Apparatus for driving electrical loads provided at a car

• US 5,825,097 A
• Filed: 10/21/1997
• Issued: 10/20/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Car Engineering Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.), Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Car Engineering Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.), Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Saito, Hiroyuki, Koni, Mitsuru
• Primary Examiner(s): Elms, Richard T.
• Application Number:
  US08/954,893
• Time in Patent Office: 364 Days
• Field of Search: 307/9.1, 307/10.1, 307/31-35, 701/29, 701/36, 701/49, 370/908, 370/489
• US Class Current: 307/10.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/0315 using multiplexing techniques multiplexing for transmission of signals G08C15/00; multiplexing for electrical communication in general H04J
• CPC Class Codes: H02H 9/001 limiting speed of change of electric quantities, e.g. soft switching on or off progressive control of electronic switches for eliminating interferences H03K17/16

Abstract

An apparatus for driving electrical loads of a vehicle comprising load switches. Each of the load switches directs a start or a stop of each of the electrical loads. A memory stores a power feeding increase rate for a corresponding one of the electrical loads at a state transition of each of the load switches from an OFF to an ON state. A pair of transistors feeds power to the corresponding one of the electrical loads from a battery on receiving a load driving signal. A central process unit sends the load driving signal to the pair of transistors so that power is fed to the corresponding one of the electrical loads with a power feeding increase rate at the state transition of one of the load switch from an OFF state to an ON state. Thus, because the power fed to the electrical load gradually increases upon starting of the electrical load, AC power does not rapidly increase the power generation, and this prevents engine speed from rapidly increasing.

Claims

1. A car LAN system for driving electrical loads of a car, comprising:

a plurality of control units distributed and arranged in a car;

electrical loads electrically connected to said plurality of control units;

an operational switch for operating each of said electrical loads; and

a transmission bus for connecting said control units;

wherein at least one of said control units is configured to obtain information on operational states by receiving signals from detectors operatively installed in said car and from said operational switches, and at least one of said operational switches being configured so that as it is operated from an OFF state to an ON state, data are transmitted among said control units via said transmission bus so as to feed power to an electrical load corresponding to said switch, and one of said control units is configured to send a control signal to control an amount of power to be fed per unit time, determined on the basis of operational states of said car, to a control unit to which said electrical load is connected, and one of said control units has the relation between power to be fed to each electrical load per unit time and operational states of said car stored therein.