Systems and methods for implementing a time-stamped controller area network (CAN) bus message

1. A method for a transmitting a Controller Area Network (“CAN”) message, comprising:

receiving a CAN message at a network bridge that bridges the CAN to an Ethernet network;

in response to receiving the CAN message at the network bridge, generating a time stamp indicative of a time at which the CAN message was received;

encapsulating the time stamp and the CAN message into an Ethernet frame; and

transmitting the Ethernet frame containing the encapsulated time stamp and CAN message over the Ethernet network.

2. The method for transmitting the CAN message of claim 1 , further comprising:

adding an entry to a lookup table stored in a memory of the network bridge, wherein the entry correlates a CAN message Identifier (“ID”) corresponding to the CAN message with the time stamp.

3. The method for transmitting the CAN message of claim 2 , wherein adding the entry to the lookup table comprises adding the entry to the lookup table in response to receiving a last bit of an End-of-Frame marker (“EOF”) of the CAN message.

4. The method for transmitting the CAN message of claim 2 , wherein transmitting the Ethernet frame containing the encapsulated time stamp and CAN message over the Ethernet network further comprises:

detecting, upon looking up the CAN message ID in the lookup table, a plurality of entries, ones of the plurality of entries respectively corresponding to the CAN message ID;

determining a respective time stamp for each entry among the plurality of entries; and

selecting the respective time stamp of the entry among the plurality of entries having a smallest corresponding age.

5. The method for transmitting the CAN message of claim 2 , wherein the lookup table comprises a finite quantity of entries, wherein ones of the entries among the finite quantity of entries comprises an associated age, and wherein adding the entry to the lookup table comprises:

deleting an oldest entry in the lookup table;

incrementally increasing the age of ones of the entries remaining in the lookup table; and

assigning the added entry an age that is a youngest age among other entries of the lookup table.

6. The method for transmitting the CAN message of claim 1 , wherein the time stamp indicates a time at which a Start-of-Frame marker (“SOF”) of the CAN message is received by the network bridge.

7. The method for transmitting the CAN message of claim 6 , wherein the method further comprises determining a CAN message ID by, in response to the network bridge receiving the SOF of the CAN message:

detecting, by monitoring the CAN bus, a CAN frame containing the CAN message; and

identifying the CAN message ID from an arbitration field of the CAN frame.

8. The method for transmitting the CAN message of claim 1 , wherein generating the time stamp comprises adding an amount of delay to a time at which the CAN message is received.

9. The method for transmitting the CAN message of claim 1 , wherein transmitting the Ethernet frame containing the encapsulated time stamp and CAN message over the Ethernet network comprises:

scheduling the CAN message for transmission over the Ethernet network based on the time stamp; and

transmitting the Ethernet frame over the Ethernet network from the network bridge based on the scheduling.

10. A system for transmitting a Controller Area Network (“CAN”) message, comprising:

a network bridge that bridges the CAN to an Ethernet network, comprising:

a memory; and

control circuitry configured to:

receive a CAN message;

in response to receiving the CAN message at the network bridge, generate a time stamp indicative of a time at which the CAN message was received;

encapsulate the time stamp and the CAN message into an Ethernet frame; and

transmit the Ethernet frame containing the encapsulated time stamp and CAN message over the Ethernet network.

11. The system for transmitting the CAN message of claim 10 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

add an entry to a lookup table stored in a memory of the network bridge, wherein the entry correlates a CAN message Identifier (“ID”) corresponding to the CAN message with the time stamp.

12. The system for transmitting the CAN message of claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry, when adding the entry to the lookup table, is configured to:

add the entry to the lookup table in response to receiving a last bit of an End-of-Frame marker (“EOF”) of the CAN message.

13. The system for transmitting the CAN message of claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry, when transmitting the Ethernet frame containing the encapsulated time stamp and CAN message over the Ethernet network, is further configured to:

detect, upon looking up the CAN message ID in the lookup table, a plurality of entries, ones of the plurality of entries respectively corresponding to the CAN message ID;

determine a respective time stamp for each entry among the plurality of entries; and

select the respective time stamp of the entry among the plurality of entries having a smallest corresponding age.

14. The system for transmitting the CAN message of claim 11 , wherein the lookup table comprises a finite quantity of entries, wherein ones of the entries among the finite quantity of entries comprises an associated age, and wherein the control circuitry, when adding the entry to the lookup table, is further configured to:

delete an oldest entry in the lookup table;

incrementally increase the age of ones of the entries remaining in the lookup table; and

assign the added entry an age that is a youngest age among other entries of the lookup table.

15. The system for transmitting the CAN message of claim 10 , wherein the time stamp indicates a time at which a Start-of-Frame marker (“SOF”) of the CAN message is received by the network bridge.

16. The system for transmitting the CAN message of claim 15 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

determine a CAN message ID by, in response to the network bridge receiving the SOF of the CAN message:

detect, by monitoring the CAN bus, a CAN frame containing the CAN message; and

identify the CAN message ID from an arbitration field of the CAN frame.

17. The system for transmitting the CAN message of claim 10 , wherein the control circuitry, when generating the time stamp is further configured to:

add an amount of delay to a time at which the CAN message is received.

18. The system for transmitting the CAN message of claim 10 , wherein the control circuitry, when transmitting the Ethernet frame containing the encapsulated time stamp and CAN message over the Ethernet network is further configured to:

schedule the CAN message for transmission over the Ethernet network based on the time stamp; and

transmit the Ethernet frame over the Ethernet network from the network bridge based on the scheduling.