Claims:STATEMENT OF CLAIMS
We claim:
1. A method of providing redundant throttle in a vehicle, the method comprising:
detecting at least one fault in at least one of a master POT (201) and a backup POT (204) in an electronic accelerator pedal of the vehicle by a control unit (207); and
obtaining a throttle command (209) from a recovery throttle (208) by the control unit (207), on detecting the at least one fault in the at least one of the master POT (201) and the backup POT (204).
2. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the throttle command (209) is obtained from the backup POT (204) by the control unit (207), on detecting the at least one fault in the master POT (201).
3. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein detecting the at least one fault in the master POT (201) comprises:
receiving at least one output from the master POT (201) by the control unit (207);
determining that the received at least one output from the master POT (201) is not within a threshold window by the control unit (207); and
detecting the at least one fault in the master POT (201) by the control unit (207) on determining that the at least one output from the master POT (201) is not within the threshold window.
4. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the detecting at least one fault in the backup POT (204) comprises:
receiving at least one output from the backup POT (204) by the control unit (207);
determining that the received at least one output from the backup POT (204) is not within a threshold window by the control unit (207); and
detecting the at least one fault in the backup POT (204) by the control unit (207), on determining that the at least one output from the backup POT (204) is not within the threshold window.
5. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vehicle is controlled by application of a brake pedal of the vehicle by the control unit (207) on obtaining the throttle command (209) from the recovery throttle (208).
6. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the detecting fault in the at least one of a master POT (201) and a backup POT (204) includes:
comparing an output received from the master POT (201) with an output received from the backup POT (204) by the control unit (207), to obtain a compared value;
determining that the compared value is greater than a predefined threshold by the control unit (207); and
causing to set a delta flag in response to determining that the compared value is greater than the predefined threshold by the control unit (207).
7. The method, as claimed in claim 6, wherein the method further comprises:
determining that the output received from the backup POT (204) is not within a threshold window by the control unit (207); and
obtaining a throttle command (209) from the recovery throttle (208) by the control unit (207), on detecting that the delta flag is set and the output received from the backup POT (204) is not within the threshold window.
8. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein obtaining the throttle command (209) from the recovery throttle (208) includes determining a recovery throttle value by the control unit (207).
9. The method, as claimed in claim 8, wherein determination of the recovery throttle value comprises:
determining whether at least one of a State of Charge (SoC) of battery of the vehicle, battery cell temperature, individual cell voltage, applied brake, motor temperature, controller temperature, health of encoder, and Controller Area Network (CAN) interface, are within a predefined threshold by the control unit (207); and
determining that the recovery throttle value is based on a maximum throttle of the vehicle by the control unit (207) in response to determining that components of the vehicle comprising of SoC of battery of the vehicle, battery cell temperature, individual cell voltage, applied brake, motor temperature, controller temperature, health of encoder, and CAN interface, are within a predefined threshold.
10. The method, as claimed in claim 8, wherein the method further comprises:
determining that the recovery throttle value is limited by the control unit (207) is based on at least one of the SoC of battery of the vehicle, battery cell temperature, individual cell voltage, applied brake, motor temperature, controller temperature, health of encoder, and CAN interface are not within a predefined threshold.
11. A control unit (207) for providing redundant throttle in a vehicle, the control unit configured to:
detect at least one fault in at least one of a master POT (201) and a backup POT (204) in an electronic accelerator pedal of the vehicle; and
obtain a throttle command from a recovery throttle (208) on detecting the at least one fault in the backup POT, and at least one fault in the both the master POT (201) and the backup POT (204).
12. The control unit, as claimed in claim 11, wherein the control unit (207) obtains the throttle command (209) from the backup POT (204) on detecting the at least one fault in the master POT (201).
13. The control unit, as claimed in claim 11, wherein the control unit (207) is configured for detecting the at least one fault in the master POT (201) by:
receiving at least one output from the master POT (201);
determining that the received at least one output from the master POT (201) is not within a threshold window; and
detecting the at least one fault in the master POT (201) on determining that the at least one output from the master POT (201) is not within the threshold window.
14. The control unit, as claimed in claim 11, wherein the control unit (207) is configured for detecting at least one fault in the backup POT (204) by:
receiving at least one output from the backup POT (204);
determining that the received at least one output from the backup POT (204) is not within a threshold window; and
detecting the at least one fault in the backup POT (204) post determining that the at least one output from the backup POT (204) is not within the threshold window.
