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US-20260127114-A1 - FAULT CONDITION WRITEBACK

US20260127114A1US 20260127114 A1US20260127114 A1US 20260127114A1US-20260127114-A1

Abstract

An electronic device is presented. The electronic device comprises a non-volatile memory configured for storing information independent of power supply. The electronic device further comprises a plurality of writeback registers configured for storing information parallel to operation of the electronic device. The electronic device further comprises a fault condition detector configured for detecting a fault condition of a primary power supply, activating a substitute power supply path to a substitute power supply in case of the fault condition, and initiating an information transfer from the writeback registers to the non-volatile memory in case of the fault condition. Further, a system comprising the electronic device and a method for operating the electronic device are presented.

Inventors

  • Max Brand

Assignees

  • INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20250903
Priority Date
20241104

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . An electronic device comprising: a non-volatile memory configured for storing information independent of power supply, a plurality of writeback registers configured for storing information parallel to operation of the electronic device, and a fault condition detector configured for: detecting a fault condition of a primary power supply, activating a substitute power supply path to a substitute power supply in case of the fault condition, and initiating an information transfer from the writeback registers to the non-volatile memory in case of the fault condition.
  2. 2 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the fault condition is selected from the group consisting of: an undervoltage condition, an overvoltage condition, an overtemperature condition.
  3. 3 . The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising: a controller in the substitute power supply path, wherein the controller is configured for controlling the information transfer from the writeback registers to the non-volatile memory.
  4. 4 . The electronic device of claim 3 , wherein the controller comprises a state machine, wherein the state machine is configured for step-by-step processing predefined states for further operation of the electronic device in case of the fault condition.
  5. 5 . The electronic device of claim 3 , wherein the controller is further configured for disabling one or more components of the electronic device.
  6. 6 . The electronic device of claim 5 , wherein the electronic device further comprises at least one application-specific component, wherein the controller is configured for disabling the application-specific component in case of the fault condition.
  7. 7 . The electronic device of claim 3 , wherein the controller further comprises an adapter configured for adapting power supplied by the substitute power supply.
  8. 8 . The electronic device of claim 7 , wherein the substitute power supply is a capacitor, wherein the adapter is configured for adapting power provided by the capacitor.
  9. 9 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the information stored in the writeback registers parallel to the operation of the electronic device and transferred to the non-volatile memory in case of the fault condition comprises diagnostic information on the operation of the electronic device.
  10. 10 . The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the diagnostic information comprises information on at least one of: a temperature of the electronic device or at least a part thereof, a voltage supplied to the electronic device, operating hours of the electronic device, a time stamp, a power consumption of the electronic device, an application-specific status of the electronic device.
  11. 11 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the writeback registers comprise: at least one writeback data register configured for storing data, and at least one writeback address register configured for storing addresses.
  12. 12 . The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the information transfer comprises transferring the data stored in the writeback data register to an address in the non-volatile memory, wherein the address is stored in the writeback address register.
  13. 13 . A system comprising a substitute power supply and an electronic device, wherein the electronic device comprises: a non-volatile memory configured for storing information independent of power supply, a plurality of writeback registers configured for storing information parallel to operation of the electronic device, and a fault condition detector configured for: detecting a fault condition of a primary power supply, activating a substitute power supply path to the substitute power supply in case of the fault condition, and initiating an information transfer from the writeback registers to the non-volatile memory in case of the fault condition.
  14. 14 . The system according claim 13 , wherein the substitute power supply is a capacitor.
  15. 15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the capacitor is arranged such that the capacitor is charged by the primary power supply during operation of the electronic device.
  16. 16 . The system of claim 13 , further comprising the primary power supply.
  17. 17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the primary power supply and the substitute power supply are configured for supplying the electronic device with equal power.
  18. 18 . A method comprising: a) storing information in a writeback register of an electronic device parallel to operation of the electronic device, b) detecting a fault condition of a primary power supply, c) activating a substitute power supply path to a substitute power supply, d) initiating an information transfer from the writeback register to a non-volatile memory of the electronic device.
  19. 19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein step d) is prioritized during a remaining operation of the electronic device.
  20. 20 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the method is used for an automotive application.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to an electronic device, a system and a method. The electronic device, the system and the method may specifically be used for automotive applications, such as for controlling a vehicle or at least a part thereof. However, other applications may in principle of course also be feasible. BACKGROUND In practice, electronic devices may suffer from fault conditions during operation, such as from a power supply failure. Electronic devices typically need to store diagnostic information on such events, such as for later analysis. It is further typically required that this is done immediately, e.g. due to loss of power supply, or generally to avoid data loss. However, an application controlled by the electronic device typically also needs to continue operation, at least in a special operation mode. As an example, the application controlled by the electronic device may be brought into a safe state, which may be an off state, such as by using a soft shut down. For immediately storing the information while continuing operation of the application, read-while-write memory architectures are typically required. Normally, when a memory is busy with a write operation, a read operation is not possible. However, if a system cannot retrieve and execute a subsequent instruction, this may significantly disturb the overall performance. Read-while-write memories may allow reading and writing concurrently. Such read-while-write memories may be implemented by using multi-bank devices, such as multi-bank NOR flash devices. Then, in a first bank, a write operation may be performed, while, in a second bank, a read operation may be performed. However, such devices are typically rather expensive. Thus, there is specifically a need for reducing costs while still ensuring adequate fault condition handling. SUMMARY In a first aspect, an electronic device is presented. The electronic device comprises a non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory is configured for storing information independent of power supply. The electronic device further comprises a plurality of writeback registers. The writeback registers are configured for storing information parallel to operation of the electronic device. The electronic device further comprises a fault condition detector. The fault condition detector is configured for detecting a fault condition of a primary power supply. The fault condition detector is further configured for activating a substitute power supply path to a substitute power supply in case of the fault condition. The fault condition detector is further configured for initiating an information transfer from the writeback registers to the non-volatile memory in case of the fault condition. In a further aspect, a system is presented. The system comprises a substitute power supply. The system further comprises an electronic device. The electronic device comprises a non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory is configured for storing information independent of power supply. The electronic device further comprises a plurality of writeback registers. The writeback registers are configured for storing information parallel to operation of the electronic device. The electronic device further comprises a fault condition detector. The fault condition detector is configured for detecting a fault condition of a primary power supply. The fault condition detector is further configured for activating a substitute power supply path to a substitute power supply in case of the fault condition. The fault condition detector is further configured for initiating an information transfer from the writeback registers to the non-volatile memory in case of the fault condition. In a further aspect, a method is presented. The method comprises: a) storing information in a writeback register of an electronic device parallel to operation of the electronic device,b) detecting a fault condition of a primary power supply,c) activating a substitute power supply path to a substitute power supply,d) initiating an information transfer from the writeback register to a non-volatile memory of the electronic device. In a further aspect, a use of the electronic device, the system and/or the method for an automotive application is presented. Those skilled in the art will recognize additional features and advantages upon reading the following detailed description, and upon viewing the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals refer to similar or identical elements. The elements of the drawings are not necessarily to scale relative to each other. The features of the various illustrated examples can be combined unless they exclude each other. FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an example of a system comprising an electronic device according to the present disclosure.