Search Results

FlexRay1 is a high speed, time triggered and fault tolerant communication protocol, which was specified to meet the requirements of safety-critical automotive applications. The achieved maturity of FlexRay encourages the implementation on silicon. The CIC-3102 device is a standalone controller provided by Infineon Technologies. It runs the wide spread E-Ray3 IP from Bosch. A complete communication node for FlexRay requires additional devices for the physical layer and the application part. The CIC-310 can communicate with a host controller via three different interfaces micro link interface MLI, serial synchronous interface SSC, external bus XMU. Its physical layer interface corresponds to the FlexRay specification. The CIC-310 provides features like intelligent move engines to maximize the achievable data rate as well as to minimize the workload of the host. Therefore, the CIC-310 allows a very flexible and efficient way to build and operate FlexRay nodes.

Infineon proposes a Quasi-Autonomous Gate Driver (QAGD) to manage an electrically actuated component, whether electromechanical, electromagnetic, or electrohydraulic. This paper examines some current control strategies that can be implemented within the QAGD, such as: Synchronous Sampling (SYSA), Hysteresis, Improved Synchronous Sampling-Hysteresis (ISSH), Suboscillation, Suboscillation with Back EMF Feedforward (SBEF) and Synchronous Control in Rotation Coordinates (SCRC). Analysis and simulation of these strategies indicate their advantages and disadvantages, which are then summarized in a comparison chart, from which the best solution for a given application can be determined. The QAGD IC proposed by Infineon adopts this solution by integrating the current controller and the driver unit for the MOSFETs in a single package. The inverter function can therefore be implemented using one QAGD and several MOSFETs, which greatly simplify the system and decrease the costs.

The aim of this paper is to compile the state of the art of engine control and develop scenarios for improvements in a number of applications of engine control where the pace of technology change is at its most marked. The first application is control of downsized engines with enhancement of combustion using direct injection, variable valve actuation and turbo charging. The second application is electrification of the powertrain with its impact on engine control. Various architectures are explored such as micro, mild, full hybrid and range extenders. The third application is exhaust gas after-treatment, with a focus on the trade-off between engine and after-treatment control. The fourth application is implementation of powertrain control systems, hardware, software, methods, and tools. The paper summarizes several examples where the performance depends on the availability of control systems for automotive applications.

Prototyping of a complete powertrain controller is not generally permissible due to the large number of subsystems involved and the resources required in making the design a reality. The availability of a complete control system reference design at an early stage in the lifecycle can greatly enhance the quality of the system definition and allows early ideas to be prototyped in the application environment. This paper describes the implementation of such a reference design for a gasoline engine and gearbox management control system, integrated into robust housing which can be used for development in a prototype vehicle. The paper also outlines the powertrain subsystems involved, discusses how the system partitioning is achieved, shows the implementation of the partitioning into the physical hardware, and concludes with presenting the system benefits which can be realized.

Recent trends in field bus applications, especially in the automotive section, show a very high demand for data exchange between decentralised, intelligent functional units and modules. These functional units can be grouped together to power train applications or body/convenience applications. In many cases, the coupling of local modules is done with one or more independent bus systems. The actual design and the partitioning of the modules strongly depend on application-specific requirements, such as the total amount of data to be transferred or the maximum of the tolerated latency in data delivery. A very powerful and fast field bus is the CAN bus (Controller Area Network), which supports transfers with data rates up to 1 Mbits/s. Due to the higher transmission speed and the standardized functionality, CAN is a very interesting alternative to and improvement on bus systems based on other protocols.

The increasing legal requirements for safety, emission reduction, fuel economy and onboard diagnostic systems are forcing the market to increase complexity. This complexity must not be a reason for slowing down the introduction of new systems. For efficiency, car manufacturers and system suppliers want to focus on their core competencies and leave the micro-controller complexity to silicon vendors. Competition forces system suppliers to jump to the most “function/cost” effective solution. For this reason it is very dangerous to move in the direction of specific solutions which require a large amount of effort to modify. Therefore the market goes in the direction of standards with clear interfaces. The approach presented overcomes these obstacles by introducing a Configurable I/O System (CIOS) layer. The CIOS encompasses basic software driver objects for engine management systems encapsulating the standard sensors and actuators.