Control device and power supply system

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a control device and a power supply system. The power supply system comprises a first circuit and m second circuits, wherein m is a positive integer greater than or equal to 3. The first circuit and the second circuit are connected at a first node; the second circuit comprises a first switch element, one end of the first switch element is connected to the first node, the other end of the first switch element is connected to a first circuit part of the second circuit, and the first switch element is used for controlling connection and disconnection between the first node and the first circuit part; the first circuit portion is used for mounting at least one of a load and a power supply unit. The embodiment of the invention can be applied to an intelligent vehicle or a new energy vehicle, the power supply safety and stability can be improved, the cooperative work efficiency of a plurality of power supplies can be released, the power demand on a redundant power supply can be reduced, and the system cost can be reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of new energy vehicles, and more specifically, to a control device and a power supply system. Background Art

[0002] With the development of intelligence and electrification, the number of electrical devices (such as sensors like cameras and radars, and controllers like autonomous driving domain controllers) installed in vehicles has increased significantly. When there is an abnormality in the power supply to the electrical devices in the vehicle, these electrical devices will be difficult to operate normally, and may even endanger the driving safety of the vehicle.

[0003] In the case where a vehicle is provided with multiple power sources, how to distribute power reasonably to ensure the power supply to the electrical devices has become a problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a control device and a power supply system, which can improve power supply safety and stability, can release the collaborative working efficiency of multiple power sources, can reduce the power demand for redundant power sources, and reduce system costs.

[0005] In a first aspect, a power supply system is provided. The power supply system includes a first circuit and m second circuits, where m is a positive integer greater than or equal to 3. The first circuit and the second circuits are connected at a first node; the second circuit includes a first switching element, one end of the first switching element is connected to the first node, and the other end of the first switching element is connected to a first circuit portion of the second circuit. The first switching element is used to control the on / off between the first node and the first circuit portion, and the first circuit portion is used to mount at least one of a load and a power supply unit.

[0006] In this application, the power supply system supports safety loads such as autonomous driving domain controllers to be mounted on two or more second circuits simultaneously. For a safety load, even if one of the circuits it is mounted on has a short - circuit fault, the setting of the first switching element can isolate the circuit with the short - circuit fault from other circuits; when a power supply failure occurs in a certain path, the power supply system can supply power to the safety load normally through another path, and can also allow the power supply units inside it to form an effective redundancy in a collaborative working manner under a lower power configuration. In this way, the power supply system can meet the power supply requirements of safety loads with a small - power power source, which can reduce system costs while ensuring power supply reliability, and can also effectively reduce the requirement of the power supply system for the layout space.

[0007] In some implementation manners, the first switching element may have a unidirectional disconnection function; when the first switching element is disconnected, it has a function of blocking the current in a first direction, and the first direction is the direction of the current flowing from the first circuit to the second circuit.

[0008] In this application, the first switching element has a one-way disconnection function. In this case, for any second circuit, when there is a power supply failure in this second circuit, by disconnecting the first switching element in this second circuit, it is possible to block the power supply from the first circuit to this second circuit, and it is also possible to allow the power supply unit mounted in the second circuit to supply power externally through the first circuit. In this way, it is beneficial to further improve the reliability of the power supply.

[0009] In some implementation manners, the power supply system may further include a processing unit and a sampling circuit. The sampling circuit can be connected to the sampling point of the second circuit and can be used to collect the electrical parameters at the sampling point; the sampling point can be between the first switching element and the first circuit portion. The processing unit can be used to: control the on / off of the first switching element according to the electrical parameters at the sampling point.

[0010] In this application, since the sampling point is set between the first switching element and the first circuit portion, in this case, the electrical parameters at the sampling point can be used to determine whether there is an abnormality in the power supply from the first circuit to this second circuit. Through the setting of the sampling circuit and the processing unit, on the one hand, it is possible to ensure that the first switching element is in the conducting state when the power supply from the first circuit to the second circuit is normal, and on the other hand, when there is an abnormality, the first switching element can be timely disconnected to cut off the power supply from the first circuit to this second circuit.

[0011] In some implementation manners, the processing unit can be used to: control the first switching element to disconnect when the electrical parameters at the sampling point meet the first condition. Among them, the electrical parameters at the sampling point meeting the first condition may include at least one of the following: the current at the sampling point is greater than or equal to the first threshold and the duration is greater than or equal to the first duration; the current at the sampling point is greater than or equal to the second threshold, and the second threshold is greater than the first threshold; the electromotive force at the sampling point is less than or equal to the third threshold; or, the electromotive force at the sampling point is greater than or equal to the fourth threshold.

[0012] In some implementation manners, the first circuit may include a first-stage circuit, a second-stage circuit, and a switching element disposed between the first-stage circuit and the second-stage circuit; the switching element disposed between the first-stage circuit and the second-stage circuit can be used to control the on / off between the first-stage circuit and the second-stage circuit. Some of the m second circuits can be connected to the first-stage circuit, and some of the m second circuits can be connected to the second-stage circuit.

[0013] In some implementations, the switching elements disposed between the first circuit section and the second circuit section may include a second switching element and a third switching element. One end of the second switching element may be connected to the first circuit section, the other end of the second switching element may be connected to the third switching element, and the other end of the third switching element may be connected to the second circuit section. The second switching element and the third switching element may have a one-way disconnection function; when the second switching element is disconnected, it may be used to block the current flowing from the second circuit section to the first circuit section, and when the third switching element is disconnected, it may be used to block the current flowing from the first circuit section to the second circuit section.

[0014] In this application, the second switching element and the third switching element disposed between the first circuit section and the second circuit section have a one-way disconnection function. Thus, in the case where one of the first circuit section and the second circuit section has a power supply abnormality, by setting the on / off states of the second switching element and the third switching element, it is possible to not only isolate the influence of the circuit section with the power supply abnormality on the normally operating circuit section, but also ensure the normal power supply of the normally operating circuit section to the circuit section with the power supply abnormality. Moreover, it is even possible to make the power supply system become two independent subsystems, enabling the power supply system to have more abundant countermeasures for power supply abnormalities, thereby being beneficial to improving power supply safety.

[0015] In some implementations, at least two first switching elements may be disposed in the same control device, and the control device may be used to accommodate and configure the on / off states of at least two first switching elements.

[0016] In some implementations, at least one power supply unit among the m power supply units may be integrated with a first switching element.

[0017] In some implementations, at least one power supply unit in the power supply system may be a first power supply unit, and the first power supply unit may include a high-voltage battery; at least another power supply unit in the power supply system may be a second power supply unit, and the second power supply unit may include a low-voltage battery. In the second circuit mounted with the first power supply unit, the first switching element may be configured as a normally open switching element; in the second circuit mounted with the second power supply unit, the first switching element may be configured as a normally closed switching element.

[0018] In this application, according to the type of the power supply unit mounted in the second circuit, selecting to set the first switching element in this circuit as a normally open type or a normally closed type is beneficial to reducing the control frequency of the first switching element and is beneficial to increasing the service life of this switch.

[0019] Second aspect, a control device is provided. The control device includes: a first circuit, m first interfaces, and m third circuits, where m is a positive integer greater than or equal to 3. Among them, the m third circuits are used to connect the m first interfaces to the first circuit one by one; the third circuit includes a first switching element, and the first switching element is used to control the on / off between the first interface and the first circuit; the first interface is used to connect a power supply unit, and at least one of the m first interfaces is also used to connect a circuit with a load mounted.

[0020] In some implementation manners, the first switching element may have a unidirectional disconnection function. When the first switching element is disconnected, it can be used to block the current in the first direction, and the first direction can be the direction in which the current flows from the first circuit to the third circuit.

[0021] In some implementation manners, the control device may further include a processing unit and a sampling circuit. The sampling circuit can be connected to the sampling point of the third circuit and can be used to collect the electrical parameters at the sampling point; the sampling point can be set between the first interface and the first switching element. The processing unit can be used to: control the on / off of the first switching element according to the electrical parameters at the sampling point.

[0022] In some implementation manners, the processing unit can be used to: when the electrical parameters at the sampling point satisfy the first condition, control the first switching element to disconnect. Among them, the electrical parameters at the sampling point satisfying the first condition may include at least one of the following: the current at the sampling point is greater than or equal to the first threshold and the duration is greater than or equal to the first duration; the current at the sampling point is greater than or equal to the second threshold, and the second threshold is greater than the first threshold; the electromotive force at the sampling point is less than or equal to the third threshold; or, the electromotive force at the sampling point is greater than or equal to the fourth threshold.