15. The control unit, as claimed in claim 11, wherein the control unit (207) is configured to provide an indication to the vehicle to apply a brake pedal of the vehicle on obtaining the throttle command (209) from the recovery throttle (208).
16. The control unit, as claimed in claim 11, wherein the control unit (207) is configured for detecting fault in the at least one of a master POT (201) and a backup POT (204) by:
comparing an output received from the master POT (201) with an output received from the backup POT (204), to obtain a compared value;
determining that the compared value is greater than a predefined threshold; and
causing to set a delta flag in response to determining that the compared value is greater than the predefined threshold.
17. The control unit, as claimed in claim 16, wherein the control unit is further configured to:
determine that the output received from the backup POT (204) is not within a threshold window; and
obtain a throttle command (209) from the recovery throttle (208) post detecting that the delta flag is set and the output received from the backup POT (204) is not within the threshold window.
18. The control unit, as claimed in claim 11, wherein the control unit (207) is configured for obtaining the throttle command (209) from the recovery throttle (208) by determining a recovery throttle value.
19. The control unit, as claimed in claim 18, wherein the control unit (207) is configured for determining the recovery throttle value by:
determining whether at least one of a State of Charge (SoC) of battery of the vehicle, battery cell temperature, individual cell voltage, applied brake, motor temperature, controller temperature, health of encoder, and Controller Area Network (CAN) interface, are within a predefined threshold; and
determining that the recovery throttle value is based on a maximum throttle of the vehicle in response to determining components of the vehicle comprising of the SoC of battery of the vehicle, battery cell temperature, individual cell voltage, applied brake, motor temperature, controller temperature, health of encoder, and CAN interface, are within a predefined threshold.
20. The control unit, as claimed in claim 18, wherein the control unit is further configured to:
determine that the recovery throttle value is limited based on at least one of the SoC of battery of the vehicle, battery cell temperature, individual cell voltage, applied brake, motor temperature, controller temperature, health of encoder, and CAN interface, in response to determining that the at least one of the SoC of battery of the vehicle, battery cell temperature, individual cell voltage, applied brake, motor temperature, controller temperature, health of encoder, and CAN interface are not within a predefined threshold.

Dated this 26th of May, 2017

Signature:

Name of the Signatory: Somashekar Ramakrishna
, Description:TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] Embodiments herein relate to control systems in vehicles, and more particularly to a method for providing redundant throttle systems in vehicles.
BACKGROUND
[002] Existing Motor Control Unit (MCU) in a vehicle includes a single and a complete throttle configuration and a single analog input channel. The vehicle comprises of an electronic accelerator pedal, connected to the MCU, which converts throttle command of the driver of the vehicle into an equivalent torque command. The working of the electronic accelerator pedal (electronic accelerator throttle) is based on voltage division principle, wherein a resistive element and a wiper arm (potentiometer or “POT”) divides a reference input voltage.
[003] The electronic accelerator pedal in the vehicle includes two POTs; a master/primary POT, and a backup/secondary POT, which are electrically independent. The inclusion of the two POTs in the vehicle allows safe driving in the event of detection of fault in the master/primary POT. When the fault is detected, the drive can be continued with the aid of the backup/secondary POT safely, and without loss of any performance parameter of the vehicle. In case fault is detected in both POTs got, then with the help of a recovery throttle the vehicle can be driven safely. This kind of redundancy cannot be achieved with a single POT configuration.
[004] If both the POTs can be powered by a separate source from the MCU, then detection of hardware wiring faults such as short of wiper of the individual POT with supply terminal/ground terminal, open/short of supply terminals to the individual POT, or the like, becomes simple and it is easier to provide redundancy. But due to the limited number of analog inputs and power supplies/sources in the MCU, It is imperative to use a common power supply and ground for both the POTs. This can restrict the detection of faults in the dual POT configuration.
OBJECTS
[005] The principal object of embodiments herein is to provide methods and systems for providing redundant throttle in a vehicle, on detecting at least one fault in a throttle system in a vehicle such as Electric Vehicle (EV), Plug-in EV (PEV), Hybrid (HEV), or the like.
