

17. The control device according to claim 11, wherein at least one of the functional modules is a monitoring module, wherein the monitoring module is configured to monitor further ones of the functional modules of the control device and/or to provide a communication link to an external component, wherein the voltage supply module is configured to provide the intermediate voltage at least at the monitoring module during the interruption of the input voltage at the input terminal.

18. The control device according to claim 11, wherein the control device includes the several functional modules as is a system-on-chip.

19. A voltage supply method for a control device, the method comprising the following steps: providing supply voltages to functional modules of the control device by using an input voltage provided at the control device; detecting an interruption of the input voltage provided at the control device; and providing an intermediate voltage at a subset of the functional modules by using electrical energy stored in the control device when an interruption of the input voltage provided at the control device has been detected.

20. The voltage supply method according to claim 19, further comprising: reducing a power consumption of one or more predetermined functional modules when an interruption of the input voltage provided at the control device has been detected.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Further features and advantages of the present invention are explained hereinafter with reference to the figures.

[0027] FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a block diagram of a control device according to one example embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of a block diagram of a control device according to a further embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] FIG. 3 shows a flow chart as underlying a voltage supply method for adjusting calibration parameters, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

[0030] FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a block diagram of a control device 1 according to one embodiment. The control device 1 may, for example, be supplied with electrical energy by an external energy source 2, in particular an external DC voltage source. For example, this may be an onboard DC voltage network of a motor vehicle. For example, the electrical voltage provided by the DC voltage source may supply electrical energy to one or more functional modules 21 to 24 via a voltage supply module 10.

[0031] If the individual functional modules 21 to 24 require a different electrical voltage, in particular an electrical voltage that deviates from the input voltage, the electrical voltage can be adjusted correspondingly by means of one or more DC-to-DC converters or voltage regulators. In this way, a suitable electrical supply voltage can be provided to each functional module 21 to 24.

[0032] For this purpose, the individual functional modules 21 to 24 may be connected directly to the voltage supply module 10. Alternatively, individual functional modules 24 may also be supplied with electrical energy via other functional modules 23, for example.

[0033] The individual functional modules 21 to 24 may realize any different functions. For example, a functional module 21 that provides a communication link to one or more external components 3 may be provided. For this purpose, the corresponding functional module 21 may, for example, be connected to other components via a data connection, such as a communication bus, e.g., a CAN bus or a network connection.

[0034] Moreover, individual functional modules 22 to 24 may also be assigned to any suitable sensors or actuators. For example, the functional modules 22 to 24 may include camera modules for capturing image data, ultrasonic sensors for distance measurement to an external obstacle, or any other suitable sensors, in particular surroundings sensors. Actuators, such as servomotors or the like, are likewise possible, for example.

[0035] Depending on the functionality of the individual functional modules 21 to 24, different priorities may be assigned to the individual functional modules 21 to 24. For example, functional modules for safety-relevant functionalities may be assigned higher priorities. Other functional modules 21 to 24 may, for example, be assigned a lower priority at which a temporary interruption of the respective functionality may possibly also be accepted.

[0036] For example, an impairment of a functional module 21 for communication with further external components could lead to a disruption of the entire communication sequence and possibly also to the transmission of incorrect information. In such a case, a corresponding communication module 21 can therefore be assigned a higher priority. If, for example, camera modules that only provide optical information for visualization on a display screen are moreover also provided among the functional modules 22 to 24, a brief interruption of these image signals may possibly be accepted so that such functional modules 22 to 24 can be assigned a correspondingly lower priority.

[0037] If an interruption of the external supply voltage from the voltage source 2 now occurs during the operation of the control device 1, the goal of the control device 1 is to preferably maintain the function of functional modules 21 to 24 of a higher priority. In contrast, a temporary impairment of functional modules 22 to 24 of a lower priority may possibly be temporarily accepted.

[0038] In the event of a temporary interruption of the external voltage supply, the voltage supply module 10 can therefore continue to supply a supply voltage, hereinafter intermediate voltage, to a specified group of functional modules 21 to 24. Other functional modules 22 to 24, such as the functional modules 22 to 24 designated above as functional modules of a lower priority, may be deactivated for the time period in which the external voltage supply is interrupted.

[0039] During the time period in which the external voltage supply 2 is temporarily interrupted, it is necessary to draw from an internal energy store the electrical energy for supplying the selected functional modules 21 to 24 with the intermediate voltage. For example, a suitable electrical energy store, such as a correspondingly large-dimensioned capacitor, can in principle be provided in the voltage supply module 10 for this purpose.

[0040] Moreover, it is also possible to use electrical energy stored in electrical energy stores of the functional modules that can be deactivated during the interruption of the external energy supply, for generating the intermediate voltage. For example, capacitors may be provided in the voltage supply lines to the individual functional modules 21 to 24, which capacitors stabilize the respective supply voltage of the corresponding functional modules 21 to 24 in normal operation, i.e., in operation when the voltage supply is provided by the external energy source 2. A certain amount of electrical energy is thus initially stored in these capacitors.