[0023] In some implementation manners, the first circuit may include a first section of circuit, a second section of circuit, and a switching element disposed between the first section of circuit and the second section of circuit; the switching element disposed between the first section of circuit and the second section of circuit can be used to control the on / off between the first section of circuit and the second section of circuit. Some of the m third circuits can be connected to the first section of circuit, and another part of the m third circuits can be connected to the second section of circuit.

[0024] In some implementations, the switching element disposed between the first circuit and the second circuit may include a second switching element and a third switching element. One end of the second switching element may be connected to the first circuit, the other end of the second switching element may be connected to the third switching element, and the other end of the third switching element may be connected to the second circuit. The second switching element and the third switching element may have a one-way disconnection function; the second switching element may be used to block the current flowing from the second circuit to the first circuit when it is disconnected, and the third switching element may be used to block the current flowing from the first circuit to the second circuit when it is disconnected.

[0025] In some implementations, when the first interface is used to connect to the first power supply unit, the first switching element in the corresponding third circuit may be configured as a normally open switching element; when the first interface is used to connect to the second power supply unit, the first switching element in the corresponding third circuit may be configured as a normally closed switching element. Wherein, the first power supply unit may include a high-voltage battery, and the second power supply unit may include a low-voltage battery.

[0026] In a third aspect, a vehicle is provided, which may include the power supply system in the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or the vehicle may include the control device in the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof. Description of the Drawings

[0027] Figure 1 is a schematic functional block diagram of a vehicle provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 2 shows a power supply system;

[0029] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a power supply system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 4 is another schematic diagram of a power supply system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure 5 is a connection method between circuits 211 to 21m provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 6 is another schematic diagram of a power supply system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 7 is another schematic diagram of a power supply system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Figure 8 is another schematic diagram of a power supply system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] Figure 9 is another schematic diagram of the power supply system provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of an integration method of various components in the power supply system provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of another integration method of various components in the power supply system provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of another integration method of various components in the power supply system provided by the embodiment of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0039] Next, the technical solutions in the present application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0040] Exemplarily, Figure 1 is a schematic functional block diagram of the vehicle 100 provided by the embodiment of the present application. [[ID=##]]

[0041] The vehicle 100 may include a perception system 120 and a computing platform 150. Among them, the perception system 120 may include one or more sensors for sensing information about the environment around the vehicle 100. For example, the perception system 120 may include a positioning system, and the positioning system may be a global positioning system (GPS), or a Beidou system or other positioning systems. The perception system also include an inertial measurement unit (IMU), and one or more of a lidar, a millimeter wave radar, an ultrasonic radar, and a camera device.

[0042] Some or all of the functions of vehicle 100 may be controlled by computing platform 150. The computing platform 150 may include one or more processors, such as processors 151 to 15n (n is a positive integer). A processor is a circuit with signal processing capabilities. In one implementation, a processor may be a circuit with the ability to read and execute instructions, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a type of microprocessor), or a digital signal processor (DSP), etc.; in another implementation, a processor may achieve certain functions through the logical relationship of hardware circuits, and the logical relationship of the hardware circuits is fixed or can be reconfigured. For example, the processor is a hardware circuit implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA). In a reconfigurable hardware circuit, the process of a processor loading a configuration document to implement the configuration of the hardware circuit can be understood as the process of a processor loading instructions to implement the functions of some or all of the above units. In addition, it may also be a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as a type of ASIC, such as a neural network processing unit (NPU), a tensor processing unit (TPU), a deep learning processing unit (DPU), etc. In addition, the computing platform 150 may also include a memory for storing instructions, and some or all of the processors 151 to 15n may call the instructions in the memory to implement corresponding functions.

[0043] With the development of vehicle technology, the system complexity of vehicles is also continuously increasing, and the risks from system failures and random hardware failures are increasing day by day. To address the above risks, it is necessary to pay attention to the behavior of each system and each hardware in the vehicle after a failure, and avoid unacceptable risks caused by their functional safety failures, that is, functional safety. The functional safety levels of systems or hardware in current and future vehicles may include quality management (QM), and one or more of ASIL A to ASIL D. The above functional safety levels are based on the grading standards of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Among them, the functional safety level QM can be understood as having nothing to do with functional safety.

[0044] Figure 2 shows a power supply system. As Figure 2 shown, in the traditional solution, the power supply system 10 may include two power supply circuits, namely power supply circuit 1 and power supply circuit 2. Power supply circuit 1 can use a power battery as the power source and set a direct current direct current converter (DC / DC); power supply circuit 2 can use a storage battery as the power source. In this power supply system, an automatic protection switch (APS) can be used to connect power supply circuit 1 and power supply circuit 2.

[0045] In the power supply system 10, loads can be mounted on at least one of power supply circuit 1 and power supply circuit 2. According to the requirements of functional safety, loads can be divided into conventional loads and safety loads; among them, conventional loads can be understood as loads without functional safety requirements, and safety loads can be understood as loads with functional safety requirements. For example, referring to Figure 2 , safety load 1 and safety load 2 can be mounted on both power supply circuit 1 and power supply circuit 2 at the same time to ensure their functional safety requirements. Another example, referring to Figure 2 , power supply circuit 2 can be mounted with conventional load 1 and conventional load 2. Another example, different from the Figure 2 shown method, in actual implementation, power supply circuit 2 can also be mounted with conventional loads.

[0046] When the power supply system 10 is working normally, the APS can be set to the conducting state; correspondingly, the electric energy provided by the power battery, after passing through the DC / DC, can supply power to power supply circuit 2 through the APS (for example, can charge battery 1 and supply power to the loads mounted on power supply circuit 2), and can also supply power to power supply circuit 1. When an abnormality occurs in a certain power supply circuit, the APS can be set to the off state, so that the abnormality does not affect the operation of the other power supply circuit.

[0047] As the requirements of vehicles for power supply safety and stability are getting higher and higher, in some solutions, a storage battery 2 is added to the power supply system 10 and mounted on the power supply circuit 1 to improve the redundancy performance of the power supply system. However, when there is a short - circuit fault in the power supply circuit 1 (such as a short - circuit to the electrical ground), the power supply circuit 2 will supply power to the safety load, and the APS is set to the off state to prevent the fault in the power supply circuit 1 from affecting the power supply circuit 2, realizing the isolation between the power supply circuit 1 and the power supply circuit 2; in this case, before the failure of the power supply circuit 1 disappears, even if the power battery and the storage battery 2 are both normal, they cannot supply power to the safety load through the power supply circuit 1. On the one hand, the storage battery 1 needs to have a large power to meet the power supply requirements of the power supply circuit 2, which will lead to high costs. On the other hand, the functions of the power battery and the storage battery 2 are not fully utilized, and the cooperative working efficiency of each power source in the power supply system is not actually fully released.

[0048] In view of this, the embodiments of the present application provide a power supply system, which can improve power supply safety and stability, can release the cooperative working efficiency of multiple power sources, can reduce the power requirements for redundant power sources, and reduce system costs.

[0049] The power supply system may include a first circuit and m second circuits. Wherein, m is a positive integer greater than or equal to 3.

[0050] The first circuit and the second circuits may be connected at a first node; the second circuit may include a first switching element and a first circuit part. Wherein, one end of the first switching element may be connected to the first node, and the other end of the first switching element may be connected to the first circuit part; the first switching element may be used to control the on - off between the first node and the first circuit part. The first circuit part may be used to mount at least one of a power supply unit and a load.

[0051] The following Figure 3 makes an exemplary description of the first circuit, the second circuits, the first node, and the first circuit part.

[0052] Exemplarily, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the power supply system provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0053] Referring to Figure 3 , the power supply system 200 may include a circuit 210 and m circuits (such as circuits 211 to 21m) connected to the circuit 210. In Figure 3 the shown power supply system, the circuit 210 may correspond to the first circuit, and the circuits 211 to 21m may correspond to the second circuits.

[0054] Exemplarily, taking circuit 211 as an example, circuit 211 can be connected to circuit 210 at node 2111; for circuit 211, node 2111 can correspond to the first node. Similarly, circuit 210 can be connected to circuits 212 to 21m at nodes 2121 to 21m1 respectively; nodes 2121 to 21m1 can serve as the first nodes of circuits 212 to 21m respectively.

