IP Library Granted Patent US 12701028
Granted Patent B2
US 12701028 · App. 18/276,734 · Granted Aug 4, 2026

Gateway device having a format adaptation function

Inventors: Thomas Schaefer (Trier, DE); Peter Bauer (Konz, DE); Christian Bales (Waldrach, DE)
Assignee: VOLVO CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT AB
H04L12/40006H04L12/40169H04L2012/40215
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12701028
App. No.
18/276,734
Granted
Aug 4, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A data communication gateway for a construction machine communication system, including a first, a second, and a third data interface arranged to be mutually interconnected. The first interface is arranged to be connected to a private network of a construction machine, the second interface is arranged to be connected to an attachment network, and the third interface is arranged to be connected to an auxiliary network. A message format table configured in the gateway ECU is indicative of a message formatting relative to a standard message format of the construction machine communication system. The gateway ECU is arranged to receive a message on a source interface out of the first, second, and third interfaces, translate a data content of the message based on the message format table, and forward a message comprising the translated data content onto a destination interface out of the first, second, and third interfaces.

Claims (23)

1 . A data communication gateway for a construction machine communication system, the gateway comprising a first, a second, and a third data interface arranged to be mutually interconnected, where the mutual interconnect is controlled by a gateway electronic control unit (ECU),

wherein the first interface is arranged to be connected to a private network of a construction machine, the second interface is arranged to be connected to an attachment network, wherein an attachment comprises a sensor device arranged to generate a sensor signal, and the third interface is arranged to be connected to an auxiliary network,

wherein a message format table comprising one or more message formats is configured in the gateway ECU, wherein a message format is indicative of a message formatting relative to a standard message format of the construction machine communication system,

wherein the gateway ECU is arranged to receive a message on a source interface out of the first, second, and third interfaces, translate a data content of the message based on the message format table, and forward a message comprising the translated data content onto a destination interface out of the first, second, and third interfaces, wherein the translation includes the conversion of different sensor signals into a common format, and

wherein the gateway ECU is arranged to receive an identification signal from the attachment connected to the second interface, wherein the identification signal identifies the attachment, and to configure the message format table in dependence of the received identification signal.

2 . The data communication gateway according to claim 1 , wherein a baudrate of the source interface is different from a baudrate of the destination interface, wherein the gateway ECU is arranged to adjust a baudrate of a message received on the source interface to match the baudrate on the destination interface.

3 . The data communication gateway according to claim 1 , wherein a sequence of messages received on the source interface is associated with a data sample rate which is different compared to a desired sample rate of the destination interface, wherein the gateway ECU is arranged to resample data in the received sequence of messages to match the expected sample rate of the destination interface.

4 . The data communication gateway according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first, second, and third interfaces is a controller area network, CAN, bus interface.

5 . The data communication gateway according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first, second, and third interfaces supports a communication standard different from a CAN bus standard.

6 . The data communication gateway according to claim 1 , arranged to store a plurality of message format tables, and to select a message format table to be the configured message format table in dependence of the identification signal.

7 . The data communication gateway according to claim 6 , arranged to obtain a message format table associated with the identification signal from a remote server.

8 . The data communication gateway according to claim 1 , arranged to configure a default message format table associated with reduced functionality in case a message format table associated with the identification signal is not available to the gateway ECU.

9 . The data communication gateway according to claim 1 , wherein the gateway ECU is arranged to perform an authentication procedure in response to a device connecting to one of the interfaces.

10 . A construction machine comprising a data communication gateway according to claim 1 .

11 . A method performed by a data communication gateway comprised in a construction machine communication system, the gateway comprising a first, a second, and a third data interface arranged to be mutually interconnected, where the mutual interconnect is controlled by a gateway electronic control unit (ECU), the method comprising:

receiving an identification signal from an attachment connected to the second interface, the identification signal identifying the attachment, wherein the attachment comprises a sensor device arranged to generate a sensor signal;

configuring a message format table comprising one or more message formats in the gateway ECU, wherein a message format is indicative of a message formatting relative to a standard message format of the construction machine communication system, wherein the identification signal identifies the attachment,

receiving a message on a source interface out of the first, second, and third interfaces,

translating a data content of the message based on the message format table, wherein the translation includes the conversion of different sensor signals into a common format, and

forwarding a message comprising the translated data content onto a destination interface out of the first, second, and third interfaces,

wherein the gateway ECU is arranged to receive an identification signal from an attachment connected to the second interface, and to configure the message format table in dependence of the received identification signal.

12 . A non-transitory computer program comprising program code for performing a method according to claim 11 , when said program is run on a computer or on processing circuitry of the gateway ECU.

13 . A non-transitory computer readable medium carrying a computer program comprising program code for performing the method according to claim 11 , when said program code is run on a computer or on processing circuitry of the gateway ECU.