[006] Another object of the embodiments herein is to detect the at least one fault in POTs of an electronic accelerator pedal in the vehicle, by overcoming an insufficient number of analog inputs and power supplies from a MCU.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES
[007] This invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, throughout which like reference letters indicate corresponding parts in the various figures. The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following description with reference to the drawings, in which:
[008] FIG. 1adepicts/illustrates a complete throttle configuration in a MCU, according to prior art;
[009] FIG. 1b illustrates two complete throttle configurations in a MCU, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
[0010] FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of a system for processing of a user accelerator pedal request by the MCU and feeding of a torque command to a motor, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
[0011] FIG. 3 illustrates a variation of throttle command with respect to accelerator pedal voltage in a graph, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
[0012] FIG. 4 depicts/illustrates delta checking in a graph, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
[0013] FIG. 5 depicts/illustrates the method for torque coordination, according to embodiments as disclosed herein; and
[0014] FIG. 6 depicts/illustrates a block diagram of torque coordination and determination, according to embodiments as disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
[0016] The embodiments herein provide a redundant throttle for detecting faults in a throttle system in a vehicle. The vehicle comprises of an electronic accelerator pedal, which includes two POTs. The embodiments allow detection of faults in the POTs is detected using control unit, which is based on a redundant throttle logic. The control unit can be developed in the MCU. The embodiments overcome hardware constraints, which are imposed when the number of analog inputs available for measurement has to be increased, for any specific inverter or MCU or any Drive Control Module (DCM) by allowing the control unit to detect faults in the POTs of the electronic accelerator pedal through a redundant throttle logic.
[0017] The electronic accelerator pedal includes two POTs, viz., a master POT and a backup POT. A throttle command can be generated from both the master POT and the backup POT. The throttle command from the master POT can be considered when the master POT is without a fault (healthy). The throttle command from the backup POT can be considered when a fault is detected in the master POT. This is the primary redundancy of the electronic accelerator pedal.
[0018] The throttle command can be considered from a recovery throttle when a fault is detected in the backup POT or a fault is detected in both master POT and backup POT. The analog voltage values from both master POT and backup POT are ignored and throttle output can be considered as a recovery throttle value specified by the MCU. The computation of the recovery throttle value can be based on the grade of the vehicle.
[0019] When the throttle command is obtained from the recovery throttle, the vehiclecan be controlled by a brake pedal drive. Thus, essentially the brake of the vehicle can be used to cancel the recovery throttle. When a driver of the vehicleapplies the brake followed by the removal of throttle from the brake pedal, the vehicle attains the recovery throttle value based on grade of the vehicle. This helps the driver drive the vehicle with limited speed at any terrain road profile in circumstance of detection of failure in the master POT and the backup POT, or complete source supply failure of the master POT and the backup POT or backup POT failure. This is the secondary redundancy of the electronic accelerator pedal.
[0020] Embodiments herein allow overcoming of sampling time difference between signals from both the master POT and the backup POT. Embodiments herein allow usage of a single power supply for both the master POT and the backup POT. Embodiments herein detect hardware connection faults of both the master POT and the backup POT using delta checking. The delta checking can be used to determine whether the voltage of the master POT and the backup POT are within a plausible window. The delta checking procedure includes determining the difference of the processed outputs from both master POT and backup POT and comparing the individual processed output with a parameter having a predefined value of POT_DELTA_Threshold, which can be calibrated .
[0021] Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 through 6, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown preferred embodiments.
[0022] Examples of the vehicle be but m]not limited an electric vehicle, plug-in electric vehicle, hybrid electric vehicle, Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) vehicle, car, a van, a truck, a bus, a farm vehicle, a heavy vehicle, a kart-like vehicle, a racing car, or any other vehicle capable of being powered by a vehicle using energy stored in an on-board energy storage means (such as batteries, super capacitors, rechargeable traction batteries, electric double-layer capacitors or flywheel energy storage, and so on). Electricity, hydrogen, solar energy or any other form of energy can power the vehicle, where the vehicle utilizes the energy stored in the energy storage means present in the vehicle.
[0023] FIG. 1a depicts/illustrates a single complete throttle configuration with two POTs in a MCU, according to prior art. FIG. 1b depicts/illustrates two complete throttle configurations with two POTs in a MCU, according to embodiments as disclosed herein.