[0055] Exemplarily, taking circuit 211 as an example, circuit 211 can include a switching element 231; circuit 211 can include two circuit portions (denoted as circuit portion #1 and circuit portion #2 respectively) disposed at both ends of the switching element 231. Among them, the switching element 231 can be connected to node 2111 through circuit portion #1, and circuit portion #2 can be used to mount at least one of a power supply unit and a load. For example, circuit portion #2 can include node 2112, and the power supply unit 221 can be mounted on this node 2112, as Figure 3 shown. For circuit 211, the switching element 231 can correspond to the first switching element, and the circuit portion where node 2112 is located (i.e., circuit portion #2) can correspond to the first circuit portion.

[0056] Similarly, circuits 212 to 21m can be respectively provided with switching elements 232 to 23m. In these circuits, one end of the switching element can be connected to the corresponding first node; the circuit portion connected to the other end of the switching element can mount at least one of a load and a power supply unit.

[0057] Exemplarily, the power supply units in the power supply system 200 can be mounted on circuits 211 to 21m. Specifically, they can be mounted on the first circuit portions of these circuits. For circuits 211 to 21m, all of these circuits can be mounted with power supply units, or some of the circuits 211 to 21m can be mounted with power supply units, and the other part of the circuits can be not mounted with power supply units.

[0058] For the convenience of description, the power supply units used to be mounted on circuits 211 to 21m can be respectively denoted as power supply units 221 to 22m. That is to say, in some scenarios, the power supply system 200 may only include some of the power supply units 221 to 22m, and the other part of the power supply units 221 to 22m may not be included in the power supply system 200 (that is, the other part of the power supply units 221 to 22m is not mounted on the corresponding circuits).

[0059] In one embodiment, the power supply unit 221 can be mounted on node 2112, as Figure 3As shown in the figure; in circuit 211, nodes 2112 and 2111 can be disposed at both ends of switch element 231, and the circuit portion where node 2112 is located can correspond to the first circuit portion of circuit 211. Similarly, power supply unit 222 can be mounted on node 2122; in circuit 212, nodes 2122 and 2121 can be respectively disposed at both ends of switch element 232, and the circuit portion where node 2122 is located can correspond to the first circuit portion of circuit 212. By analogy, power supply units 223 to 23m can be respectively mounted on nodes 2132 to 21m2; the circuit portions where nodes 2132 to 21m2 are located can respectively correspond to the first circuit portions of circuits 213 to 21m.

[0060] In another embodiment, circuit 212 may not be mounted with power supply unit 222, while circuit 211 and circuits 213 to 21m may be respectively mounted with corresponding power supply units.

[0061] Exemplarily, in power supply system 200, different power supply units may adopt the same or different types of power sources. Assume that power supply system 200 is a low-voltage power supply system; for power supply units 221 to 22m, a single power supply unit may adopt a low-voltage battery as the power source, or may adopt a high-voltage battery as the power source.

[0062] For example, power supply unit 22m may adopt a low-voltage battery (such as a 12-volt or 24-volt storage battery) as the power source; power supply unit 221 may adopt a high-voltage battery (such as a power battery) as the power source. In this case, power supply unit 221 may further include a DC / DC, so that the DC high voltage output by the high-voltage battery can be converted into a DC low voltage.

[0063] For another example, power supply units 221 and 223 may adopt power batteries as the power source, while other power supply units may adopt storage batteries as the power source. Even, in some implementation manners, power supply units 221 and 223 may adopt the same power battery as the power source, and this power battery may be respectively connected to circuits 211 and 213 through DC / DC#1 and DC / DC#2; by controlling the operation of DC / DC#1, the power supply of the power battery to circuit 211 can be controlled, and by controlling the operation of DC / DC#2, the power supply of the power battery to circuit 213 can be controlled.

[0064] Exemplarily, the loads in power supply system 200 can be mounted on circuits 211 to 21m. Specifically, they can be mounted on the first circuit portions of these circuits. For circuits 211 to 21m, all of these circuits may be mounted with loads; or, some of the circuits 211 to 21m may be mounted with loads, and the other part of the circuits may not be mounted with loads.

[0065] For ease of explanation, the loads to be mounted on circuits 211 to 21m can be respectively denoted as loads 241 to 24m; that is to say, in some scenarios, the power supply system may only include some of loads 241 to 24m, and the other part of loads 241 to 24m is not mounted on the corresponding circuits. For example, circuit 212 can be mounted with load 242; circuits 211 and 21m may not be mounted with loads.

[0066] In a specific implementation, for circuits 211 to 21m, one to multiple loads can be mounted on a single circuit.

[0067] For example, referring to Figure 3 , the power supply system 200 can include loads 242_1 to 242_p (where p is a positive integer), and loads 242_1 to 242_p are mounted on circuit 212. The power supply system 200 can supply power to loads 242_1 to 242_p through circuit 212; in this example, the prefix "242" of loads 242_1 to 242_p can indicate that the load is mounted on circuit 212, and its suffixes "_1" to "_p" can indicate that the load is the 1st to the pth load mounted on circuit 212.

[0068] For another example, referring to Figure 3 , the power supply system 200 can include loads 244_1 to 244_q (where q is a positive integer); in this example, the prefix "244" of loads 244_1 to 244_q can indicate that the load is mounted on circuit 214, and its suffixes "_1" to "_q" can indicate that the load is the 1st to the qth load mounted on circuit 214.

[0069] It should be noted that the types of loads are not distinguished in Figure 3 (that is, it does not distinguish whether the load is a conventional load or a safety load). In a specific implementation, the mounting method of the load can be determined according to the functional safety requirements of the load itself. For a single conventional load, it only needs to be mounted on one of circuits 211 to 21m; for a single safety load, it can be mounted on multiple circuits among circuits 211 to 21m at the same time. For example, in some implementation manners, load 242_1 and load 244_1 can be the same safety load (such as an autonomous driving domain controller), that is, this safety load can be mounted on circuits 212 and 214 at the same time to meet its functional safety requirements.

[0070] The above has given an exemplary description of the first circuit and the second circuit in combination with Figure 3 . Given that power supply safety and stability mainly meet the functional safety requirements of safety loads, the following assumes that load 242_1 and load 244_1 are the same safety load, and gives an exemplary description of the working mode of the power supply system 200.

[0071] For circuit 212, when the switching element 232 is in the off state, the current of circuit 210 cannot flow from node 2121 to the circuit part where node 2122 is located; that is to say, when the switching element 232 is in the off state, the power supply of circuit 210 to circuit 212 will be cut off. When the switching element 232 is in the on state, circuit 210 will be able to supply power to circuit 212. Similarly, for circuit 214, when the switching element 234 is in the off state, the power supply of circuit 210 to circuit 212 will be cut off; when the switching element 234 is in the on state, circuit 210 will be able to supply power to circuit 214.

[0072] When the power supply system 200 is operating normally, this safety load can be powered by any one of circuits 212 and 214. When one of circuits 212 and 214 fails, the other circuit can supply power to this safety load.

[0073] Taking circuit 212 as an example, when there is a failure such as an open circuit in circuit 212, although this failure will affect the power supply of circuit 212 to the safety load, the failure in circuit 212 will not affect the operation of other circuits; in this case, even if the switching element 232 is set to the on state, the system 200 can still supply power to this safety load through circuit 214. When there is a short circuit fault in circuit 212 (such as occurring in the circuit part of circuit 212 for mounting the load and the power supply unit), if the circuit part where the short circuit fault is located cannot be isolated from other circuits, the operation of other circuits will be affected by this short circuit fault.

[0074] Suppose there is a short circuit fault in the circuit part where node 2122 in circuit 212 is located, and circuit 214 is powered normally. In this case, the switching element 232 can be controlled to be in the off state to avoid the short circuit fault in circuit 212 from affecting the operation of other circuits; the switching element 234 can also be controlled to be in the on state so that the power supply system 200 can supply power to this safety load through circuit 214. When supplying power to this safety load through circuit 214, on the one hand, since the power supply unit 224 is mounted on circuit 214, the electric energy provided by the power supply unit 224 can flow into circuit 214; on the other hand, since circuits 211 to 21m are all connected to circuit 210, the electric energy provided by the power supply units 221, 223 to 22m can flow into circuit 214 through circuit 210. Thus, each power supply unit does not need to have a large power to meet the power supply requirements of circuit 214.

[0075] For a power supply system applied to a vehicle, cost and layout space are two extremely important aspects. Since devices such as low-power power supplies often have lower costs and volumes, if low-power devices can be used to ensure power supply redundancy, the cost of the power supply system can be greatly reduced.

