The core technology of ECU has been almost monopolized by foreign capital, and China is in a weak position in this respect. The core technology is mainly concentrated in Japanese companies or Europe and the United States, and ECU integration has become a trend. With the increase in electronic control systems, the space for car ECUs is becoming more and more tight, so Chinese designers are making adjustments in space.
The electronic control unit English abbreviation is ECU, the English full name is Electronic Control Unit, also known as "driving computer", "car computer" and so on. The ECU is equivalent to the "brain" of the car, and controls a number of parameters such as engine ignition, air-fuel ratio, idle speed, and exhaust gas recirculation. It is the core control component of the automobile engine.
01, principle and structure
From the point of view of use, the ECU is a car-specific microcomputer controller. Like ordinary computers, it consists of microprocessors, memories, input/output interfaces, analog-to-digital converters, and large-scale integrated circuits such as shaping and driving. The main part of the ECU is the microcomputer, and the core component is the CPU.
Chart 1 ECU composition
From the current mainstream car enterprise supporting situation, most of the ECU circuit structure is similar, the change of control function mainly depends on the software and the input and output module changes, and there are differences depending on the tasks completed by the control system.
Figure 2 ECU architecture diagram
The ECU presents different forms depending on the location of the vehicle. In general, the ECU is equipped to the position where it is easiest to implement the functions of the electronic control system, and is designed to best fit the position-based environment.
Figure 3 Main configuration position of the ECU
From the comparison of the current model matching, the level of ECU is different. In general, the higher the level, the more ECUs are equipped.
The A/B class is equipped with an average of 15 ECUs. This level of vehicle constitutes the system by minimizing the weight and price of the vehicle. The C/D class is equipped with an average of 22 or so, and the E-class or higher is equipped with more than 40 ECUs.
This is because the number of ECUs is also increasing for the large-displacement engine that is equipped with an exhaust gas treatment system and comfort equipment and information equipment that are compatible with the price of the vehicle body. Hybrid vehicles (HEVs) are also equipped with multiple ECUs for electric drive systems.
02, modified ECU
At present, the differences in gasoline quality, temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, and engine form in various countries around the world must be met in accordance with the conditions of each country. The difference in usage scenarios in various countries makes ECU technology vary from place to place.
Cars must adapt to various weather, environment (such as high altitude, desert, severe cold and inferior gasoline) and various drivers' requirements. At the same time, it must ensure that this complicated situation can still be freely driven and passed through strict conditions. Exhaust gas emissions, fuel consumption standards.
Therefore, in most cases, the program in the original ECU is a best compromise that meets many conditions, so that it does not cause acclimatization, so it reserves a lot of space for modification.
The modification of the ECU is to change the operation of the engine by changing the method of processing the problem (the originally set ECU program).
The so-called "ECU program" is actually a set of algorithms, which are stored in the memory and process the signals converted from the input device through the controller to generate corresponding command signals for transmission from the output device. Therefore, our modification of the ECU parameters is actually modifying the algorithm.
There are three main ways to modify the ECU: write, plug-in, and replace.
Figure 4 Comparison of several modification methods of ECU
03, development trend
Overall, ECU integration integration will become a trend. As the number of electronic control systems increases, the space available for automotive ECUs is getting tighter, so designers are making room-to-space adjustments.
In addition, in order to reduce the weight of the vehicle body, the number of cases in which the ECU is equipped in the engine room or built in the electric equipment such as the gearbox by means of reduction of the wire harness and the like is increased. Since the control circuit and the like of the motor are already very small, there has also been a practice of incorporating the control circuit into the motor to further reduce the size.
In the next few years, the trend of automotive electronics is obvious. The driver assistance system is expected to stand out in the middle and high-end and special vehicles. The vehicle manufacturers will gradually upgrade from the passive driving assistance system assembled by mechanical components to the active driving assistance of the fusion electronic technology. System (ADAS) to increase the safety of the car.
In general vehicle applications, the power steering wheel and rearview mirrors, windows and wipers will gradually be upgraded to electronic power steering wheels, as well as electric rearview mirrors, windows and wipers. The development of automotive system electrification will become increasingly popular.
With the high degree of electronic, automated, and integrated automotive electronics, more and more ECU systems will be built into a local area network CAN bus for automotive electronics. Centralized integrated control, bus technology, and automotive intelligent control are the key development directions of automotive electronic control technology in the future.
Information and data sharing between ECUs will become the development trend of ECUs.
At present, not only the engine has its own ECU, automatic transmission, ABS system, car entertainment audio and video system, four-wheel drive torque distribution system, active suspension system, airbag + seat belt system, etc., all have their own electronic control unit.
The data information of the engine and transmission has been shared. The future ECU will be a powerful computer system that will integrate all the parts of the system that need to be managed. We can enjoy the car audio and video system, can play PC-Game, and can accept GPS signals. Even a cup holder is in the management of the ECU.
The integration of electronic control unit (ECU) and microcontroller (MCU) is the goal of the development of large international automotive companies. At present, the integration of high-end models such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi is the highest.
04, key enterprises
For a long time, the core technology of domestic ECUs has been monopolized by foreign-funded enterprises, mainly in the hands of European, American and Japanese companies. Representative companies include United Electronics (Bosch), Delphi, China, Visteon, Marelli, Denso, Keihin, Hitachi and so on. In the Chinese market, the European and American ECU brands mainly support European and American and Korean models, while the Japanese brands mainly supply Japanese cars.
Chart 5 Global major ECU companies and supporting conditions
China's independent ECU brand has always been in a disadvantaged position. The software and hardware development of ECU requires the accumulation of experience and knowledge. Due to weak foundation, scattered technical power, lack of sufficient manpower, capital investment and effective organization and management, China Technological developments in this area have been slow, and many of the results have even remained in the laboratory.
Due to the technological gap, coupled with the improvement of domestic automobile emission standards, foreign-funded enterprises can easily earn the profits of Chinese automobile companies with their mature technological advantages.
In recent years, domestic enterprises have also begun to increase capital and technology investment in this field. At present, the main domestic technology research and development is mainly powerful vehicle companies and parts companies, such as BYD, Chery, Changan, Weichai Power, etc. Enterprises have mastered the core technology. From the long-term trend, the localization rate will be improved in this field, but this process is still full of thorns.
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