ept Offers The Right Board-to-board Connectors To Meet The Shift In Automotive Electrical Systems
How connectors overcome this challenge
Increased electrical costs due to the electromobility transition, autonomous driving, and infotainment systems with high-definition 4K resolution call for new electrical system architectures in automotive engineering. The traditional decentralized electrical system architecture is reaching its limits due to its complexity and the high-speed properties required for it. ept offers the right board-to-board connectors to meet these challenges.
Definition of electrical system: Decentralized, Domain, and zone architectures
The traditional decentralized architecture in vehicles consists of up to 100 control units, with each one being assigned a defined function: the engine control unit, airbag, ABS/ESP, seat adjustment system, air conditioning. Every controller works autonomously and communicates with other control units via gateways.
The decentralized architecture has been subject to historic growth over the past decades, with each new functionality adding an additional control unit. Today, however, it is reaching its limits. Increasing numbers of functionalities significantly increase the amount of installation and wiring effort needed within the vehicle.
The control units in the domain architecture are grouped into different functional areas. Each domain is responsible for a specific area of the vehicle, such as the drive, infotainment system, or safety features. A standalone high-performance computer (HPC) executes the primary control of a domain. This coordinates the control units within its domain. For the functional area of safety, for example, these would be control units for driver assistance systems, ABS/ESP, and steering systems.
The smaller number of installed control units reduces the amount of wiring and installation effort needed in comparison to the decentralized architecture. Likewise, the domain architecture can therefore also effectively contribute to reducing weight and costs. Additional functions can also be integrated later on with little effort.
When it comes to the zone architecture, structuring is not based on domains, but rather on local zones. For example, several functionalities are bundled in one zone within a vehicle. Accordingly, functions such as drive and infotainment can be completely combined and processed in one zone controller. A central HPC executes primary control of the various zone controllers. The advantage is clear: a reduction of up to 50 percent in the number of control units and the amount of wiring that goes along with them.
Requirements for the HPC and its connectors
This results in high requirements for an HPC. Not least, the processing of imaging data in the infotainment area and camera systems for autonomous driving requires secure high-speed data transfer rates with short latency times. At the same time, the signal transmission must not fail under any circumstances; its reliability must always be ensured.
High-performance, fast, and, above all, reliable data transfer rates – sometimes under adverse environmental conditions – are therefore also requirements that arise for the installed connector.
Criteria for choosing the right connectors in the HPC
Ensure a signal’s“readability,” for example, with the help of what is known as an eye diagram. This illustrates whether a transmitted signal in the receiver can be uniquely assigned to the digital states 1 or 0.
Pay special attention to your high-speed signals’signal protection. In this context, a connector can act both as a source of interference and as a sink. This is why we recommend using a shielding plate for signal protection in order to protect the sensitive signals from external influence.
Choose the right connector in terms of its electromagnetic compatibility, for example, with the aid of the coupling inductance, and thereby avoid costly and time-consuming trial-and-error tests in the EMC laboratory.
Opt for uninterrupted signal transmission even under extreme environmental conditions such as vibration and shock. In this context, it is primarily the contact design, contact system, and termination technology that play a decisive role.
Conclusion
Current developments in the automotive industry are constantly placing new requirements on installed connectors. At first glance, the role of installed connectors seems to be fading into the background due to the reduced number of control units. However, a closer look reveals that their role is becoming more important precisely because of this shift toward centralized data processing via HPCs. Never before has reliability in signal transmission been more important.
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