Controller for electric braking system
First Claim
1. A method of electrically actuating brakes of a towed vehicle by using an electronic controller to apply power from an automotive power supply of at least one of a towing vehicle, which tows said towed vehicle, or said towed vehicle, comprising the steps of:
- providing a MOSFET switching element;
providing a housing for the switching element, said housing being compact and having only a minimal amount of heat sink structure;
detecting an actuation and determining a magnitude of actuation of the towing vehicle'"'"'s brakes;
controlling the output of the MOSFET switching element to produce a pulse width modulated current having a substantially low power loss and having an effective magnitude which is proportional to the determined magnitude of the detected actuation of the towing vehicle'"'"'s brakes;
and applying the output of the MOSFET switching element to actuate the towed vehicle'"'"'s brakes such that a minimal amount of heat is generated within the housing by use of the MOSFET switching element and thereby enabling the housing to be compact and have said minimal amount of heat sink structure.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle brake controller includes a variable pulse-width modulator operating at a constant frequency and with a variable pulse width to provide control pulses to a MOSFET element which actuates vehicle braking. The controller further includes a visual indicator which displays different colors to representatively indicate the amount of current applied to the brakes, and also to indicate whether an operable connection exists between the electronic controller and the vehicle brakes.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A method of electrically actuating brakes of a towed vehicle by using an electronic controller to apply power from an automotive power supply of at least one of a towing vehicle, which tows said towed vehicle, or said towed vehicle, comprising the steps of:
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providing a MOSFET switching element; providing a housing for the switching element, said housing being compact and having only a minimal amount of heat sink structure; detecting an actuation and determining a magnitude of actuation of the towing vehicle'"'"'s brakes; controlling the output of the MOSFET switching element to produce a pulse width modulated current having a substantially low power loss and having an effective magnitude which is proportional to the determined magnitude of the detected actuation of the towing vehicle'"'"'s brakes; and applying the output of the MOSFET switching element to actuate the towed vehicle'"'"'s brakes such that a minimal amount of heat is generated within the housing by use of the MOSFET switching element and thereby enabling the housing to be compact and have said minimal amount of heat sink structure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An electric controller for electrically actuating brakes of a towed vehicle by applying power from an automotive power supply of at least one of a towing vehicle, which tows said towed vehicle, or said towed vehicle, comprising the steps of:
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a MOSFET switching element; a housing for the switching element, said housing being compact and having only a minimal amount of heat sink structure; detection and control circuitry for detecting an actuation and determining a magnitude of actuation of the towing vehicle'"'"'s brakes, and for controlling the output of the MOSFET switching element to produce a pulse width modulated current having a substantially low power loss and having an effective magnitude which is proportional to the determined magnitude of the detected actuation of the towing vehicles'"'"'s brakes; and connecting circuitry for applying the output of the MOSFET switching element to actuate the towed vehicle'"'"'s brakes such that a minimal amount of heat is generated within the housing by use of the MOSFET switching element and thereby enabling the housing to be compact and have said minimal amount of heat sink structure. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification