Controller area network and its reduced wiring technology

Abstract

Controller area network (CAN) has been widely adopted as an in-vehicle communications standard. CAN with flexible data-rate (CAN FD) is defined in the ISO standards to achieve higher data rates than the legacy CAN. A number of CAN nodes can be connected by a single transmission medium, i.e. CAN enables us to constitute cost-effective bus-topology networks. CAN puts carrier sense multiple access with collision resolution (CSMA/CR) into practice by using bit-wise arbitration based on wired logical AND in the physical layer. The most prioritized message is delivered without interruption if two or more CAN nodes transmit messages at the same time due to the bit-wise arbitration. However, the scalability of CAN networks suffers from ringing caused by the signaling mechanism establishing the wired logical AND. We need to reduce networking material in a car in order to reduce the car weight, save the fuel and the cost, and develop a sustainable society by establishing more scalable CAN networks. In this paper, we show a reduced wiring technology for CAN to enhance the network scalability and the cost efficiency.