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EP-4739001-A2 - VEHICLE SYSTEM REDUNDANCY

EP4739001A2EP 4739001 A2EP4739001 A2EP 4739001A2EP-4739001-A2

Abstract

A computer system (700) comprising processing circuitry (702) configured to handle a lighting system (1) of a vehicle (2) is provided. The lighting system comprises at least two redundant component groups (4) each comprising a respective plurality of light sources (5) and each being powered by a respective separate power source (6). The processing circuitry is further configured to: obtain diagnosis data of the lighting system, which diagnosis data is indicative of a status of the at least two redundant component groups in comparison with a predeterminable safety model; and in response to the diagnosis data indicating a fault or risk of fault associated with at least a first (41) of the at least two redundant component groups, reconfigure the lighting system to utilize at least a first (42, 43) of the at least two redundant component groups not associated with said fault or risk of fault.

Inventors

  • NI, Lei
  • Ediz, Said
  • WÖLFINGER, Alexander
  • HANSSON, JOHAN

Assignees

  • Volvo Truck Corporation

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20251015

Claims (15)

  1. A computer system (700) comprising processing circuitry (702) configured to handle a lighting system (1) of a vehicle (2), the lighting system (1) comprising at least two redundant component groups (4) each comprising a respective plurality of light sources (5) and each being powered by a respective separate power source (6), wherein the processing circuitry (702) is further configured to: - obtain diagnosis data of the lighting system (1), said diagnosis data being indicative of a status of the at least two redundant component groups (4) in comparison with a predeterminable safety model; and - in response to the diagnosis data indicating a fault or risk of fault associated with at least a first (41) of the at least two redundant component groups (4), reconfigure the lighting system (1) to utilize at least a first (42, 43) of the at least two redundant component groups (4) not associated with said fault or risk of fault.
  2. The computer system (700) of claim 1, wherein said lighting system (1) comprises a brake light system (3).
  3. The computer system (700) of claim 1 or 2, wherein each of the at least two redundant component groups (4) controls alternating LEDs along rows and/or columns of a LED array and/or matrix (7).
  4. The computer system (700) of any one of claims 1-3, wherein said obtaining diagnosis data comprises generating control signals to the lighting system (1), measuring a response and/or reaction from said lighting system (1) and comparing said response and/or reaction based on said predeterminable safety model to establish the diagnosis data.
  5. The computer system (700) of any one of claims 1-4, wherein said reconfiguring the lighting system (1) comprises reconfiguring the output of the plurality of light sources (5) of at least a first (42, 43) of the at least two redundant component groups (4) not associated with said fault or risk of fault.
  6. A vehicle (2) comprising and/or being controlled by the computer system (700) of any of claims 1-5.
  7. A method for handling a lighting system (1) of a vehicle (2), the lighting system (1) comprising at least two redundant component groups (4) each comprising a respective plurality of light sources (5) and each being powered by a respective separate power source (6), the method comprising: - by processing circuitry (702) of a computer system (700), obtaining diagnosis data of the lighting system (1), said diagnosis data being indicative of a status of the at least two redundant component groups (4) in comparison with a predeterminable safety model; and - by the processing circuitry (702), in response to the diagnosis data indicating a fault or risk of fault associated with at least a first (41) of the at least two redundant component groups (4), reconfiguring the lighting system (1) to utilize at least a first (42, 43) of the at least two redundant component groups (4) not associated with said fault or risk of fault.
  8. The method of claim 7, wherein said lighting system (1) comprises a brake light system (3).
  9. The method of claim 7 or 8, wherein each of the at least two redundant component groups (4) controls alternating LEDs along rows and/or columns of a LED array and/or matrix (7).
  10. The method of any one of claims 7-9, wherein said obtaining diagnosis data comprises generating control signals to the lighting system (1), measuring a response and/or reaction from said lighting system (1) and comparing said response and/or reaction based on said predeterminable safety model to establish the diagnosis data.
  11. The method of any one of claims 7-10, wherein said reconfiguring the lighting system (1) comprises reconfiguring the output of the plurality of light sources (5) of at least a first (42, 43) of the at least two redundant component groups (4) not associated with said fault or risk of fault.
  12. A lighting system (1) of a vehicle (2), the lighting system (1) comprising at least two redundant component groups (4) each comprising a respective plurality of light sources (5) and each being powered by a respective separate power source (6), wherein the at least two redundant component groups (4) respectively comprises alternating LEDs along rows and/or columns of a LED array and/or matrix (7).