[0024] The complete throttle configuration can be referred to as master POT/primary POT (POT1) along with analog input, which can be referred to as backup POT/secondary POT (POT2). The analog input can be low sampling frequency signal or high sampling frequency signal.
[0025] As depicted in FIG. 1a, each POT includes a wiper, POT high and POT low pins. The movement of the wiper across POT high and POT low pins allow obtaining a variation of resistance, thereby achieving voltage division. In order to obtain a complete throttle configuration, a POT must be powered by an individual power supply. As depicted in FIG. 1a, the existing systems are having a single throttle configuration and an analog input. Herein, the wiper input of the backup POT is connected to an analog input channel, and the POT high and POT low pins of both POTs are powered from the same power supply, making partial throttle configuration.
[0026] As depicted in FIG. 1b, there are two complete throttle configurations with two POTs, each with individual power supplies.
[0027] FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of a system for processing of a user accelerator pedal request by the MCU and feeding of a torque command to a motor, according to embodiments as disclosed herein. The two POTs, i.e., ‘POT high’ and ‘POT low’, are named as master POT 201 and backup POT 204 respectively.
[0028] The master POT 201 can feed an analog voltage (POT voltage) corresponding to the throttle pedal travel into a master POT processing unit 202. The master POT processing unit 202 can receive the analog voltage value from the master POT 201 and can convert it into a suitable digital form. The digital form of the analog voltage can be fed to a digital filter 205. The master POT processing unit 202can modify throttle scaling and considers Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive and Low (PRNDL) direction. Similarly, the backup POT processing unit 203 can receive another analog voltage value (POT voltage) from the backup POT 204 and can convert it into another suitable digital form based on the gear shifter position. The digital form of the analog voltage can be fed to a digital filter 206.
[0029] The redundant throttle logic is implemented in a proposed control unit 207.In an embodiment, the control unit 207 can be a standalone unit. In this embodiment, at least one variable from the MCU can be considered as an input parameter, to provide a throttle command to the MCU.
[0030] In another embodiment, the control unit 207 can be a part of the MCU, an Electronic Control Unit (ECU), or any other control unit present in the vehicle. In an embodiment herein, the control unit 207 can be distributed over one or more control units present in the vehicle.
[0031] The control unit 207 may include additional units to form different embodiments. In an embodiment, a recovery throttle 208 can be a part of the control unit 207. In another embodiment, recovery throttle 208 can be a standalone unit, which is connected to the control unit 207.
[0032] The control unit 207 can be operated based on redundant throttle logic. The control unit 207 can receive digital forms of the respective analog voltages from the respective POTs (master POT 201 and backup POT 204) through digital filters 205 and 206. The control unit 207 can provide necessary throttle command 209 based on the condition of the master POT 201 and the backup POT 204. The control unit 207 can be configured to identify faults in the master POT 201 and the backup POT 204. The control unit 207 can deliver the throttle command to the MCU (not shown) from either of the master POT 201, the backup POT 204, and the recovery throttle 208; based on the conditions of both master POT 201 and backup POT 204.
[0033] The throttle command 209 can be obtained from the master POT 201, if the master POT 201 is healthy. The throttle command 209 can be obtained from the backup POT 204 to drive the vehicle when a fault is detected in the master POT 201.
[0034] The recovery throttle 208 can be used for delivering the throttle command 209 when fault in detected either in the backup POT 204 or when the fault is detected in both the master POT 201 and the backup POT 204. The analog voltage (POT voltage) values from both the master POT 201 and the backup POT 204 are ignored and throttle output can be considered to be a constant value, when at least one of the above mentioned fault scenarios are detected. The vehiclebecomes a single pedal control drive vehicle when the recovery throttle 208 is used for delivering the throttle command 209. Considering the throttle output as constant allows the driver of the vehicleto drive the vehicle to safety in case of throttle POT failure, i.e., failure of the master POT 201 and the backup POT 204.Therecovery throttle 208 can be cancelled by applying a brake to the vehicle. Once the MCU is reset, the driver cannot drive the vehicle since failure of the accelerator pedal can be a severe safety issue.
[0035] The recovery throttle value is a configurable parameter, which can beset as a percentage of maximum throttle of the vehicle. When the throttle command 209 can be received from the recovery throttle 208 the recovery throttle value is used. The recovery throttle value (throttle input to the vehicle) can also be computed based on parameters such as State of Charge (SoC) of battery of the vehicle, temperatures of the battery cells, individual cell voltages, applied brake, motor temperature, controller temperature, health of encoder, Controller Area Network (CAN) interface, or the like.
