Development of power train ECU for AZ line※1 engine

● Norimitsu Yukumatsu ● Koji Sakamaki ● Akira Ikezoe

● Takuhiro Tarumoto ● Yuji Uno

Abstract
Motor industry is globalizing rapidly in recent years, and the requests for short-term product development and cost reduc-
tion are increasing, with intensifying competition. Therefore, the demand for on-vehicle equipment quality is becoming
much higher than ever before.
To correspond to such market factors, we reexamined each conventional operation step in the power train control field,
from development to production. We then started the introduction and application of new technology and construction meth-
ods.
In this article, we introduce the improvements toward the ease of manufacturing by surface mounting all electric parts, and
new inspection methods without using the ICT (in-circuit tester). In addition, improvements in software development tech-
nique are introduced.
※1: 2000cc engine (1AZ-FE, 1AZ-FSE), which is loaded on the RAV4 (’00/5) and the Opa (’00/8) by Toyota Motor Corporation.

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Development of power train ECU for AZ line engine

1. Introduction ECU:
Our company has been producing power train system ① 3V power supply: For 32-bit flash microcomputer
ECUs for over twenty years. Initially, they were for emis- ② 5V power supply: For system LSI circuit, 32-bit flash
sion gas control, but recently developed ECUs have microcomputer, and output predriver
incorporated advanced functions, such as fuel injection, ③ 5V precision power supply: For sensor, analog signal
ignition timing, transmission, and electronic throttle con- processing circuit, knock processing circuit, and sys-
trol. tem LSI circuit
Furthermore, as mentioned in the Abstract, lower ④ 8V power supply: For 32-bit flash microcomputer
cost and a reduction in development period are also writing
expected of them. Even if the currently developed product used a con-
To meet expectations such as these, our company's ventional series system, the total power consumed by the
Motoronics Headquarters, aiming to develop a revolu- power supply unit would be 3.8 watts; thus, as shown in
tionary product, launched the SRM 2000 (Super Rapid Fig. 5, the power supply transistors, as lead-included
Module 2000) Project in November 1997, performing components, would need a radiator in order to dissipate
concurrent development work with related departments heat.
(Quality Control, Manufacturing Engineering, To solve this problem, the possibility of product
Manufacturing, and others) starting from the production materialization using a switching system was examined
planning stage. As a result, we developed a power train from the perspective of required voltage accuracy. Thus,
ECU for the AZ system engine, which came off the line it was determined that adoptability was possible for ①
in May 2000. Conventional product
This report will describe design-related actions that Lead part Radiator
Connector
were taken to materialize the concept of the project activ- Surface-mounted
part
ities (Table 1).
Table 1 Concept, manner, and aim of SRM2000

SRM2000 Aim Quality Cost Supply Developed product (except for connectors, all parts surface-mounted)
Concept Measure （Q） （C） （D） Connector
Speed Complete conversion to
surface-mounted parts
Reducing
Slim number of parts
Fig.1 Product configuration
Improvement of software
development techniques Conventional product
Inspection
Special software for Surface A Surface A
Surface B mounting of glued parts

Detecting inspections (ICT elimination) mounting insertion

capability
Lead part (horizontal)

Insertion of deformed parts

Lead part (vertical)
Reflow part (mounting)

Improvement Inspection of actual

Flow soldering

vehicle modes
Reflow

2. Complete conversion to surface-mounted

parts Very-high-speed Low-speed
mounter insertion unit
Aiming for a slim product form that supports higher
densities and high-speed production, the company con-
Developed part
verted all electronic parts to surface-mounted types Surface B Surface A
mounting mounting
Connector flow soldering

(reflow parts) and eliminated radiators (Fig. 1).

Connector mounting
Reflow part (mounting)

Reflow part (mounting)

As a result, as shown in Fig. 2, it became possible to

simplify the manufacturing process and mount parts sim-
Reflow

Reflow

ply by using a very-high-speed mounter.

To reduce the amount of power consumed by the
ECU internal power supply, which created a bottleneck, a
Very-high-speed Very-high-speed
switching system (conventionally a series system) was mounter mounter
adopted for the first time for the internal power supply as ①Mounting possible with very-high-speed mounter only (improved speed)
a power train ECU destined for the Toyota Motor ②High-density mounting possible since parts are surface-mounted (slimming)
③Simplification of manufacturing process (improved speed/slimming)
Corporation.
Here is a list of the power supplies required by the Fig.2 Manufacturing process

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 Development of power train ECU for AZ line engine

and ②. As a result, the total power consumption for ① circuit board (Fig. 3).
and ② was 0.55 watt. Cooling wheel
But because the power consumption was 0.25 watt (pattern soldering)
for ③, which required high voltage precision; and the
power consumption was 0.1 watt or less for ④; the con-
ventional series system was adopted for use. Cooling Cooling patterns

Print board
thru-holes
As a result, the total power consumption was 0.9 watts,
enabling the product to be developed as a surface-mount- Inside layer Cooling patterns
ed part.
To supply power for ①, ②, ③, and ④, a custom Fig.3 SOP (surface mounting) package with rear cooling wheel
power supply IC was newly developed, making it possi-
ble to control all power supplies with a single IC. 3. Measures for reducing number of parts
Furthermore, for the radiator-equipped lead IC shown in During the development of this ECU, the develop-
Fig. 5, a SOP (surface-mounted) package with rear-sur- ment of ICs by functional block (Fig. 4) was examined
face radiator was adopted to actively radiate heat to the and the following custom ICs were developed.

Indicates new custom IC

122-pin connector
Power supply unit
Drive circuit for 5V/3V switching power supply Input waveform shaping circuit Output circuit

Power supply IC Sensor input (water temperature, intake air temperature, etc.) ECT (CVT)/VVT output Electronic slot output
①5V/3V switching power supply control Motor drive circuit
Linear solenoid drive IC
②5V high precision power supply Switch input (key switch, drive position, etc.)
③Power supply for flash memory writing Linear solenoid drive IC
Other input circuits Electronic throttle control IC
④Other
Linear solenoid drive IC

Linear solenoid drive IC

Vehicle interior communications buffer Integrated IC for 2000 EFI
Injection output
BEAN communications 32-bit flash ①32-bit microcomputer
microcomputer ②Knocking control Ignition output
TRC communications ①Electronic throttle control ③Rotation group input buffer processing 32-bit flash
②ECT (CVT) control (engine speed, vehicle speed, ETC speed, other) microcomputer Lamp output
EFI communications
③Other ①AD converter (40 CH) ①Engine control (warning lamps/other)
VSC communications ②Immobiliser control (injection, ignition, etc.)
③Ignition control ②Other Other output circuits
Other communications
④Other

Fig.4 Functional block

Conventional Developed product

product

Power supply transistor

Power supply unit
lead part + radiator
Constructed with
surface-mounted
parts

Lead IC
with radiator Adoption of SOP
package with
rear-surface radiator

Fig.5 Product configuration of development product

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Development of power train ECU for AZ line engine

① 2000 EFI system LSI circuit Conventional product

② Electronic throttle control IC
Function Temperature
③ Linear solenoid drive IC characteristics
ICT inspection QT
④ Power supply IC inspection
As a result, thinking of the number of parts in terms
of the function of the developed product, we were able to
Integration of ICT elimination/inspection
reduce the number of parts from the original 1200 to 850.
Fig. 5 shows the appearance of the newly developed Developed product
product. Actual
Automatic New temperature
appearance QT vehicle
characteristics inspection (product software)
4. New inspection inspection mode
(inspection software)
4.1 Adoption of special software for inspections
Improvement of inspection detection capability and
With an advanced ECU such as this, high-density process slimming
mounting inevitably becomes a necessity. Conventionally, Fig.7 Inspection process
an ICT (in-circuit tester, which checks by application of
measuring pin to print board) was used to check the con- microcomputer and system LSI circuit terminals.
stants of components. In this case, however, a test termi- In this way, a microcomputer and system LSI circuit
nal was needed for each component on the print board, so will monitor the connector terminals in the case of output
it was an obstacle to high-density mounting. And since it settings, and will send the input results to a personal com-
is necessary to prepare a fixture for an ICT of several puter or other measuring instrument in the case of input
hundred pins (and for the currently developed product, at settings. This makes it possible to simultaneously inspect
least six hundred pins) for each model and to perform a the functions and component constants for each circuit
setup change for each flow, this has become a major fac- block (Fig. 6). As a result, the conventional ICT inspec-
tor that complicates the manufacturing process and makes tion can be eliminated and this joint inspection can be
joint use with a temperature (temperature characteristics) conducted under temperature-insufficient conditions.
inspection more difficult. Thus, improvement was made in detection capability and
But since a microcomputer with built-in flash memo- integration with temperature (temperature characteristics)
ry has now been adopted, the rewrite function will be uti- inspections.
lized effectively, special software for inspections will be Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 7, an automatic
developed, and a boundary scan function will exist for the appearance inspection and actual vehicle mode inspection
2000 EFI system LSI circuit. Thus, it is possible to set up were newly introduced in an effort to improve detection
Hi (5V) and Lo (0V) output and input arbitrarily for capability.
4.2 Introduction of actual vehicle mode inspection
Conventional product: Measurement with (several hundred) pins in board
With the aim of improving the detection capability of
Test terminal for each arrow
R6
ECU shipment inspections, an actual-vehicle simulator
C2 (CRAMAS [*2]) was newly introduced with this product,
R1 R3 R4 Integrated and an inspection was added for actual vehicle mode.
LSI circuit
R5 During this actual vehicle mode inspection, travel
patterns that have been recorded by the actual-vehicle
R2 C1
simulator (CRAMAS) are utilized to operate an ECU.
The ECU's output signals are continuously monitored in
Developed product: Verification of constants/functions at connector terminals
5V/0V/input order to compare the expected values to real time (Fig. 8).
Set optionally Furthermore, even in cases in which a phenomenon
Monitoring of waveform

R6
C2 Integrated Microcomputer occurs only under certain travel conditions, adding to the
R1 R3 LSI circuit
R4 special travel patterns makes it possible to raise the level of
equipped with software for
R5 boundary scan inspections inspection.
function
R2 C1 *2 CRAMAS (ComputeR-Aided Multi-Analysis System)
Control by serial communications
Personal computer

Simulation system (developed by our company) that utilizes

Transmission of inspection commands/receipt of input results
vehicle models to efficiently verify ECU operations and debug
software under evaluation conditions that are similar to those of
Fig.6 Inspection method an actual vehicle.

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 Development of power train ECU for AZ line engine

Simulator Product flexibly to system changes, we introduced hierarchical

(CRAMAS) (engine ECU) structure software (Fig. 9), the company's first such soft-
Travel pattern ware for power train control ECUs; and developed soft-
Engine speed ware for parts (modularization).
Throttle opening
5.1.1 Makeup of hierarchical structure software
1) Platform layer
・ ECU output
・
・
① ECU hardware layer (ECU layer /CPU layer)
Ignition
timing Processes ECU circuits and microcomputer (CPU)
Expected Check Amount of internal circuits.
fuel injected
value ・ ② Application platform layer (APF layer)
・
・ Absorbs sensor and actuator characteristics, and com-
Fig.8 Actual car mode inspection bines the application unit and ECU hardware layer.
2) Application layer
5. Improvement of software development tech- Portion of software that is in charge of system con-
niques trol.
As a result of improvements in fuel economy, tight-
OBD ECT ENG
ening of emission standards, and implementation of other
Application level

Failure diagnosis

Speed change
computation

computation
environmental measures in recent years, the demand for

Injection
software for power train control ECUs has grown in scale
and become more complicated. To meet such demand
during the development of this product, we did not limit
ourselves to simply standardizing software components;
rather, we took the actions described below to improve
Platform level

APF layer
reusability and ensure quality in order to effectively uti-
lize the asset value of the software. ECU layer OS
5.1 Software structure
With this product, we further reviewed software CPU layer
structure, an issue that we have engaged in for many
years. To improve the reusability of software and adapt Fig.9 Software composition in hierarchical structure

Product requirement
specifications Shipment
Design process Verification process
Requirement analysis ECU inspection
Review

Examination of hardware/ Hardware/software

software components combined inspection
Review

CRAMAS

Software structure design Program (combined) inspection

Review

Detail design Program (unit) inspection

Review
CAPAS
Coding Coding inspection

Fig.10 Software development process

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Development of power train ECU for AZ line engine

5.1.2 Features of hierarchical structure software development of software components; however, it is

In the past, when modifying the ECU circuit configu- important to verify the compatibility of components
ration, CPU internal circuits, and other hardware, it was when mounting such components to the ECU.
also necessary to modify multiple related software com- Here, in addition to the original function of the
ponents. By adopting this software configuration, howev- CAPAS system, we strengthened the review function
er, it has become possible to adapt flexibly by replacing for portions related to the compatibility of compo-
software components of the platform layer, without hav- nents. Thus, it has become possible to detect prob-
ing to modify the application or redesign. lems during the early stages of the verification
Furthermore, emphasizing reduced memory and process.
high-speed response for automobile control and introduc- ② Actual-vehicle simulator (CRAMAS)
ing a real-time OS that complies with ITRON specifica- The recently developed CVT control was the first
tions has made it possible to achieve efficient application such system of the Toyota Motor Corporation, so
software processing. ECU debugging required verification not only at the
5.2 Improvement of development process software component level but required checks of
To further improve software reliability while expand- overall vehicle operations. Moreover, a tool that
ing the number of objects of software control, improve- could replace an actual vehicle was indispensable.
ments to the conventional software development process CRAMAS was developed as an actual-vehicle simu-
were added (Fig. 10). lator that could meet these needs, but although engine
5.2.1 Features of improved development process and transmission models were initially mounted, they
1) Design process were simplified. To produce operation that more
Conducting a design review at each stage of design closely approximated an actual vehicle, it was neces-
makes it possible to conclude work at each stage and sary to develop a precision model.
minimize needed corrections, which in turn reduces the Thus, based on the CVT control specifications, a
development period. model of vehicle conditions required for ECU debug-
2) Verification process ging was developed and incorporated into the actual-
Connecting the verification subject and design vehicle simulator (CRAMAS) (Fig. 11).
process helps to provide quality control for the design ＣＲＡＭＡＳ
process as well. And when a problem arises, the nature of
Input data conversion

