POWER FEEDING CIRCUIT

• US 20110228429A1
• Filed: 03/16/2011
• Published: 09/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation), Yazaki Corporation
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation), Yazaki Corporation
• Inventors: Maruyama, Akinori, Nakamura, Yoshihide, Ikuta, Yoshinori, UETA, Keisuke, Suganuma, Hideo
• Granted Patent: US 8,687,334 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 361/31
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/02246 Electric motors therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H02H 3/08 responsive to excess current responsive to abnormal temperature caused by excess current H02H5/04

Abstract

A controller 43 turns on a semiconductor switch 41 in a normal mode, and turns off the semiconductor switch 41 in a sleep mode. A bypass resistor 5 is connected in parallel to the semiconductor switch 41. A resistance value of the bypass resister 5 is so large as that in the sleep mode, a dark current is supplied to an electronic device 3 via the bypass resistor 5, and if an electric wire downstream of the bypass resistor is short-circuited, an electric current more than a permissive current is prevented from flowing to the electric wire.

Claims

1. A power feeding circuit comprising:

a battery;

a load operated by receiving a normal current supply from the battery in a normal mode, and operated by receiving a dark current supply smaller than the normal current supply from the battery in a sleep mode; and

a semiconductor switch interposed between the battery and the load,

wherein the power feeding circuit further comprises;

a first switch controlling member configured to turn the semiconductor switch on and supply the normal current to the load via the semiconductor switch in the normal mode, and to turn the semiconductor switch off in the sleep mode; and

a bypass resistor connected in parallel to the semiconductor switch,

wherein a resistance value of the bypass resister is so large as that the dark current is supplied to the load via the bypass resistor in the sleep mode, and if an electric wire downstream of the bypass resistor is short-circuited, an electric current more than a permissive current is prevented from flowing to the electric wire.

2. The power feeding circuit as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

a current detecting member configured to detect the electric current flowing to the semiconductor switch, and

wherein the current detecting member stops detecting the electric current in the sleep mode.

3. The power feeding circuit as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

a first switching member interposed between the battery and the load and configured to be turned on and off; and

an on/off state judging member configured to judge the on/off state of the first switching member based on a downstream voltage of the semiconductor switch indicating the on/off state of the first switching member while the semiconductor switch is turned off,

wherein while the first switch controlling member turns the semiconductor switch off, when the on/off judging member judges that the first switching member is turned on, the first switch controlling member turns the semiconductor switch on.

4. The power feeding circuit as claimed in claim 3,

wherein the load is a motor, and the first switching members are respectively disposed on both ends of the motor to switch respectively connections at the both ends of the motor between the battery and a ground.

5. The power feeding circuit as claimed in claim 3 further comprising:

a current detecting member configured to detect the electric current flowing to the semiconductor switch,

wherein the on/off state judging member judges the on/off state of the first switching member based on the electric current detected by the current detecting member while the semiconductor switch is turned on, and

wherein while the first switch controlling member turns the semiconductor switch on, when the on/off judging member judges that the first switching member is turned off, the first switch controlling member turns the semiconductor switch off.

6. The power feeding circuit as claimed in claim 3 further comprising:

a current detecting member configured to detect the electric current flowing to the semiconductor switch,

wherein while the first switch controlling member turns the semiconductor switch on, the first switch controlling member turns the semiconductor switch off when a first specific time lapses after the current detecting member detects more than a specific current.

7. The power feeding circuit as claimed in claim 6,

wherein the first switch controlling member turns the semiconductor switch off when the current detecting member constantly detects more than the specific current for more than a second specific time shorter than the first specific time.

8. The power feeding circuit as claimed in claim 3 further comprising:

a second switching member connected in series to the bypass resistor and connected in parallel to the semiconductor switch; and

a second switch controlling member configured to turn the second switching member off when the sleep mode is continued for more than a third specific time.

9. The power feeding circuit as claimed in claim 8,

wherein a plurality of the loads are provided, a plurality of the semiconductor switches are provided corresponding to each load, a plurality of the bypass resistors are provided corresponding to each semiconductor switch, and one second switching member is provided corresponding to the plurality of bypass resistors to turn on/off the current flowing to all the bypass resistors in a lump.

10. The power feeding circuit as claimed in claim 8,

wherein the second switching member is composed of a latching relay which is turned on when the electric current flows to a set coil, and the set coil is connected in between the battery and the ground and in series to a release switch which is turned on corresponding to a release operation.