[0041] For example, the electrical energy in the capacitors provided in functional modules 22 to 24 that can be deactivated in the event of an interruption of the external voltage supply 2 can be used for generating the intermediate voltage. In other words, the voltage supply module 10 can discharge electrical energy stores, such as capacitors, in those functional modules 22 to 24 that can be deactivated in the event of an interruption of the external voltage supply 2. This energy can be used to generate the intermediate voltage.

[0042] Since the voltage level of the capacitors will generally decrease during the discharge process, a DC-to-DC converter may be provided in the voltage supply module 10, which DC-to-DC converter in each case raises the electrical voltage provided by the energy stores in the deactivated functional modules 22 to 24, to a voltage level of the desired intermediate voltage.

[0043] FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of a block diagram of a control device 1 according to a further embodiment. The embodiment shown in FIG. 2 corresponds as far as possible to the above-described embodiment according to FIG. 1. The embodiment shown in FIG. 2 differs from the above-described embodiment in particular in that a DC-to-DC converter 11 may be provided between the voltage supply module 10 and one or more functional modules 22. In a normal operation in which the electrical energy is supplied by the external voltage source 2, this DC-to-DC converter 11 can raise or lower the voltage level provided by the external voltage source 2, to a voltage level required for the operation of the respective functional module 22.

[0044] In the event of a temporary interruption of the external voltage supply 2, electrical energy can then be drawn from an electrical energy store, for example a capacitor in the functional module 22, and provided to the voltage supply module 10 via the respective DC-to-DC converter 11 in order to provide the required intermediate voltage.

[0045] In one embodiment, the electrical energy can flow from the energy store in the functional module 22 via an internal diode, e.g., via a body diode in the DC-to-DC converter 11, in the direction of the voltage supply module 10.

[0046] Alternatively, it is also possible for the corresponding DC-to-DC converter 11 to be designed as a bidirectional DC-to-DC converter, which can transmit electrical energy not only from the voltage supply module 10 in the direction of the functional module 22 but also in the reverse direction from the functional module 22 in the direction of the voltage supply module 10. In this case, the DC-to-DC converter 11 can in each case be controlled in such a way that, when energy flows from the functional module 22 in the direction of the voltage supply module 10, the electrical voltage provided at the voltage supply module 10 is preferably at least approximately constant.

[0047] By the above-described provision of an intermediate voltage during the temporary interruption of the external voltage supply 2, it is possible to continue to operate at least a portion of the functional modules 21 to 24. In this way, safety-relevant functionalities can, for example, be maintained even in the event of a short-term interruption of the external voltage supply 2. For example, interruptions in a time period of up to 20 milliseconds (ms) or possibly up to 100 ms can be considered as a temporary interruption of the external voltage supply. Moreover, depending on the dimensioning of the electrical energy store within the control device 1, in particular the dimensioning of the corresponding capacitors, other time periods for a temporary interruption of the external voltage supply 2 are however also possible.

[0048] Moreover, it is also possible to limit the functionality of some functional modules 21 to 24 while the external voltage supply 2 is interrupted. In this way, the energy demand for operating the corresponding functional modules 21 to 24 can be reduced. In particular, it is possible, for example, to operate the functional modules 21 to 24 with a reduced energy demand as long as the corresponding functional modules are supplied with the intermediate voltage provided by the voltage supply module 10.

[0049] Furthermore, in the event of an interruption of the external voltage supply 2, a multi-stage approach is, where applicable, also possible, in which, for example, in a first phase, the functional modules 22 to 24 to be deactivated are first put into a safe state, e.g., into a standby mode, in a controlled manner and, in a further phase, the functional modules are subsequently completely deactivated. In this way, uncontrolled operating states or signal flows may possibly be avoided.

[0050] FIG. 3 shows a flow chart as underlying a voltage supply method for a control device 1 according to one embodiment. In step S1, a supply voltage is first provided at several functional modules 21-24 of the control device 1. The supply voltage is in this case provided by using an input voltage provided externally.

[0051] In step S2, an interruption of the provided external input voltage is detected. An intermediate voltage is then provided in step S3. This intermediate voltage is in particular only provided to a subset of the functional modules 21-24 of the control device 1. The intermediate voltage is in this case provided by using electrical energy stored in the control device 1. The intermediate voltage is provided after an interruption of the external input voltage has been detected.

[0052] Furthermore, the method may, for example, comprise a step of reducing the power consumptions of one or more predetermined functional modules 21-24. The power consumption can in particular be reduced if an interruption of the input voltage provided at the control device 1 has been detected.

[0053] In summary, the present invention relates to a control device, in particular to a control device for a motor vehicle, wherein in the event of an interruption of an external voltage supply, limited functionality can continue to be maintained. For this purpose, it is provided to deactivate some functional modules of the control device in the event of an interruption of the external supply voltage and to use electrical energy stored in the deactivated functional modules for the voltage supply of further functional modules.