Intelligent fuse box for the power distribution system of a vehicle
First Claim
1. An intelligent fuse box (1) for a vehicle'"'"'s multiplex power distribution system, comprising:
- a power source provided with vehicle'"'"'s power supply bus (2), the fuse box (1) being connected with the power supply bus (2),at least one cable bus (11–
13) between the fuse box (1) and vehicle'"'"'s functional components/actuators, said at least one cable bus (11–
13) being equipped with intelligent nodes (14) which in turn have outputs for driving the functional components/actuators, each of the at least one cable bus (11–
13) further having a power source end connected to an output of the fuse box (1),the fuse box including outputs (3) for the vehicle'"'"'s functional components/actuators and outputs connected to the power source ends of the cable buses (11–
13), and further including means serving fuse functions between the outputs of the fuse box and the vehicle'"'"'s power supply bus (2), and said fuse box (1) further includes inputs (5) for receiving messages controlling the ON/OFF state of solid-state switches (4), configuration data (8) including the limits of a normal current window for the outputs of the fuse box, and a microprocessor (6), the microprocessor (6) controlling the solid-state switches (4) based on a program stored in the microprocessor memory (7) and on the current limits predetermined in the configuration data (8), the configuration data (8) contributing under external control for altering the current limits,wherein the configuration data (8) are reprogrammable via a service interface (10) for altering the predetermined current limits.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates to intelligent fuse box (1) for a vehicle'"'"'s multiplex power distribution system, the fuse box including outputs (3) for driving the vehicle'"'"'s functional components/actuators and/or cable buses (11–13) equipped with intelligent_nodes (14), the latter in turn having outputs for driving functional components/actuators (15), and further including means serving fuse functions between the outputs (3; 11–13) and the vehicle'"'"'s power supply bus (12). The fuse-function means are controlled solid-state switches (4). The fuse box (1) includes inputs (5) for receiving messages controlling the ON/OFF state of solid-state switches (4) and a microprocessor (6), the latter controlling the solid-state switches (4) based on a program stored in the microprocessor memory (7) and on current limits predetermined in configuration data (8). In addition to the actual fuse functions, the controlled operation of the solid-state switches offer a plurality of auxiliary functions such as rush current limiting, programmable reconfiguration of current limits, dynamic fuse functions (e.g., to implement a low-current Asleep mode in a parked vehicle) and measurement of system overall load current.
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Citations
7 Claims
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1. An intelligent fuse box (1) for a vehicle'"'"'s multiplex power distribution system, comprising:
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a power source provided with vehicle'"'"'s power supply bus (2), the fuse box (1) being connected with the power supply bus (2), at least one cable bus (11–
13) between the fuse box (1) and vehicle'"'"'s functional components/actuators, said at least one cable bus (11–
13) being equipped with intelligent nodes (14) which in turn have outputs for driving the functional components/actuators, each of the at least one cable bus (11–
13) further having a power source end connected to an output of the fuse box (1),the fuse box including outputs (3) for the vehicle'"'"'s functional components/actuators and outputs connected to the power source ends of the cable buses (11–
13), and further including means serving fuse functions between the outputs of the fuse box and the vehicle'"'"'s power supply bus (2), and said fuse box (1) further includes inputs (5) for receiving messages controlling the ON/OFF state of solid-state switches (4), configuration data (8) including the limits of a normal current window for the outputs of the fuse box, and a microprocessor (6), the microprocessor (6) controlling the solid-state switches (4) based on a program stored in the microprocessor memory (7) and on the current limits predetermined in the configuration data (8), the configuration data (8) contributing under external control for altering the current limits,wherein the configuration data (8) are reprogrammable via a service interface (10) for altering the predetermined current limits. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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Specification