Output data conversion

the work upstream helps to clarify the source of the prob-
lem, which in turn helps to prevent recurrence.

These improvements can be incorporated into the

software development process, reducing the development
Model computation
period, and can serve as design standards for products
developed after the current product. Actuator drive
signal etc Sensor signal etc
5.3 Use of tools
For a long time, tools have been used to improve the External signal
Operating mode, environmental conditions
efficiency of software development. During the develop-
Fig.11 Actual car simulator (CRAMAS)
ment of this product, too, as shown in Fig. 10, new tools
were introduced into each process of the software devel- During the creation of the model, MATLAB/
opment process in an effort to achieve greater efficiency. SIMULINK was utilized to create a model block dia-
① Strengthening of design review function (CAPAS gram. As development proceeded, the CVT equipment
[*3]) advanced to successively higher levels as did the corre-
To ensure program quality, techniques that utilize sponding model block. As a result, an effective evalua-
tools, rather than humans, to perform automatic tion environment that more closely approximated an actu-
checks have been generally adopted, and software, al vehicle was achieved.
too, is available on the market.
Our company makes use of its independently devel-
oped CAPAS system to meet a variety of in-house
needs. *3 CAPAS (Computer-Aided Program Analysis System)
During the development of this product, the quality A computer-aided software design and program analysis
of software in components was verified through the support system.

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 Development of power train ECU for AZ line engine

6. Positive results of development conventional product (1997 model).

Through this development, we have been able to
materialize both a higher-performing ECU and slimmer 7. Future development plan
product form. ① During the development of the next model, create an
As a result, we have achieved greater-than-ever qual- ECU that is easier to make and strive for an
ity, drastic simplification of the manufacturing process, improved degree of completeness.
and reduced cost. Number of parts: 300 or less
Table 2 Comparison to the conventional type in development Compactness: 235 × 170 mm 160 × 170 mm
② Utilize the actual-vehicle simulator for other controls
Conventional product Developed product
as well, and further improve the efficiency of ECU
(1997 model)
debugging.
Number of parts 400 items 850 items
(conventional technology: 1200 items) 8. Conclusion
Processing cost (index) 100 75 Through the aforementioned activities, we have been
Number of manufacturing processes 21 11 able to raise the productivity of the manufacturing line
Line length 80m 45m and improve our software design techniques. And in May
Flow tact time 30 sec 20 sec of this year, we were able to start production of an ECU
Cost (function ratio) 100 75 whose functions are more advanced than any in the past.
In closing, we wish to express our deep thanks to the
Table 2 shows the effect of the currently developed Toyota Motor Corporation and SRM 2000 personnel who
product, which incorporates D4 control (fuel cylinder provided such outstanding support during the develop-
internal injection), CVT (continuously variable transmis- ment of this product.
sion), and electronic throttle control, comparing it to a

Profiles of Writers

Norimitsu Yukumatsu Koji Sakamaki

Joined company in 1986. Initially Joined company in 1985. Since that

engaged in development of automobile time, has engaged in development of
sensors and Hic, and since 1998 has software for automobile engine control
engaged in development of automobile electronic equipment. Currently works
electronic equipment. Currently works at Motoronics Headquarters, Software
at Motoronics Headquarters, Engineering Department, Software
Engineering Department No. 1, Project No. 2.
Engineering Section No. 2.

Akira Ikezoe Takuhiro Tarumoto

Joined company in 1982. Since that Joined company in 1984. Since that
time, has engaged in mechanism time, has engaged in development of
design and software development for software for automobile engine control
automobile engine control electronic electronic equipment. Is currently man-
equipment. Is currently manager of ager of Software Project No. 2 at
Software Project No. 1 at Motoronics Motoronics Headquarters, Software
Headquarters, Software Engineering Engineering Department.
Department.

Yuji Uno
Joined company in 1984. Initially
engaged in development of automobile
HIC and high-density mounting tech-
nology, and since 1999 has engaged in
development of automobile electronic
equipment. Is currently manager of
Engineering Section No. 12 at
Motoronics Headquarters, Engineering
Department No. 1.

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