Redundant power communications circuit
AssigneeJohnson Controls Interiors Technology Corp.
InventorsRoss G. Timmerman, Krzysztof R. Russa, Alan S. Hughes
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A redundant power and communications network that is generally fault tolerant and generally immune to single point failure. A primary or master node communicates via a standard multiplex protocol to the control infrastructure of a vehicle. The master node, in a subnetwork or supplementary communications bus, further communicates with one or a plurality of slave nodes in a local vehicle area or structure such as a seat. The main multiplex network and subnetwork are bridged by the master node, which transfers information between the main multiplex network and the subnetwork.
Claims23
A method of communicating for a vehicle control system comprising:
- providing a communications bus between a first control apparatus and a second control apparatus in a vehicle;
- providing a power bus between said first control apparatus and said second control apparatus;
- detecting a failure of said communications bus;
- and
- providing communications over said power bus and said communications bus.
A communications architecture for a vehicle control system, said communications architecture comprising:
- a first node;
- a second node;
- a communications bus having a first wire connecting said first node and said second node and providing for information transfer between said first node and said second node;
- a power bus having a second wire connecting said first node and said second node and providing power to said second node from said first node;
- and
- a fault detector to determine if said communications bus is faulted, wherein said power bus transfers information between said first node and said second node in the event of a fault of said communications bus.
A vehicle communication system, comprising a controller having a communication circuit configured to communicate over a communications bus, wherein the controller is coupled to a power bus, wherein the controller is further configured to communicate over the power bus, wherein the controller is configured to detect a failure in the communications bus and to communicate over the power bus in response to detecting the failure.
A vehicle communication system, comprising:
- a master controller coupled to a communications bus and a power bus, the master controller including a first means for communicating on the communications bus and a second means for providing power on the power bus and for communicating on the power bus;
- and
- a slave controller coupled to the communications bus and the power bus, the slave controller including a third means for communicating on the communications bus and a fourth means for receiving power from the power bus and for communicating on the power bus, wherein the master controller further comprises means for detecting a failure in the communications bus and for communicating over the power bus in response to detecting the failure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.