[0036] If the SoC of the battery, the individual cell voltages, the motor temperature, the battery cell temperatures and the controller temperature are within a predefined limit, then the recovery throttle value can be considered equal to a variable ‘PAR_Recovery_Throttle’, which is the percentage of maximum throttle of the vehicle. If the SoC of the battery, the individual cell voltages, the motor temperature, the battery cell temperatures and the controller temperature are not within a predefined limit, then the recovery throttle value can be derived based on at least one pre-defined condition. The direction of the recovery throttle can be determined based on PRNDL inputs. If the brake of the vehicle is pressed, or if there is a failure in CAN interface communication, or if there is encoder failure, then the recovery throttle208 can be cancelled.
[0037] The redundant throttle logic (implemented in the control unit 207) can provide an acknowledgement to the user through the user interface 210 when there is a fault in the master POT 201 and/or backup POT 204. The user interface 210 can alert the driver about the type of the hardware fault that has occurred in the vehicle. The alert can be provided to the driver using at least one of a visual and auditory means on any suitable interior means such as the infotainment system, a standalone alerting system/indicator, the speakers, vibrating means, haptic sensors, and so on. In an example herein, the driver can be alerted by an appropriate signal in the instrument cluster of the vehicle. Initially supply faults in the POTs (201 and/or 204) such as supply high terminal open, supply low terminal open, supply high terminal short and supply low terminal short can be checked with the help of plausible windows of both the master POT 201 and the backup POT 204 along with the delta errors. In an embodiment, if faults (open/short) are detected in the supply high/low terminals, a flag viz., ‘Throttle_Supply_Fault’ can be raised and the vehicle can be controlled with using the recovery throttle 208. If the faults are not detected, then the ‘Throttle_Supply_Fault’ flag can be set as ‘not raised’.
[0038] FIG. 3 depicts/illustrates a variation of throttle command with respect to accelerator pedal voltage in a graph, according to embodiments as disclosed herein. The accelerator pedal voltage is a converted form of pedal travel of the driver of the vehicle.
[0039] FIG. 4 depicts/illustrates delta POT checking procedure in a graph, according to embodiments as disclosed herein. The redundant throttle logic can detect faults in both the master POT 201and the backup POT 204by performing a delta checking procedure. The delta checking procedure includes determining a difference of the processed outputs of both the master POT 201 and Backup POT 204, and thereafter comparing the difference with a predefined value of POT_DELTA_Threshold.
[0040] The MCU can monitor if the POT voltages of the master POT 201 and the backup POT 204 are within a plausible window. The plausible window can specify the upper and lower limit (range) of the analog voltage from the digital filter 205 and 206, for which the master POT 201 and the backup POT 204 are considered to be healthy (without faults). If the wiper voltage (POT voltage or analog voltage) of either or both POTs is out of plausible window, then the control unit 207 can discern that either or both POTs are having some fault. As the master POT 201 and the backup POT 204 operate in different voltage ranges, different plausible windows can be specified for the master POT 201 and the backup POT 204.
[0041] A backup POT check procedure can be performed to detect faults, if existing, in the backup POT 204. In the procedure, analog voltage (backup POT voltage) from the backup POT 204 can be checked, if it is within the plausible window. If the backup POT voltage is within the plausible window, then a variable ‘BackupPotfaultcount’ can be set to 0 and the current value of back up POT voltage can be considered.
[0042] On the other hand, if the backup POT voltage is not within the plausible window, the variable ‘BackupPotfaultcount’ can be increased each time the procedure is performed and a ‘BackupPotFault’ flag can be raised. The current value of back up POT voltage is neglected. The ‘BackupPotFault’ flag can be raised if the variable ‘BackupPotfaultcount’ is greater than 5. At this juncture, the vehicle can be controlled with the recovery throttle 208.