[0076] In the embodiments of the present application, for a safety load, when a power supply failure occurs in a certain path, the power supply system can supply power to the safety load through another path, and can also allow the power supply units inside it to form effective redundancy in a collaborative working manner under a lower power configuration. In this way, using a low-power power supply can meet the power supply requirements of the safety load, significantly reducing the system cost while ensuring power supply reliability, and can also effectively reduce the requirement of the power supply system for layout space.

[0077] In some implementation manners, the first switching element may have a one-way disconnection function. When the first switching element is disconnected, it can be used to block the current in the first direction, and the first direction can be the direction in which the current flows from the first node to the first circuit part.

[0078] Exemplarily, in the power supply system 200, the switching elements 231 to 23m may have a one-way disconnection function.

[0079] Taking the circuit 212 as an example, assuming that the circuit is mounted with a power supply unit 222, the switching element 232 has a one-way disconnection function. When the switching element 232 is in the conducting state, it can allow the current to flow from the node 2121 to the node 2122, and can also allow the current to flow from the node 2122 to the node 2121. When the switching element 232 is in the disconnected state, it can allow the current to flow from the node 2122 to the node 2121, and can block the current flowing from the node 2121 to the node 2122.

[0080] In this example, when the switching element 232 is in the conducting state, the power supply unit 222 can supply power to circuits such as circuits 211, 213, and 21m via the circuit 212 and the circuit 210 (for example, it can charge the power supply unit 223 and supply power to the load 244_1 mounted in the circuit 214, etc.); other power supply units in the power supply system 200 can also supply power to the circuit 212 via the circuit 210 (for example, it can charge the power supply unit 222 and supply power to the load 242_1 mounted in the circuit 212, etc.). When the switching element 232 is in the off state, even if there is a short circuit fault (such as a short circuit to electrical ground) in the circuit part where the node 2122 in the circuit 212 is located, the current flowing from the circuit 210 to the circuit 212 will be blocked by the switching element 232, so that the short circuit fault can be prevented from shorting the circuit 210 to electrical ground through the circuit 212, and the operation of other circuits can be prevented from being affected by this short circuit fault. In addition, since the switching element 232 allows current to flow from the node 2122 to the node 2121, the power supply unit 222 can still supply power to other circuits through the main path (i.e., the circuit 210).

[0081] In this way, not only can the short circuit fault in the circuit 212 be prevented from affecting the operation of other circuits, but also the power supply of the power supply unit 222 to other circuits can be ensured.

[0082] In some implementation manners, the power supply system provided by the embodiment of the present application may further include a processing unit and a sampling circuit. The sampling circuit can be connected to the sampling point of the second circuit and can be used to collect the electrical parameters at the sampling point; the sampling point in the second circuit can be set between the first switching element and the first circuit part; the processing unit can be used to: control the on and off of the first switching element according to the electrical parameters at the sampling point.

[0083] For example, the power supply system may include a voltage sampling circuit and / or a current sampling circuit; sampling points of the voltage sampling circuit and sampling points of the current sampling circuit may be set on the second circuit. The processing unit can obtain the voltage and current at the corresponding sampling points through the voltage sampling circuit and the current sampling circuit; the processing unit can judge whether there is an abnormality in the power supply of the first circuit to the second circuit according to the voltage and / or current at the sampling point; in the case of an abnormality, the first switch can be controlled to turn off.

[0084] For another example, the first circuit part may include at least one node, and each of these nodes can be used to mount at least one of a power supply unit and a load; the second node may be the first node among these nodes that is close to the first switching element. The sampling point of the second circuit is set between the first switching element and the first circuit part, which may include that the sampling point of the second circuit is set between the first switching element and the second node.

[0085] The following combines Figure 4 , and makes an exemplary description of the sampling circuit and the processing unit. In Figure 4 , the Figure 3 shown circuits 210 and 212 are respectively used as the first circuit and the second circuit to introduce the setting method of the sampling circuit corresponding to a single second circuit.

[0086] The power supply system 200 may further include a processing unit 260. The power supply system 200 may further include at least one sampling circuit of a voltage sampling circuit 271 and a current sampling circuit 272; the voltage sampling circuit 271 may be used to collect the electromotive force at the sampling point 2123 in the circuit 212, and the current sampling circuit 272 may be used to collect the current at the sampling point 2124 in the circuit 212.

[0087] As Figure 4 shown, when the power supply unit 212 is mounted on the circuit 212, the power supply unit 212 may be mounted on the node 2122. The circuit 212 may include a plurality of nodes for mounting loads, and the node 2125 may be the first node among the plurality of nodes that is close to the switching element 232, and the node 2125 may be used to mount the first load (i.e., the load 242_1) among the loads 242_1 to 242_p. For example, when the power supply unit 212 is not mounted, the node 2122 will not be separately set on the circuit 212; in this case, the sampling points 2123 and 2124 may be set between the switching element 232 and the node 2125. In this example, the node 2125 may correspond to the second node. Another example is that when the power supply unit 212 is mounted, since the node 2122 is closer to the switching element 232 than the node 2125, the sampling points 2123 and 2124 may be set between the switching element 232 and the node 2125, as Figure 4 shown. In this example, the node 2125 may correspond to the second node.

[0088] Similarly, for other second circuits in the power supply system 200, current and / or voltage sampling points may also be set between the first switching element and the second node, and the processing unit 260 may also be connected to these sampling points through the corresponding current sampling circuit and voltage sampling circuit to obtain the current and voltage at the sampling points. For example, in the circuit 211, a current sampling point and / or a voltage sampling point may be set between the switching element 231 and the node 2112; the processing unit 260 may be connected to the sampling point in the circuit 211 through the corresponding sampling circuit. It can be understood that Figure 4 does not show circuits such as the circuits 211, 213, and 21m; correspondingly, the sampling circuits for connecting the processing unit 260 and the sampling points of these circuits are also not shown in Figure 4 .

[0089] In some implementations, the processing unit can be used to: when the electrical parameters at the sampling point meet the first condition, control the first switching element to disconnect. Among them, the electrical parameters at the sampling point meeting the first condition may include at least one of the following: the current at the sampling point is greater than or equal to the first threshold and the duration is greater than or equal to the first duration; the current at the sampling point is greater than or equal to the second threshold, and the second threshold may be greater than the first threshold; the electromotive force at the sampling point is less than or equal to the third threshold; the electromotive force at the sampling point is greater than or equal to the fourth threshold.

[0090] The above first to fourth thresholds can be set based on the corresponding electrical parameters at the sampling point when the second circuit is operating normally.

[0091] Exemplarily, Figure 4 Taking the shown circuit as an example, assuming that the working current in circuit 212 is 400 milliamperes (mA) when all components are operating normally, and assuming that the electromotive force at the sampling point of circuit 212 is 12 volts (V) when all components are operating normally; that is, assuming that when all components are working properly, the rated current in circuit 212 is 400 mA and the rated voltage is 12 V.

[0092] For example, if the load in the circuit allows at most a 25% overcurrent (i.e., a current of 500 mA) and the duration shall not exceed 3 seconds, correspondingly, the first threshold can be set to a value less than or equal to 500 mA (such as 480 mA, 460 mA), and the first duration can be set to a value less than 3 seconds (second, s) (such as 2 s, 2.5 s). For another example, if the load in the circuit allows at most a peak current of 10 amperes (A), correspondingly, the second threshold can be set to a value less than or equal to 10 A. For another example, in view of the fact that the response speed of the current sampling circuit is often less than that of the voltage sampling circuit, in order to avoid damage to the load when there is a short - circuit fault in the power supply circuit, the electromotive force at the sampling point can be combined to judge whether there is a short - circuit fault. When the electromotive force at the sampling point drops to the third threshold (such as 4 V, 5 V), it can be considered that there is a short - circuit fault in the power supply. For another example, if the load in the circuit allows at most a 10% overvoltage (i.e., a voltage of 13.2 V), correspondingly, the fourth threshold can be set to a value below 13.2 V (such as 12.8 V, 13 V).

[0093] Through the above - mentioned method, for different forms of power - supply faults, the isolation between the circuit part to which the load in circuit 212 is mounted and circuit 210 can be achieved by disconnecting the switching element 232.

[0094] In the above Figure 3In the power supply system 200 shown, nodes 2111, 2121, 2131 to 21m1 are at different positions on circuit 210. In actual implementation, if circuits 211 to 21m are connected to different positions on circuit 210, it may make circuit 210 have a relatively large length.

[0095] In some implementation manners, a part of circuits 211 to 21m can be configured to converge at a certain node, and another part of circuits 211 to 21m can be configured to converge at another node; in this case, circuit 210 only needs to connect these two convergence points to be connected to circuits 211 to 21m. By shortening the distance between these two convergence points, the length of circuit 210 can be reduced.

