Unified vehicle network frame protocol

1. A vehicle control module within a vehicle, comprises:

a plurality of vehicle devices, each operable to perform a respective vehicle function;

a plurality of vehicle network interfaces, each operably coupled to a respective one of the plurality of vehicle devices and to Ethernet network fabric within the vehicle, wherein the vehicle network interfaces facilitate communication regarding the vehicle functions between the vehicle devices and the Ethernet network fabric in accordance with an Ethernet communication protocol;

a switching circuit module coupled between the plurality of vehicle network interfaces and the Ethernet network fabric, the switching circuit module operable to arbitrate access to the Ethernet network fabric among the plurality of vehicle network interfaces in accordance with a local network management function; and

a network port coupled between the switching circuit module and an Ethernet link of the Ethernet network fabric.

2. The vehicle control module of claim 1 further comprises:

the plurality of vehicle devices including an analog sensor;

an analog to digital converter operable to:

convert an analog sensed signal produced by the analog sensor into a digital signal; and

provide the digital signal to the vehicle network interface; and

a vehicle network interface of the plurality of vehicle network interfaces coupled to the analog sensor and operable to packetize the digital signal into one or more packets in accordance with the Ethernet communication protocol.

3. The vehicle control module of claim 1 further comprises:

a vehicle network interface of the plurality of vehicle network interfaces operable to de-packetize one or more packets in accordance with the Ethernet communication protocol to produce a digital signal;

a digital to analog converter operable to:

convert the digital signal into an analog signal; and

provide the analog signal to a vehicle device of the plurality of vehicle devices; and

the vehicle device including an analog actuator that performs the respective vehicle function in accordance with the analog signal.

4. The vehicle control module of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of vehicle devices comprise one or more of:

a mission critical vehicle operation device;

a non-mission critical vehicle operation device;

a mission critical safety device;

a non-mission critical safety device;

a mission critical electronic driving device;

a non-mission critical electronic driving device;

an electronic control unit; and

an entertainment device.

5. The vehicle control module of claim 1 , wherein a vehicle network interface of the plurality of vehicle network interfaces comprises:

a network transceiver operable to:

receive data from a vehicle device of the plurality of vehicle devices;

output one or more packets to the Ethernet network fabric via the switching circuit module and the network port; and

a protocol processing unit operable to:

determine priority of the data in accordance with a locally managed prioritization scheme;

interpret the data to determine whether the data is formatted as raw data, is formatted in accordance with a legacy vehicle protocol, or formatted as the one or more packets in accordance with the Ethernet communication protocol;

when the data is formatted as the raw data or is formatted in accordance with a legacy vehicle protocol, convert the data into the one or more packets in accordance with the Ethernet communication protocol;

send the one or more packets to the network transceiver in accordance with the priority of the data.

6. The vehicle control module of claim 5 , wherein the vehicle network interface comprises:

the network transceiver operable to:

receive one or more incoming packets from the Ethernet network fabric; and

send the one or more incoming packets to the protocol processing unit; and

the protocol processing unit operable to:

interpret the one or more incoming packets to determine an incoming priority in accordance with the locally managed prioritization scheme;

send, via the network transceiver, the one or more packets to the vehicle device in accordance with the incoming priority when the vehicle device communicates in accordance with the Ethernet communication protocol;

convert the one or more incoming packets into incoming raw data when the vehicle device communicates using a raw data format and send, via the network transceiver, the incoming raw data to the vehicle device in accordance with the incoming priority; and

convert the one or more packets into one or more incoming legacy packets when the vehicle device communicates using a legacy format and send, via the network transceiver, the one or more incoming legacy packets to the vehicle device.

7. The vehicle control module of claim 5 , wherein the protocol processing unit comprises at least one of:

a processing module; and

a protocol controller.

8. An assembly network node module within a vehicle, comprises:

a plurality of vehicle network interfaces each coupled to a respective one of a plurality of vehicle devices, wherein a vehicle network interface of the plurality of vehicle network interfaces is operable to couple to a vehicle device of the plurality of vehicle devices and to an Ethernet network fabric within the vehicle, wherein the vehicle network interface facilitates communication regarding a vehicle function of the vehicle device; and

a switching circuit module coupled between the plurality of vehicle network interfaces and a network port that is coupled to an Ethernet link of the Ethernet network fabric, the switching circuit module operable to arbitrate access to the Ethernet network fabric among the plurality of vehicle network interfaces in accordance with a local network management function, wherein communication via the Ethernet network fabric is in accordance with an Ethernet communication protocol.

9. The assembly network node module of claim 8 , wherein the switching circuit module comprises:

one or more ingress queues operable to:

receive incoming network packets from the Ethernet network fabric in accordance with the Ethernet communication protocol;

temporarily store the incoming network packets in accordance with the locally managed prioritization scheme;

one or more egress queues operable to:

temporarily store outgoing network packets from the plurality of vehicle network interfaces in accordance with the locally managed prioritization scheme; and

output the outgoing network packets to the Ethernet network fabric in accordance with the Ethernet communication protocol;

a switching circuit operable to:

selectively couple individual ones of the plurality of vehicle network interfaces to individual ones of the one or more egress queues in accordance with the locally managed prioritization scheme for outgoing data; and

selectively couple individual ones of the plurality of vehicle network interfaces to individual ones of the one or more ingress queues in accordance with the locally managed prioritization scheme for incoming data;

a processing module operable to:

interpret the outgoing device packets and the incoming network packets to determine types of packets; and

determine the locally managed prioritization scheme based on the types of packets.

