US 7,599,377 B2Granted

System and method for tunneling standard bus protocol messages through an automotive switch fabric network

AssigneeTemic Automotive of North America, Inc.

InventorsPatrick D. Jordan, Hai Dong, Walton L. Fehr, Hugh W. Johnson, Prakash U. Kartha, Samuel M. Levenson, Donald J. Remboski

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Abstract

A system and method for tunneling standard bus protocol messages through an automotive switch fabric network. When a bus protocol message arrives on a connecting node in the network, a bus driver in the node will capture the message and store it into a message buffer where the message can be further processed by a tunneling application. Each received bus protocol message will be broken, or combined, to suit the available packet size of the underlying transmit layer of the switch fabric network. Data portions such as message identification, sequence number, port number, bus data type, and data length are reserved in each data packet. If the message is being broken down, the sequence number is used to differentiate the broken segments of the bus protocol message. The bus data type is used to indicate the type of protocol data being transmitted over the switch fabric. The same tunneling application may be used to reassemble the bus protocol message at a receiving node.

Claims28

Dependent claims

A method for sending a bus protocol message through a switch fabric of a vehicle communication network, the switch fabric including a plurality of nodes joined by communication links for the transmission of data packets therebetween, the bus protocol message having at least message data, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving the bus protocol message from a standard protocol bus at a node in the switch fabric, the bus protocol message requiring a response to occur during a predetermined time;
generating a retry response on the standard protocol bus to permit the response to occur at a later time;
generating a first data packet comprising a first message identification, a first sequence number, and a plurality of first data elements, the plurality of first data elements containing at least a first portion of the message data in the bus protocol message;
generating a second data packet comprising a second message identification, a second sequence number, and a plurality of second data elements, the plurality of second data elements containing at least a second portion of the message data in the bus protocol message;
transmitting the first data packet and the second data packet to a target node in the switch fabric of the vehicle communication network;
receiving the first data packet and the second data packet at the target node of the vehicle communication network;
assembling at least the first portion of the message data and the second portion of the message data based on the first and second message identifications and the first and second sequence numbers.

4 more elements

receiving the bus protocol message from a standard protocol bus at a node in the switch fabric, the bus protocol message requiring a response to occur during a predetermined time;
generating a retry response on the standard protocol bus to permit the response to occur at a later time;
dividing the message data of the bus protocol message into a first data packet and a second data packet, the first data packet and the second data packet comprising:
a message identification associated with the bus protocol message and a sequence number;
a sequence number associated with an order of the divided message data;
and a plurality of data elements, the plurality of data elements for the first data packet including at least a first portion of the message data, the plurality of the data elements for the second data packet including at least a second portion of the message data;
transmitting the first and second data packets to a target node in the switch fabric of the vehicle communication network;
assembling at least the first portion of the message data and the second portion of the message data based on the message identification associated with the bus protocol message and the sequence numbers.

5 more elements

A node in a switch fabric of a vehicle communication network, the switch fabric including a plurality of other nodes joined by communication links for the transmission of data packets therebetween, the node being connected to a standard protocol bus, the node comprising:

a transceiver for receiving a bus protocol message from the standard protocol bus at a node in the switch fabric, the bus protocol message including at least message data, and the bus protocol message requiring a response to occur during a predetermined time;
a processor for generating a retry response message on the standard protocol bus to permit the response to occur at a later time and for dividing the message data of the bus protocol message into a first data packet and a second data packet, the first data packet and the second data packet comprising:
a message identification associated with the bus protocol message and a sequence number;
a sequence number associated with an order of the divided message data;
and
a plurality of data elements, the plurality of data elements for the first data packet including at least a first portion of the message data, the plurality of the data elements for the second data packet including at least a second portion of the message data.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 11/015,606Filed 17 Dec 2004 · us provisional application
Priority: 15 Oct 2004
Published: US 2006/0083250 A120 Apr 2006
Granted: 6 Oct 2009
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification7 codes

H04L 12/4633
Interconnection of networks: interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling
H04L 12/4135
With random access, e.g. carrier-sense multiple-access with collision detection [CSMA-CD]: using bit-wise arbitration
H04L 12/4625
LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone: single bridge functionality, e.g. connection of two networks over a single bridge
H04L 12/40032
Architecture of a communication node: details regarding a bus interface enhancer