[0096] Furthermore, in specific implementation, even one end of circuits 211 to 21m can all converge at a certain node in different directions to eliminate circuit 210; for example, as Figure 5 shown, circuits 211 to 21m can converge at convergence point A.

[0097] However, as Figure 5 shown, in an actual scenario, each circuit inevitably has a width, and this convergence point inevitably has a volume. Therefore, the actual connection position of the convergence point A with one circuit (such as the connection position of circuit 211 and convergence point A) will be different from the actual connection position of the convergence point A with another circuit (such as the connection position of circuit 213 and convergence point A). That is to say, this method actually realizes the transfer of current between circuits 211 to 21m through the conductive characteristic of convergence point A (which can also be said to be the internal conductive circuit of convergence point A). Therefore, convergence point A (or the internal conductive circuit of convergence point A) can correspond to the aforementioned first circuit.

[0098] The above has given an exemplary introduction to the power supply system 200 in combination with Figures 3 to 5 . Taking m as 3 and 4 respectively below, in combination with Figures 6 to 9 , an exemplary illustration of the power supply system provided by the embodiments of the present application is given. Figures 6 to 9 The power supply system shown can be understood as an extension or deformation of the power supply system 200. In Figures 6 to 9 , it is assumed that the first switching element uses a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET); MOSFET can be abbreviated as MOS transistor or MOS transistor switch.

[0099] Exemplarily, Figure 6 is another schematic diagram of the power supply system provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0100] As Figure 6 shown, three power supplies, namely Power Supply 1 to Power Supply 3, can be provided in the power supply system 300.

[0101] The power supply system 300 can include a circuit 310, and circuits 311 to 313. Power Supply 1 to Power Supply 3 can be respectively mounted on circuits 311 to 313, and circuits 311 to 313 can be connected to the circuit 310. In the power supply system 300, the circuit 310 can correspond to the first circuit, and circuits 311 to 313 can correspond to the second circuit.

[0102] The circuit 311 can be provided with a MOS transistor Q1, and the power supply 1 mounted in the circuit 310 and the circuit 311 can be respectively at both ends of the MOS transistor Q1. The MOS transistor Q1 can include a body diode, and the conduction direction of the body diode of the MOS transistor Q1 can be configured as the direction in which the current flows from the circuit 311 to the circuit 310.

[0103] Thus, when in the conducting state, the MOS transistor Q1 can allow the current flowing from the circuit 310 to the circuit 311 to pass through (i.e., the current in the direction shown by the arrow in Figure 3 ), and can also allow the current in the reverse direction to pass through. When in the off state, the MOS transistor Q1 will block the current flowing from the circuit 310 to the circuit 311, but can allow the current in the reverse direction to pass through.

[0104] Similarly, the circuit 312 can be provided with a MOS transistor Q2, and the conduction direction of the body diode of the MOS transistor Q2 can be configured as the direction in which the current flows from the circuit 312 to the circuit 310; the circuit 313 can be provided with a MOS transistor Q3, and the conduction direction of the body diode of the MOS transistor Q3 can be configured as the direction in which the current flows from the circuit 313 to the circuit 310.

[0105] Assume that Load 1 is mounted on the circuit 312, Load 2 is mounted on the circuit 313, Load 3 is simultaneously mounted on both the circuit 312 and 313, and no load is mounted on the circuit 311, as Figure 6 shown. That is, Load 1 and Load 2 can be conventional loads, and Load 3 can be a safety load.

[0106] In one example, for Load 3, assume that the circuit part of the circuit 312 where Load 3 is mounted is short-circuited to the electrical ground, resulting in the inability to supply power to Load 3 through the circuit 312. Correspondingly, the processing unit 360 can control the MOS transistor Q2 to be in the off state to disconnect the power supply of the circuit 310 to the circuit 312; it can also control the MOS transistor Q3 to be in the on state. In this case, the electric energy provided by Power Supply 1 and Power Supply 2 can flow into the circuit 313 through the circuit 310, and the electric energy provided by Power Supply 3 can also flow into the circuit 313. The power supply system 300 can ensure the power supply to Load 3 through the circuit 313.

[0107] In this example, the number of power supplies included in the power supply system 300 is the same as that of the power supply system 10 shown, and the power supply system also supports dual power supply to the safety load during normal operation. Different from the power supply system 10, in the power supply system 300, when a short-circuit fault occurs in one of the two power supply paths of the safety load, multiple power supplies in the power supply system 300 can supply power to the safety load through the other path; while in Figure 2 the power supply system 10 shown, when a short circuit occurs between the circuit part carrying the load in the power supply loop 1 and the electrical ground, only the battery 1 can supply power to the safety load through the power supply loop 1. Figure 2

[0108] Compared with Figure 2 the power supply system shown, the power supply system 300 allows power supplies 1 to 3 to adopt a lower power configuration, so as to significantly reduce the system cost while ensuring power supply reliability, and can also effectively reduce the requirement for the layout space of the power supply system.

[0109] In some implementation manners, the power supply system 300 may further be provided with a voltage sampling circuit and / or a current sampling circuit, and may further include a processing unit 360.

[0110] For example, referring to Figure 6 , in the circuit 311, a sampling point may be set between the MOS transistor Q1 and the node to which the power supply 1 is connected, and the current sampling circuit 1 and the voltage sampling circuit 1 may be connected to the corresponding sampling points to obtain the current and voltage at the sampling points. Similarly, the current sampling circuit 2 and the voltage sampling circuit 2 may be connected to the sampling points in the circuit 312, and the current sampling circuit 3 and the voltage sampling circuit 3 may be connected to the sampling points of the circuit 313.

[0111] For another example, for the circuit 312, the processing unit 360 may obtain the current and voltage at the sampling points of the circuit 312 through the current sampling circuit 2 and the voltage sampling circuit 2. Similar to Figure 3 the manner shown, the processing unit 360 may determine whether the power supply from the circuit 310 to the circuit 312 is normal based on the current and voltage; in the case of an abnormality, the MOS transistor Q2 may be controlled to disconnect to avoid the abnormal power supply from affecting the normal operation of the circuit part carrying the power supply and the load in the circuit 312. Further, assuming that a power supply fault occurs in the circuit 311, after determining that the fault exists in the circuit 311, the MOS transistor Q1 may also be disconnected, and even the power supply 1 may be controlled to stop working.

[0112] ​Exemplarily, assume that the power supply system 300 is a low-voltage power supply system. Among them, the power supply 2 and the power supply 3 use low-voltage batteries, and the power supply 1 uses a high-voltage battery and a DC / DC. Since the MOS transistor Q1 includes a body diode, even when the MOS transistor Q1 is in the off state, current can flow from the power supply 1 to the circuit 310 through the circuit 311. In this case, the MOS transistor Q1 can be set as a normally open switch, and the MOS transistors Q2 and Q3 can be set as normally closed switches to reduce the control frequency of the MOS transistors and improve the service life of the MOS transistors in the system.

[0113] Exemplarily, Figure 7 is another schematic diagram of the power supply system provided by the embodiment of the present application.

[0114] As Figure 7 shown, the power supply system 400 may include a total of four power supplies, namely, power supply 1 to power supply 4.

[0115] Compared with the power supply system 300, the power supply system 400 may further include a circuit 314. The power supply 4 can be mounted on the circuit 314, and the circuit 314 can be connected to the circuit 310. Similar to the circuit 311, the circuit 314 may be provided with a MOS transistor Q4.

[0116] In one example, the load 1 can be mounted on the circuit 312, the load 2 can be mounted on the circuit 314, and the load 3 can be mounted on both the circuit 312 and 314, as Figure 7 shown. In this example, the load 1 and the load 2 can be conventional loads, and the load 3 can be a safety load.

[0117] In one design, the power supply 1 and the power supply 3 can use the same power battery, and the power battery can be mounted on the circuit 311 and the circuit 313 respectively through two different DC / DCs; the power supply 2 and the power supply 4 can be low-voltage batteries (such as 12-volt and 24-volt storage batteries). Similar to the power supply systems 200 and 300, in the power supply system 400, the DC / DC and low-voltage batteries involved in the system can use low-power devices to meet the power supply requirements of the safety load. By this method, the cost and the required layout space of the system can be greatly reduced.