10. The assembly network node module of claim 8 wherein the vehicle device comprises one or more of:

a mission critical vehicle operation device;

a non-mission critical vehicle operation device;

a mission critical safety device;

a non-mission critical safety device;

a mission critical electronic driving device;

a non-mission critical electronic driving device;

an electronic control unit; and

an entertainment device.

11. The assembly network node module of claim 8 further comprises:

the vehicle device including an analog sensor;

an analog to digital converter operable to:

convert an analog sensed signal produced by the analog sensor into a digital signal; and

provide the digital signal to the vehicle network interface; and

the vehicle network interface operable to packetize the digital signal into one or more packets in accordance with the Ethernet communication protocol.

12. The assembly network node module of claim 8 further comprises:

the vehicle network interface operable to de-packetize one or more packets in accordance with the Ethernet communication protocol to produce a digital signal;

a digital to analog converter operable to:

convert the digital signal into an analog signal; and

provide the analog signal to the vehicle device; and

the vehicle device including an analog actuator that performs the vehicle function in accordance with the analog signal.

13. The assembly network node module of claim 8 , wherein the vehicle network interface comprises:

a network transceiver operable to:

receive data from the vehicle device;

output one or more packets to the Ethernet network fabric; and

a protocol processing unit operable to:

determine priority of the data in accordance with a locally managed prioritization scheme of the local network management function;

interpret the data to determine whether the data is formatted as raw data, is formatted in accordance with a legacy vehicle protocol, or formatted as the one or more packets in accordance with the Ethernet communication protocol;

when the data is formatted as the raw data or is formatted in accordance with a legacy vehicle protocol, convert the data into the one or more packets in accordance with the Ethernet communication protocol;

send the one or more packets to the network transceiver in accordance with the priority of the data.

14. The assembly network node module of claim 8 , wherein the vehicle network interface comprises:

the network transceiver operable to:

receive one or more incoming packets from the Ethernet network fabric; and

send the one or more incoming packets to the protocol processing unit; and

the protocol processing unit operable to:

interpret the one or more incoming packets to determine an incoming priority in accordance with the locally managed prioritization scheme;

send, via the network transceiver, the one or more packets to the vehicle device in accordance with the incoming priority when the vehicle device communicates in accordance with the Ethernet communication protocol;

convert the one or more incoming packets into incoming raw data when the vehicle device communicates using a raw data format and send, via the network transceiver, the incoming raw data to the vehicle device in accordance with the incoming priority; and

convert the one or more packets into one or more incoming legacy packets when the vehicle device communicates using a legacy format and send, via the network transceiver, the one or more incoming legacy packets to the vehicle device.

15. A method for controlling a vehicle device within a vehicle, comprises:

coupling the vehicle device to a vehicle network interface of a plurality of vehicle network interfaces, each of the vehicle network interfaces being coupled to a respective one a plurality of vehicle devices, each of the vehicle network interfaces being further coupled to a switching circuit module that is coupled to an Ethernet link of an Ethernet network fabric within the vehicle via a network port facilitating communication regarding a vehicle function of the vehicle device between the vehicle device and the Ethernet network fabric via the vehicle network interface and the switching circuit module using an Ethernet communication protocol; and

arbitrating, by the switching circuit module, access to the Ethernet network fabric among the plurality of vehicle network interfaces in accordance with a local network management function.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the vehicle device includes an analog sensor, and further comprising:

converting an analog sensed signal produced by the analog sensor into a digital signal;

providing the digital signal to the vehicle network interface; and

packetizing the digital signal into one or more packets in accordance with the Ethernet communication protocol.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the vehicle device includes an analog actuator, and further comprising:

de-packetizing one or more packets in accordance with the Ethernet communication protocol to produce a digital signal;

converting the digital signal into an analog signal;

providing the analog signal to the vehicle device; and

performing, by the analog actuator, the vehicle function in accordance with the analog signal.

18. The method of claim 15 further comprises:

the vehicle network interface:

receiving data from the vehicle device;

determining priority of the data in accordance with a locally managed prioritization scheme;

interpreting the data to determine whether the data is formatted as raw data, is formatted in accordance with a legacy vehicle protocol, or formatted as the one or more packets in accordance with the Ethernet communication protocol;

when the data is formatted as the raw data or is formatted in accordance with a legacy vehicle protocol, converting the data into the one or more packets in accordance with the Ethernet communication protocol; and

outputting the one or more packets to the Ethernet network fabric in accordance with the priority of the data.

19. The method of claim 18 , further comprises:

receiving one or more incoming packets from the Ethernet network fabric;

interpreting the one or more incoming packets to determine an incoming priority in accordance with the locally managed prioritization scheme; and

sending the one or more packets to the vehicle device in accordance with the incoming priority when the vehicle device communicates in accordance with the Ethernet communication protocol, the sending including:

converting the one or more incoming packets into incoming raw data when the vehicle device communicates using a raw data format and sending the incoming raw data to the vehicle device in accordance with the incoming priority; and

converting the one or more packets into one or more incoming legacy packets when the vehicle device communicates using the legacy vehicle protocol and sending the one or more incoming legacy packets to the vehicle device.

20. The method of claim 15 , wherein the vehicle device comprises one or more of:

a mission critical vehicle operation device;

a non-mission critical vehicle operation device;

a mission critical safety device;

a non-mission critical safety device;

a mission critical electronic driving device;

a non-mission critical electronic driving device;

an electronic control unit; and

an entertainment device.