[0043] A delta check procedure can be performed, in which the difference between a POT voltage value (analog voltage from the master POT 201 or the backup POT 204) and a predefined threshold voltage value, i.e. delta, is monitored. If the difference is greater than a plausible voltage window with a value of ‘Par_Max_Delta’, which is a parameter that can be calibrated, then a ‘Delta_Fault’ flag is raised and a variable ‘DeltaFaultCount’ is incremented. If the variable ‘DeltaFaultCount’ is greater than 5, then the ‘DeltaErr’ flag is raised. If the variable ‘DeltaFaultCount’ is less than 5, then the ‘DeltaErr’ flag is not raised. If the ‘DeltaErr’ flag is raised, then the embodiments can determine the status of the ‘BackupPotErr’ flag and consider operating the throttle, by providing the throttle command 209 either through the backup POT 204 or through the recovery throttle 208. If the backup POT 204 is healthy, then the output value from the backup POT 204 is considered as throttle command 209. If a fault is detected in the backup POT 204, then the output value from the recovery throttle 208 is considered as throttle command 209. If the ‘DeltaErr’ flag is not raised, the embodiments determine the status of the ‘BackupPotErr’ flag. If the ‘BackupPotErr’ is set, then the recovery throttle 208 controls the vehicle.
[0044] The faults identified by the control unit 207 can include a short between POT supply high terminal and POT supply low terminal of either POT (master POT 201 or backup POT 204), POT supply high terminal either POT is open, POT supply low terminal when either of the POTs is open, wiper of the master POT 201 is shorted to POT supply low terminal of the master POT 201, wiper of the master POT 201 is shorted to POT supply high terminal of the master POT 201, wiper of the master POT 201 is open, wiper of the backup POT 204 is shorted to POT supply high terminal of the backup POT 204, wiper of the backup POT 204 is shorted to POT supply low terminal of the backup POT 204, wiper of the backup POT 204 is open, wiper of the master POT 201 and the backup POT 204 is shorted to POT supply low of the master POT 201 and the backup POT 204 respectively, wiper of the master POT 201 and the backup pot 204 is shorted to POT supply high of the master POT 201 and the backup POT 204 respectively, or the like.
[0045] FIG. 5 depicts/illustrates the method for torque coordination, according to embodiments as disclosed herein. The plausible window is used to determine the healthiness of each POT. The plausible window is not same for both the POTs. The plausible window has the calibratable parameters viz., minimum, begin, end, and maximum values. The throttle will be considered valid in throttle output zone, and this zone is determined by ‘begin’ and ‘end’ values of the POTs. The failure of a POT is determined by minimum and maximum values of the POT.
[0046] FIG. 6 depicts/illustrates a block diagram of torque coordination and determination, according to embodiments as disclosed herein. The redundant throttle logic allows selecting throttle command 209 (output) from one of the POTs, i.e., master POT 201 or backup POT 204. The redundant throttle logic does not provide the actual torque command to the MCU. The actual torque command to the MCU can be provided by a torque coordination method by considering torque inference of Engine Control Unit (ECU) (antilock braking systems (ABS)-electronic stability programs (ESP)), battery, limited operating strategy modes, or the like.
[0047] The embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented through at least one software program running on at least one hardware device and performing network management functions to control the network elements. The network elements shown in Fig. 6 include blocks, which can be at least one of a hardware device, or a combination of hardware device and software module.
[0048] The algorithm is implemented in Matlab-Simulink software for SIL verification. Real time implementation is done using C language in the application layer of the MCU. And the results are verified and validated. But the same algorithm can be implemented in any Electronic Control Unit.
[0049] The embodiment disclosed herein describes a method for detecting fault in electronic accelerator pedal of a vehicle. Therefore, it is understood that the scope of the protection is extended to such a program and in addition to a computer readable means having a message therein, such computer readable storage means contain program code means for implementation of one or more steps of the method, when the program runs on a server or mobile device or any suitable programmable device. The method is implemented in a preferred embodiment through or together with a software program written in e.g. Very high speed integrated circuit Hardware Description Language (VHDL) another programming language, or implemented by one or more VHDL or several software modules being executed on at least one hardware device. The hardware device can be any kind of portable device that can be programmed. The device may also include means, which could be e.g. hardware means like e.g. an ASIC, or a combination of hardware, and software means, e.g. an ASIC and an FPGA, or at least one microprocessor and at least one memory with software modules located therein. The method embodiments described herein could be implemented partly in hardware and partly in software. Alternatively, the invention may be implemented on different hardware devices, e.g. using a plurality of CPUs.
[0050] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.