[0118] In some implementation manners, the power supply system 400 may further include a current sampling circuit 4 and a voltage sampling circuit 4 to collect the current and voltage at the sampling point in the circuit 314. Similar to other sampling circuits, the processing unit 360 can be connected to the circuit sampling circuit 4 and the voltage sampling circuit 4 to obtain the current and voltage at the sampling point in the circuit 314.

[0119] It should be noted that Figure 7Only the connection relationships between the respective sampling circuits and the sampling points are shown, and the connection relationships between the processing unit 360 and the respective sampling circuits are not shown; the connection relationships between the processing unit and the respective sampling circuits can be the same as or similar to Figure 4 、 Figure 6 the manner shown.

[0120] The foregoing power supply system 300 can be understood as an extension or variation of the power supply system 200 when m = 3; the power supply system 400 can be understood as an extension or variation of the power supply system 200 when m = 4.

[0121] In some implementation manners, in the power supply system provided in the embodiments of the present application, the first circuit may include a first-stage circuit, a second-stage circuit, and a switching element disposed between the first-stage circuit and the second-stage circuit; wherein, a part of the m second circuits may be connected to the first-stage circuit, and another part of the m second circuits may be connected to the second-stage circuit. The switching element disposed between the first-stage circuit and the second-stage circuit can be used to control the on / off between the first-stage circuit and the second-stage circuit.

[0122] For example, taking the power supply system 200 as an example, on the circuit 210, a switching element can be disposed between the node 2121 and the node 2131, and this switching element can divide the circuit 210 into two circuit segments, denoted as circuit segment #1 and circuit segment #2 respectively; correspondingly, the circuits 211 and 212 will be connected to the circuit segment #1 of the circuit 210, and the circuits 213 to 21m will be connected to the circuit segment #2 of the circuit 210. In this case, when there is a power supply abnormality in one of the circuit segment #1 and the circuit segment #2, the switching element between the circuit segment #1 and the circuit segment #2 can be controlled to be disconnected. Thereby, the power supply safety can be further improved.

[0123] In some implementation manners, the switching element disposed between the first-stage circuit and the second-stage circuit may include a second switching element and a third switching element; one end of the second switching element can be connected to the first-stage circuit, the other end of the second switching element can be connected to the third switching element, and the other end of the third switching element can be connected to the second-stage circuit. The second switching element and the third switching element can have a one-way disconnection function; the second switching element is used to block the current flowing from the second-stage circuit to the first-stage circuit when it is disconnected, and the third switching element is used to block the current flowing from the first-stage circuit to the second-stage circuit when it is disconnected.

[0124] The following takes the switching element being a MOS transistor switch as an example, and Figure 8 makes an exemplary description of the second switching element, the third switching element, the first-stage circuit, and the second-stage circuit.

[0125] Exemplarily, Figure 8 is another schematic diagram of the power supply system provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0126] Refer to Figure 8 , similar to the power supply system 400, the power supply system 500 may include power supplies 1 to 4, and the power supplies 1 to 4 may be respectively connected to circuits 311 to 314; the circuits 311 to 314 may be connected to the circuit 310.

[0127] Different from the power supply system 400, in the power supply system 500, the circuit 310 may include circuit segments 3101 and 3102, and MOS transistors Q5 and Q6 provided between the circuit segments 3101 and 3102; the MOS transistor Q5 may be connected to the MOS transistor Q6, the other end of the MOS transistor Q5 may be connected to the circuit segment 3101, and the other end of the MOS transistor Q6 may be connected to the circuit segment 3102.

[0128] The MOS transistors Q5 and Q6 may have body diodes. The conduction direction of the body diode of the MOS transistor Q5 may be the direction in which the current flows from the circuit segment 3101 to the circuit segment 3102; the conduction direction of the body diode of the MOS transistor Q6 may be the direction in which the current flows from the circuit segment 3102 to the circuit segment 3101.

[0129] In one embodiment, when the power supply from the circuit segment 3102 to the circuit segment 3101 is abnormal, the MOS transistor Q5 may be controlled to turn off, and the MOS transistor Q6 may be controlled to be in the on state. Since the MOS transistor Q5 allows the current flowing from the circuit segment 3101 to the circuit segment 3102 to pass through when it is turned off, in the case where the MOS transistor Q5 is turned off and the MOS transistor Q6 is turned on, the circuit segment 3101 will be able to supply power to the circuit segment 3102, while the power supply from the circuit segment 3102 to the circuit 3101 will be blocked.

[0130] For example, when the power supply of the power supply 1 and / or the power supply 2 is abnormal, it will cause the power supply from the circuit segment 3101 to the circuit segment 3102 to be abnormal. Correspondingly, the MOS transistor Q5 may be controlled to turn off, and the MOS transistor Q6 may be controlled to turn on.

[0131] In another embodiment, when the power supply from the circuit segment 3101 to the circuit segment 3102 is abnormal, the MOS transistor Q6 may be controlled to turn off, and the MOS transistor Q5 may be controlled to be in the on state. In this case, the circuit 310 can allow the current flowing from the circuit segment 3102 to the circuit segment 3101 to pass through, but will block the current flowing from the circuit segment 3101 to the circuit segment 3102.

[0132] In another embodiment, when there is a power supply abnormality in any one of the circuit segments 3101 and 3102, the MOS transistor Q5 and the MOS transistor Q6 can also be controlled to be in the off state; in this case, the power supply system 500 will have two independent subsystems, where one subsystem can include circuits 311 and 312, and the other subsystem can include circuits 313 and 314.

[0133] In the power supply system 500, the circuit segment 3101 can correspond to the first circuit segment, the circuit segment 3102 can correspond to the second circuit segment, the MOS transistor Q5 can correspond to the second switching element, and the MOS transistor Q6 can correspond to the third switching element.

[0134] In the embodiments of the present application, the second switching element and the third switching element disposed between the first circuit segment and the second circuit segment have a one-way disconnection function. Thus, in the case where there is a power supply abnormality in one of the first circuit segment and the second circuit segment, by setting the on-off states of the second switching element and the third switching element, it is possible to not only isolate the influence of the circuit segment with the power supply abnormality on the normally operating circuit segment, but also ensure the normal power supply of the normally operating circuit segment to the circuit segment with the power supply abnormality. Moreover, it is even possible to make the power supply system become two independent subsystems, enabling the power supply system to have more abundant countermeasures for power supply abnormalities, thereby being beneficial to improving power supply safety.

[0135] The above Figures 6 to 8 has given an exemplary description of the cases where m is 3 and 4. In a specific implementation, the number of loads and power supplies mounted in the circuits 311 to 314 may be different from Figures 6 to 8 each other.

[0136] For example, in some implementation manners, the circuit 314 may not be mounted with a power supply; the circuits 312 and 314 may not be mounted with conventional loads; the load 4 as a safety load can be mounted on both the circuits 312 and 314 simultaneously, as Figure 9 shown. Also, for example, in some implementation manners, the circuit 311 may also be mounted with a load, and / or the circuit 313 may also be mounted with a load.

[0137] The above has given an exemplary description of the power supply system provided by the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with Figures 3 to 9 In Figures 3 to 9 , the various components in the power supply system are treated as independent components; while in a specific implementation, multiple components in the power supply system may be integrated in the same device. For the same power supply system, the external form of the power supply system will be different under different integration manners. The following takes the power supply system 400 shown in Figure 7 as an example, and gives an exemplary description of potential integration manners in conjunction with Figures 10 to 12 .

[0138] In some implementations, MOS transistors Q1 to Q4 in the power supply system 400 can be integrated into the same control device, such as the control device 450 as shown Figure 10 The control device 450 can be used to configure the on / off states of MOS transistors Q1 to Q4.

[0139] Referring to Figure 10 , the control device 450 can include interfaces 451 to 454. The interfaces 451 to 454 can be respectively located in circuits 311 to 314; correspondingly, for any one of the circuits 311 to 314, it will be jointly constituted by the internal circuit and the external circuit of the control device 450, and the internal circuit and the external circuit can be connected at the corresponding interfaces.

[0140] For example, taking circuit 311 as an example, circuit 311 can include circuits 3111 and 3112; as Figure 10 shown, circuit 3111 can be the internal circuit of the control device 450 and can be used to connect interface 451 to circuit 310; circuit 3112 can be the external circuit of the control device 450, and circuit 3112 can connect power supply 1 to interface 451. MOS transistor Q1 can be disposed in circuit 3111.

[0141] Similarly, referring to Figure 10 , the internal circuit of the control device 450 can also include circuits 3121 to 3141 respectively used to connect interfaces 452 to 454 to circuit 310; circuits 3121 to 3141 can be respectively connected to the corresponding external circuits 3122 to 3124, so as to constitute the corresponding circuits 312 to 314. MOS transistors Q2 to Q4 can be respectively disposed in circuits 3121 to 3141.