  13. The lighting system (1) of claim 12, wherein said lighting system (1) comprises a brake light system (3).
  14. A computer program product comprising program code for performing, when executed by the processing circuitry (702), the method of any of claims 7-11.
  15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which when executed by the processing circuitry (702), cause the processing circuitry (702) to perform the method of any of claims 7-11.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The disclosure relates generally to vehicle system redundancy. In particular aspects, the disclosure relates to handling of a lighting system of a vehicle. The disclosure can be applied to heavy-duty vehicles, trucks, buses, and construction equipment, among other vehicle types. Although the disclosure may be described with respect to a particular vehicle, the disclosure is not restricted to any particular vehicle. BACKGROUND Vehicles, such as heavy-duty vehicles e.g. trucks, commonly comprise numerous E/E subsystems - i.e. electrical/electronic subsystems - regulating different operations inside the vehicle. This may especially be true for autonomous vehicles, which further may need to be fail-operational and/or adhere to strict safety regulations such as for instance commonly known Safety Integrity Level D (ASIL-D) requirements, that may require a vehicle to remain fail-operational - for instance ASIL-D fail-operational - even if a limited number of failures are present in the vehicle's E/E subsystem(s). There is a strive for increasing the time a vehicle may remain fail-operational and/or in a fail-operational state and there is room for improvement, for instance when it comes to vehicle lighting systems such as exterior vehicle lighting systems e.g. brake light systems. SUMMARY According to a first aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a computer system comprising processing circuitry configured to handle a lighting system of a vehicle, which lighting system comprises at least two redundant component groups each comprising a respective plurality of light sources and each being powered by a respective separate power source. The processing circuitry is further configured to obtain diagnosis data of the lighting system, which diagnosis data is indicative of a status of the at least two redundant component groups in comparison with a predeterminable safety model. Moreover, the processing circuitry is further configured to, in response to the diagnosis data indicating a fault or risk of fault associated with at least a first of the at least two redundant component groups, reconfigure the lighting system to utilize at least a first of the at least two redundant component groups not associated with said fault or risk of fault. The first aspect of the disclosure may seek to provide redundancy in a lighting system - e.g. an exterior lighting system - of a vehicle - e.g. a heavy-duty vehicle - such that robustness may be increased. Thereby, the vehicle - e.g. an autonomous or at least partly autonomous vehicle - may remain fail-operational and/or in a fail-operational state to greater extent - for instance adhering to safety requirements e.g. imposed by the ASIL-D standard - which may translate into an increased availability of the vehicle. Since the processing circuitry is configured to handle a lighting system of a vehicle, which lighting system comprises at least two - for instance three - redundant component groups each comprising a respective plurality of light sources and each being powered by a respective separate power source, there is provided a lighting system supporting redundancy in that respective component group - which each may comprise for instance a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) and further for instance be arranged in a common or respective array and/or matrix - may function irrespective of one another. Furthermore, since the processing circuitry is further configured to obtain diagnosis data of the lighting system, which diagnosis data is indicative of a status of the at least two redundant component groups in comparison with a predeterminable safety model, there is obtained, derived and/or received status information with respect to each component group - for instance comprising information relating to respective group's plurality of light sources and/or power source - in view of adherence to set safety requirements - for instance relating to compliance with for instance a minimum light intensity and/or a minimum light activation response time etc. - such as for instance imposed by the ASIL-D standard. Moreover, since the processing circuitry is further configured to, in response to the diagnosis data indicating a fault or risk of fault associated with at least a first of the at least two redundant component groups, reconfigure the lighting system to utilize at least a first of the at least two redundant component groups not associated with said fault or risk of fault, the lighting system may - from confronting the status information i.e. diagnosis data of respective component group in view of the safety model - rely on - for instance activate - one or more component groups having a status not being indicated as faulty or in risk of being faulty, whereas the one or more component groups having a faulty and/or risk of faulty status may be ignored and/or inactivated. Thereby, a robust lighting system of a vehicle is provided, enabling the vehicle to remain fail-o