Automotive Related Research Topics

"CSD (Combustion Stabilizing Device)" is being developed to meet SULEV/ULEV (Super-Ultra Low Emission Vehicle/Ultra Low Emission Vehicle) emission standards on small to large displacement internal combustion engines. To reduce automotive emissions to SULEV standards it is necessary to start the engine in a stoichiometric, or lean, state (or go to a stoichiometric state quickly after start.) In order to achieve stoichiometric cold starts, vaporized fuel is needed, which is supplied by the CSD

Hitachi is a member of the AMI-C consortium for vehicular telematics, which includes the concepts of entertainment, information, and communication both to and from a remote server. The technology is to provide the following services:

Hitachi is bringing together these navigation and telematics technologies, and designing systems which can take them to the next level. Users will be able to plan a route at their PC or in their PDA, then follow it in their car. With our multiple sensing devices, the readings will be more accurate than with traditional single-sensor devices.

HAL-R&D is involved in the now well-known area of Mechatronics. Mechatronics is used in systems where there is the need for integration between two or more of the following: microcontrollers, control systems, electrical systems, magnetic systems, mechanical systems and thermal systems.

Mechatronics is interdisciplinary and brings together areas of technology involving sensors and measurement systems, drive and actuation systems, analysis of system behavior, control system implementation, and microcontroller integration.

We have designed many virtual components using state of the art modeling tools, including SABERTM from Synopsys and Matlab/SimulinkTM from The Mathworks. In these programs, the virtual model must duplicate the behavior of an actual part in multi-domains such as electrical, mechanical and thermal.

Virtual modeling includes the creation of sensors, such as the airflow sensor that is used to measure the intake air into an engine manifold or the hydrogen flow sensor that measures the amount of hydrogen being used by a fuel cell. Actuator modeling has been performed on the electronic throttle bodies that control the amount of air intake into an engine. In addition, a combination of sensors, actuators and control strategies are used to perform a behavioral analysis. Some of the components we have modeled or are currently modeling are Air Flow Sensors, Hydrogen Flow Sensors, Electronic Throttle Controls, Throttle Position Sensors, DC motors, and alternators.

As the demand for more complex system development and the requirement for improvement in software productivity increases, the need for graphical programming and Zero-Hand Coding for the automatic generation of controller software becomes highly desirable. The graphical programming must not be limited to the algorithm development, which consists of the application modules. It must also be extended to the microcontroller platform, which includes the middleware (i.e. operating system, I/O device drivers) and hardware. Automatic code generation is very important for programming the complex microcontroller internal parameters and registers. The combined software tool chain is used to generate the final target specific executable code. This approach is very beneficial for the development of systems, the reduction of the development cycle and the bridging of gaps between control and software engineers. This also serves to reduce time, effort and cost of the production software.

Here at HAL-R&D, we have a novel approach to programming electronic control units that can include engine controllers, transmission controllers, and other types of sub-controllers. Hitachi microcontrollers such as the SH2 and H8S have a well-established array of software tool chains.

We have been using Hitachi and other microcontrollers. HAL-R&D must be flexible enough to use other suppliers of microcontrollers in accordance with the market/customer requirements.

SH2: Is a 32-bit RISC processor with 512kB Flash memory. It has 32 10-bit A/D channels and many special timing functions that could generate injection and ignition pulse width, and can also act as a timer that could detect a missing tooth in an engine crankshaft. A dual CAN port is available.

H8S: Is a 16-bit processor with 256kB Flash memory. It has 32 10-bit A/D channels. Many timer channels and a CAN communication port are also available.

The usage of these graphical software tools will shorten development time and facilitate the implementation of embedded controllers (engine, powertrain, transmission, etc.) A control engineer can quickly evaluate his/her own algorithm easily on a target microprocessor. Use of these tools will promote easier maintenance and traceability using the algorithms hierarchical structure. In fact, we created a multi-faceted solution; first, the code can be used for rapid prototyping, and second, the generated code is target optimized so it can be used directly on the target embedded controller.