[0142] For another example, taking circuit 311 as an example, the sampling points on circuit 311 (i.e., the sampling points of current sampling circuit 1 and voltage sampling circuit 1) can be set in the internal circuit 3111 of the control device 450; current sampling circuit 1 and voltage sampling circuit 1 can also be integrated into the control device 450. Similarly, the corresponding sampling circuits of circuits 312 to 314 (such as current sampling circuits 2 to 4 and voltage sampling circuits 2 to 4) can also be integrated into the control device 450.

[0143] In the case where MOS transistors Q1 to Q4 are integrated into the control device 450 in the manner as shown Figure 10 , the external form of the power supply system 400 can be embodied as that 4 circuits (i.e., circuits 3112 to 3142) with power supplies respectively connected to 4 interfaces (i.e., interfaces 451 to 454) of the control device 450; and there are no switching elements provided in the circuits 3112 to 3142 with power supplies.

[0144] In some implementations, the power supplies in the power supply system 400 may integrate MOS transistors.

[0145] For example, referring to Figure 11 , MOS transistor Q1 may be integrated into power supply 1, MOS transistor Q2 may be integrated into power supply 2, MOS transistor Q3 may be integrated into power supply 3, and MOS transistor Q4 may be integrated into power supply 4.

[0146] As another example, taking power supply 1 as an example, power supply 1 may integrate MOS transistor Q1, and may also integrate current sampling circuit 1 and voltage sampling circuit 2, as Figure 11 shown. Similarly, the sampling circuits corresponding to circuits 312 to 314 (such as current sampling circuits 2 to 4 and voltage sampling circuits 2 to 4) may also be integrated into the corresponding power supplies.

[0147] Assume that the power supply system 400 is a low-voltage power supply system. In one example, if power supply 1 uses a high-voltage battery and a DC / DC, correspondingly, MOS transistor Q1 may be integrated into the DC / DC in power supply 1. In another example, if power supply 3 may use a low-voltage battery, correspondingly, MOS transistor Q3 may be integrated into the low-voltage battery.

[0148] In some implementations, for the power supply system 400, some of MOS transistors Q1 to Q4 may be integrated into the same control device, and the other part may be integrated into the corresponding power supplies. For example, referring to Figure 12 , MOS transistor Q1 may be integrated into power supply 1, and MOS transistor Q3 may be integrated into power supply 2; MOS transistors Q2 and Q4 may be integrated into control device 460.

[0149] Referring to , control device 460 may include interfaces 461 to 464. Interfaces 461 and 462 may be in circuit 312, and interfaces 463 and 464 may be in circuit 314. For a single circuit in circuits 312 and 314, it will be composed of the internal circuit and the external circuit of control device 460, and the internal circuit and the external circuit may be connected at the corresponding interfaces.

[0150] For example, taking circuit 312 as an example, circuit 312 may be composed of circuits 3126, 3127, and 3127 connected in sequence; as Figure 12 shown, circuit 3127 may be the internal circuit of control device 460, and may be used to connect interfaces 461 and 462, and MOS transistor Q2 may be arranged in circuit 3127; circuits 3126 and 3128 may be the external circuits of control device 460, circuit 3126 may be used to connect interface 461 to circuit 310, and power supply 2 and load 1 may be mounted on circuit 3128.

[0151] Similarly, referring to Figure 12, the circuit 314 may include circuits 3146, 3147, and 3148. The circuit 3147 may be the internal circuit of the control device 460, which can be used to connect interfaces 463 and 464, and is provided with the MOS transistor Q4; the circuit 3146 may be the external circuit of the control device 460, which can connect the interface 463 to the circuit 310; the circuit 3148 may be the external circuit of the control device 460, which can be used to mount the power supply 4, and the load 2 can be mounted on this circuit 3148.

[0152] For another example, taking the circuit 312 as an example, the sampling points on the circuit 312 (i.e., the sampling points of the current sampling circuit 2 and the voltage sampling circuit 2) can be set in the internal circuit 3127 of the control device 460; the current sampling circuit and the voltage sampling circuit can also be integrated into the control device 460. Similarly, the corresponding sampling circuits of the circuit 314 (such as the current sampling circuit 4 and the voltage sampling circuit 4) can also be integrated into the control device 460.

[0153] As described above in conjunction with Figure 12 , taking the power supply system 400 as an example, an exemplary description of some integration methods has been given. The above integration methods can be applied to the power supply systems 200, 300, and 500. For example, for the power supply system 200, the switching elements 231 to 23m can be integrated into the same control device in a similar way to Figures 10 to 12 .

[0154] In addition, in actual implementation, other integration methods may also be adopted for the power supply system in this application. For example, different from the method shown in Figure 10 , only the MOS transistors Q2 to Q4 can be integrated into the same control device, and the MOS transistor Q1 can be arranged outside this control device. No further examples will be given here.

[0155] The embodiment of the present application also provides a control device, which can be used to constitute the power supply system provided by the embodiment of the present application.

[0156] The control device provided by the embodiment of the present application may include a first circuit, m first interfaces, and m third circuits, where m is a positive integer greater than or equal to 3. The m third circuits can correspond to the m first interfaces one by one; the third circuit can be used to connect the first interface to the first circuit. The third circuit is provided with a first switching element, and the first switching element can be used to control the on-off between the first interface and the first circuit. The first interface can be used to connect an external circuit, and the external circuit can be used to mount at least one of a power supply unit and a load.

[0157] Exemplarily, the first circuit in the control device can serve as the first circuit of the power supply system; the second circuit of the power supply system can be constituted by the third circuit of the control device and the external circuit of the control device; the first switching element disposed on the third circuit in the control device can serve as the first switching element disposed on the second circuit in the power supply system.

[0158] For example, Figure 10 taking the control device 450 shown as an example, the control system 450 can be used to constitute the power supply system 400. The control device 450 can include interfaces 451 to 454; the interfaces 451 to 454 can be used to connect to external circuits (such as circuits 3112, 3122, 3132, 3142), and at least one of a power supply and a load can be mounted on the external circuit. The control device 450 can further include a circuit 310, and circuits (i.e., circuits 3111 to 3141) for connecting each interface to the circuit 310.

[0159] In the control device 450, the interfaces 451 to 454 can correspond to the first interfaces, the circuit 310 can correspond to the first circuit, the circuits 3111, 3121, 3131, and 3141 can correspond to the third circuit, and the MOS transistors Q1 to Q4 can correspond to the first switching element. In the power supply system 400, the circuit 310 can correspond to the first circuit, and the circuits 3111, 3121, 3131, and 3141 and the corresponding external circuits (i.e., circuits 3112, 3122, 3132, 3141) of the control device 450 can respectively constitute circuits 311 to 314. In this example, m is equal to 4.

[0160] In some implementation manners, the control device can further include a processing unit and a sampling circuit. The sampling circuit can be connected to the sampling point of the third circuit to collect the electrical parameters at the sampling point; the sampling point can be set between the first interface and the first switching element. The processing unit can be used to control the on / off of the first switching element according to the electrical parameters at the sampling point.

[0161] In one example, referring to Figure 10 , the sampling point on the circuit 311 can be set in the internal circuit 3111 of the control device 450, specifically, it can be set between the interface 451 and the MOS transistor Q1. Correspondingly, the current sampling circuit 1, the voltage sampling circuit 1, and the processing unit 360 in the power supply system 400 can also be integrated in the control device 450.

[0162] Similarly, the sampling points in the circuits 312 to 314 can be respectively set in the internal circuits 3121, 3131, and 3141 of the control device 450; the current sampling circuits 2 to 4 and the voltage sampling circuits 2 to 4 can be disposed in the control device 450.

[0163] In another example, as the internal circuit of the control device 450, the circuit 310 may be provided with switching elements in the following Figure 10 way, that is, MOS transistors Q5 and Q6 are provided; correspondingly, the power supply system constituted by the control device 450 will change from the power supply system 400 to the power supply system 500.

[0164] Exemplarily, the first circuit part in the second circuit may be referred to as the fourth circuit. Correspondingly, the power supply system provided by the embodiments of the present application may include: a first circuit, m first switching elements, and m fourth circuits. The m switching elements correspond to the m fourth circuits one by one. The fourth circuit may be connected to the first circuit through the first switching element. The first switching element may be used to control the on / off between the first circuit and the fourth circuit. The fourth circuit may be used to mount at least one of the power supply unit and the load.

