Method and apparatus for jointly controlling multiple devices
View Patent ↗A method is provided for jointly controlling a plurality n, n being an integer greater than 1, of devices connected to a same communication channel, each of said devices D l , l=1, . . . , n, being capable of assuming a number m l of states. The method includes, but is not limited to unambiguously assigning to each combination of states of said n devices an integer code number M, wherein M ∈ [ x , x + ∏ l = 1 n m l [ , x being an arbitrary number, for a combination of states to be set in the devices, selecting the code number M assigned to said combination (m 5 ), broadcasting (m 2 ) said code number M to all devices D l , l=1, . . . , n via said communication channel; decoding (s 2 ), in each device, the state to be set in that device from said code number M; setting (s 3 ) the decoded state in each device.
1. A method for jointly controlling a plurality n, n being an integer greater than 1, of devices connected to a same communication channel, each of said devices D l , l=1, . . . , n, being capable of assuming a number m l of states, the method comprising the steps of:
unambiguously assigning to each combination of states of said n devices an integer code number M, wherein
M
∈
[
x
,
x
+
∏
l
=
1
n
m
l
[
,
x being an arbitrary number;
for a combination of states to be set in the devices, selecting the code number M assigned to said combination (m 5 );
broadcasting (m 2 ) said code number M to all devices D l , l=1, . . . , n via said communication channel;
decoding (s 2 ), in each device, the state to be set in that device from said code number M; and
setting (s 3 ) the decoded state in each device.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the number m l of states of at least one of said devices is divisible by a prime number larger than 2.
3. The method of claim 1 , in which the states of all devices D l , l=1, . . . , n are assigned integer indices S l,jl =0, 1, . . . , m l , and in step a), each combination {S 1,j1 , S 2,j2 , S n,jn } is assigned a code number
M
=
x
+
S
n
,
jn
-
y
n
+
∑
l
=
1
n
-
1
(
S
l
,
jl
-
y
l
)
∏
j
=
1
+
l
n
m
j
,
wherein x, y l are integers.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein a device D l in said decoding step decodes (s 2 ) a received code word M by calculating according to:
S
l
,
jl
=
y
l
+
I
+
∞
(
M
+
1
-
x
N
l
)
-
I
-
∞
(
M
-
x
N
l
m
l
)
m
l
-
1
,
where:
I +∞ (a) is the integer nearest to a which is greater than or equal to a,
I −∞ (a) is the integer nearest to a which is smaller than or equal to a, and:
N
l
=
{
∏
k
=
l
+
1
n
m
k
if
l
<
n
1
if
l
=
n
.
5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising an initializing step of transmitting (m 1 ) to each device D l the state numbers of at least each other device D 1 , . . . , D l−1 , D l+1 , . . . , D n .
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the initializing step (m 1 ) comprises broadcasting the state numbers m l of all devices D 1 , . . . , D n .
7. The method of claim 3 , wherein a device D l in said decoding step decodes (s 2 ) a received code word M by calculating according to:
S
l
,
jl
=
y
l
+
I
-
∞
(
M
-
x
N
l
)
mod
m
l
where:
I +∞ (a) is the integer nearest to a which is greater than or equal to a,
I −∞ (a) is the integer nearest to a which is smaller than or equal to a, and:
N
l
=
{
∏
k
=
l
+
1
n
m
k
if
l
<
n
1
if
l
=
n
.
8. The method of claim 3 , wherein a device D l in said decoding step decodes (s 2 ) a received code word M by calculating according to:
S
l
,
jl
=
y
l
+
I
-
∞
(
M
-
x
N
l
)
-
I
-
∞
(
M
-
x
N
l
m
l
)
m
l
-
1
where:
I +∞ (a) is the integer nearest to a which is greater than or equal to a,
I −∞ (a) is the integer nearest to a which is smaller than or equal to a, and:
N
l
=
{
∏
k
=
l
+
1
n
m
k
if
l
<
n
1
if
l
=
n
.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the devices is a vehicle subcontrol unit.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the vehicle control unit is an all wheel drive controller, at least one state of which corresponds to an all-wheel drive mode being on, and at least one state of which corresponds to the all-wheel drive mode being off.
11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the vehicle control unit is a shock absorber controller, states of which correspond to different degrees of shock damping.
12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the vehicle control unit is a power steering controller, states differ by the degree of provided driver assistance.
13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the vehicle control unit is a steering controller, states of which have different relations between steering wheel and front wheel turning angles.
14. The method of claim 9 , wherein the vehicle control unit is a powertrain controller, states of which have different gear shifting characteristics.
15. The method of claim 9 , wherein the vehicle control unit is a load controller for controlling motor load according to an accelerator pedal position, states of which correspond to different pedal position/load characteristics.
16. The method of claim 9 , wherein the vehicle control unit is a brake controller.
17. A vehicle control unit for controlling a plurality of subcontrol units D l , l=1, . . . , n, comprising a selector means for selecting, for each of said subcontrol units a state from a plurality of states supported by said subcontrol unit the states of all subcontrol units D l , l=1, . . . , n having integer indices S l,jl , jl=0, 1, . . . , m l , assigned to them, and for determining a code number according to:
M
=
x
+
S
n
,
jn
-
y
n
+
∑
l
=
1
n
-
1
(
S
l
,
jl
-
y
l
)
∏
j
=
1
+
l
n
m
j
;
corresponding to the selected states, wherein x, y l are integers, and broadcast for broadcasting the code number M.
18. The vehicle control unit of claim 17 , further comprising a transmitter to transmit to a subcontrol unit the number of states supported by at least all other subcontrol units.
19. The vehicle control unit of claim 18 , wherein the means for transmitting are broadcasting means for broadcasting the number of states supported by all subcontrol units.
20. A vehicle subcontrol unit, comprising:
a receiver means for receiving a code number M;
a decoder for calculating a state number according to:
S
l
,
jl
=
y
l
+
I
+
∞
(
M
+
1
-
x
N
l
)
-
I
-
∞
(
M
-
x
N
l
m
l
)
m
l
-
1
,
from said code number M,
where
I +∞ (a) is the integer nearest to a which is greater than or equal to a,
I −∞ (a) is the integer nearest to a which is smaller than or equal to a,
x, y l are integers and:
N
l
=
{
∏
k
=
l
+
1
n
m
k
if
k
<
n
1
if
k
=
n
,
and
a state setting for setting the subcontrol unit to the state specified by said state number.
21. The vehicle subcontrol unit of claim 20 , in which the receiver is further adapted to receive the parameters m k .
22. A computer readable medium embodying a computer program product, said computer product comprising:
a control program, the control program configured to jointly control a plurality n, n being an integer greater than 1, of devices connected to a same communication channel, each of said devices D l , l=1, . . . , n, being capable of assuming a number m l of states, the control program further configured to:
unambiguously assign to each combination of states of said n devices an integer code number M, wherein
M
∈
[
x
,
x
+
∏
l
=
1
n
m
l
[
,
x being an arbitrary number;
for a combination of states to be set in the devices, select the code number M assigned to said combination (m 5 );
broadcast (m 2 ) said code number M to all devices D l , l=1, . . . , n via said communication channel;
decode (s 2 ), in each device, the state to be set in that device from said code number M; and
set (s 3 ) the decoded state in each device.