[0165] In some implementation manners, the first switching element may have a one-way disconnection function. When the first switching element is disconnected, it may be used to block the current flowing from the first circuit to the fourth circuit.

[0166] In some implementation manners, the power supply system may include a processing unit and a sampling circuit. The sampling circuit may be connected to a sampling point on the fourth circuit to collect the electrical parameters at the sampling point. The sampling point on the fourth circuit may be set between the first switching element and the third node of the fourth circuit. Among them, the fourth circuit includes at least one node, and each of these nodes may be used to mount at least one of the power supply unit and the load; the third node may be the first node among these nodes that is close to the first switching element.

[0167] The embodiments of the present application further provide a vehicle, which may include any one of the above Figure 8 power supply systems, or may include the above control device (such as Figures 3 to 12 the control device 450 shown, Figure 10 Figure 12 the control device 460 shown).

[0168] Exemplarily, the intelligent driving device may be a vehicle. The vehicle involved in the embodiments of the present application is a vehicle in a broad sense, which may be a means of transportation (such as commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles, motorcycles, flying vehicles, trains, etc.), industrial vehicles (such as forklifts, trailers, tractors, etc.), engineering vehicles (such as excavators, bulldozers, cranes, etc.), agricultural equipment (such as lawn mowers, harvesters, etc.), amusement equipment, toy vehicles, etc. For example, the vehicle in the present application may include pure electric vehicles (pure electric vehicle / battery electric vehicle, pure EV / battery EV), hybrid electric vehicles (hybrid electric vehicle, HEV), range extended electric vehicles (range extended electric vehicle, REEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, PHEV), or new energy vehicles (new energy vehicle, NEV), etc.

[0169] Those of ordinary skill in the art can realize that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are executed in a hardware or software manner depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of the present application.

[0170] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be elaborated herein.

[0171] In several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and there may be other division methods in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the displayed or discussed couplings or direct couplings or communication connections to each other can be through some interfaces. The indirect couplings or communication connections of devices or units can be in electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0172] The unit described as a separation component may or may not be physically separated. The component shown as a unit may or may not be a physical unit, that is, it may be located in one place or distributed to multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0173] In addition, each functional unit in various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a processing unit, may exist separately physically for each unit, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0174] If the above functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such an understanding, the technical solution of the present application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to enable a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in various embodiments of the present application. The foregoing storage medium includes: various media such as USB flash drives, mobile hard disks, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical discs that can store program codes.

[0175] The above is only the specific implementation manner of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, and all of them should be covered by the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A power supply system, characterized in that, Comprising: The power supply system includes a first circuit and m second circuits, where m is a positive integer greater than or equal to 3; The first circuit and the second circuits are connected at a first node; The second circuit includes a first switching element, one end of the first switching element is connected to the first node, the other end of the first switching element is connected to a first circuit portion of the second circuit, the first switching element is used to control the on / off between the first node and the first circuit portion, and the first circuit portion is used to mount at least one of a load and a power supply unit.

2. The power supply system according to claim 1, wherein The first switching element has a one-way disconnection function; When the first switching element is disconnected, it is used to block the current in a first direction, and the first direction is the direction of the current flowing from the first circuit to the second circuit.

3. The power supply system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The power supply system further includes a processing unit and a sampling circuit; The sampling circuit is connected to a sampling point of the second circuit and is used to collect the electrical parameters at the sampling point; The sampling point is arranged between the first switching element and the first circuit portion; The processing unit is used to: control the on / off of the first switching element according to the electrical parameters at the sampling point.

4. The power supply system according to claim 3, wherein The processing unit is used to: control the first switching element to disconnect when the electrical parameters at the sampling point meet a first condition; Wherein, the electrical parameters at the sampling point meeting the first condition include at least one of the following: The current at the sampling point is greater than or equal to a first threshold and the duration is greater than or equal to a first duration; The current at the sampling point is greater than or equal to a second threshold, and the second threshold is greater than the first threshold; The electromotive force at the sampling point is less than or equal to a third threshold; or, The electromotive force at the sampling point is greater than or equal to a fourth threshold.

5. The power supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein The first circuit includes a first section circuit, a second section circuit, and a switching element arranged between the first section circuit and the second section circuit, and the switching element arranged between the first section circuit and the second section circuit is used to control the on / off between the first section circuit and the second section circuit; Some of the m second circuits are connected to the first section circuit, and another part of the m second circuits are connected to the second section circuit.

6. The power supply system according to claim 5, wherein The switching element arranged between the first section circuit and the second section circuit includes a second switching element and a third switching element, one end of the second switching element is connected to the first section circuit, the other end of the second switching element is connected to the third switching element, and the other end of the third switching element is connected to the second section circuit; The second switching element and the third switching element have a one-way disconnection function; The second switching element is used to block the current flowing from the second circuit section to the first circuit section when it is turned off, and the third switching element is used to block the current flowing from the first circuit section to the second circuit section when it is turned off.

7. The power supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that At least two of the first switching elements are arranged in the same control device, and the control device is used to accommodate and configure the on-off states of the at least two first switching elements.

8. The power supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that At least one of the m power supply units integrates the first switching element.

9. The power supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that At least one power supply unit in the power supply system is a first power supply unit, and the first power supply unit includes a high-voltage battery; At least one other power supply unit in the power supply system is a second power supply unit, and the second power supply unit includes a low-voltage battery; In the second circuit mounted on the first power supply unit, the first switching element is configured as a normally open switching element; In the second circuit mounted on the second power supply unit, the first switching element is configured as a normally closed switching element.

10. A control device, characterized in that, Comprising: The control device includes a first circuit, m first interfaces and m third circuits, where m is a positive integer greater than or equal to 3; The m third circuits are used to connect the m first interfaces to the first circuit in a one-to-one correspondence; The third circuit includes a first switching element, and the first switching element is used to control the on-off between the first interface and the first circuit; The first interface is used to connect an external circuit, and the external circuit is used to mount at least one of a power supply unit and a load.

11. The control device according to claim 10, characterized in that The first switching element has a one-way disconnection function; The first switching element is used to block the current in the first direction when it is turned off, and the first direction is the direction of the current flowing from the first circuit to the third circuit.

12. The control device according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that The control device further includes a processing unit and a sampling circuit; The sampling circuit is connected to the sampling point of the third circuit and is used to collect the electrical parameters at the sampling point; The sampling point is arranged between the first interface and the first switching element; The processing unit is used to: control the on-off of the first switching element according to the electrical parameters at the sampling point.

13. The control device according to claim 12, characterized in that The processing unit is used to: control the first switching element to turn off when the electrical parameters at the sampling point meet the first condition; Wherein, the electrical parameters at the sampling point meeting the first condition include at least one of the following: The current at the sampling point is greater than or equal to the first threshold and the duration is greater than or equal to the first duration; The current at the sampling point is greater than or equal to the second threshold, and the second threshold is greater than the first threshold; The electromotive force at the sampling point is less than or equal to the third threshold; or, The electromotive force at the sampling point is greater than or equal to a fourth threshold value.

14. The control device according to any one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that The first circuit includes a first-stage circuit, a second-stage circuit, and a switching element disposed between the first-stage circuit and the second-stage circuit. The switching element disposed between the first-stage circuit and the second-stage circuit is used to control the on / off between the first-stage circuit and the second-stage circuit; Some of the m third circuits are connected to the first-stage circuit, and another part of the m third circuits are connected to the second-stage circuit.

15. The control device according to claim 14, characterized in that The switching element disposed between the first-stage circuit and the second-stage circuit includes a second switching element and a third switching element. One end of the second switching element is connected to the first-stage circuit, the other end of the second switching element is connected to the third switching element, and the other end of the third switching element is connected to the second-stage circuit; The second switching element and the third switching element have a one-way disconnection function, The second switching element is used to block the current flowing from the second-stage circuit to the first-stage circuit when it is disconnected, and the third switching element is used to block the current flowing from the first-stage circuit to the second-stage circuit when it is disconnected.

16. The control device according to any one of claims 10 to 15, characterized in that When the first interface is used to connect to a first power supply unit, the first switching element in the corresponding third circuit is configured as a normally open switching element; When the first interface is used to connect to a second power supply unit, the first switching element in the corresponding third circuit is configured as a normally closed switching element; The first power supply unit includes a high-voltage battery, and the second power supply unit includes a low-voltage battery.

17. A vehicle, characterized in that, Including the power supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or including the control device according to any one of claims 10 to 16.

Images