Programmable electronic fuse box and control method thereof

Abstract

The invention relates to a programmable electronic fuse box and a control method thereof.The programmable electronic fuse box comprises an embedded control chip, a CAN / LIN transceiver and a plurality of sub-control systems, the input ends and the output ends of all the sub-control systems are connected in parallel, all the sub-control systems are connected with the embedded control chip through electric signals, and the embedded control chip is electrically connected with the CAN / LIN transceiver. The embedded control chip is in electric signal connection with the remote controller through the CAN / LIN transceiver; each sub-control system comprises a voltage sampling circuit, a current sampling circuit, an input end voltage stabilizing circuit, an output end voltage stabilizing circuit, a pre-charging circuit, a semiconductor switch unit and a driving circuit. According to the invention, a brand new electronic and electric appliance architecture is adopted to replace an original physical fusing architecture, so that the fault can be recovered, OTA software upgrading can be carried out, flexible control of the fuse box and control parameter adjustment can be realized, a more comprehensive protection scene can be provided, and fault recording and storage can be supported.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of fuses, and in particular to a programmable electronic fuse box and a control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Fuses are an essential component of both fuel-powered and new energy vehicles. As wiring harnesses age, they protect them from overheating and vehicle combustion when the ambient temperature is high. Traditional on-board fuses are mostly blown fuses. When the current flowing through the circuit is too high, the fuse uses the heat generated by itself to melt, thereby disconnecting the circuit. This physical fusing method has the following disadvantages: 1) Once the fuse of a critical component blows, it cannot be restored, causing the vehicle to break down; 2) The physical fusing time response is slow; 3) The fuse cannot identify and protect in multiple scenarios; 4) Once the fuse is selected, its protection threshold cannot be adjusted; 5) It does not support data monitoring, recording, or fault diagnosis.

[0003] Currently, electronic fuses are also available on the market. Existing electronic fuses will generate surge current after power is applied, affecting the circuit; existing electronic fuses use a single fuse, with low integration and high cost; and existing electronic fuses cannot adjust the protection threshold of the electronic fuse during use. Patent publication number CN117189622A discloses a control circuit for an electronic fuse, comprising: a current sensing resistor and a first switch unit, wherein the current sensing resistor and the first switch unit are connected in series on a circuit requiring overcurrent protection; an amplifier unit for amplifying the voltage signal on the current sensing resistor; a control unit for identifying the amplified voltage signal and controlling the first switch unit to turn on or off based on the amplified voltage signal and a preset voltage threshold, so that the current flowing through the first switch unit is less than the current threshold corresponding to the voltage threshold; and an adjustment unit configured to adjust the amplification factor of the amplifier unit to increase / decrease the current threshold under specific operating conditions. The disadvantage of this solution is that it uses a separate hardware circuit to adjust the amplification factor of the amplifier unit, which cannot achieve stepless adjustment or intelligent adjustment based on current environmental conditions. Once the design is finalized, it cannot be adjusted. Furthermore, this solution is a single-circuit electronic fuse with low integration and high cost. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a programmable electronic fuse box to address the problems existing in the traditional fuses and existing electronic fuses mentioned in the background art.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention is implemented through the following technical solutions: A programmable electronic fuse box includes an embedded control chip, a CAN / LIN transceiver, and multiple sub-control systems. The input and output terminals of each sub-control system are connected in parallel. Each sub-control system is electrically connected to the embedded control chip. The embedded control chip is electrically connected to a remote controller via the CAN / LIN transceiver. The sub-control system includes a voltage sampling circuit, a current sampling circuit, an input-end voltage stabilizing circuit, an output-end voltage stabilizing circuit, a pre-charging circuit, a semiconductor switch unit, and a drive circuit; the voltage sampling circuit and the input-end voltage stabilizing circuit are connected in parallel to the input end of the sub-control system, the signal output end of the voltage sampling circuit is connected to the embedded control chip, the current sampling resistor and the pre-charging circuit are connected in series between the input end and the output end of the sub-control system, one end of the current sampling circuit is connected to the current sampling resistor, and the other end is connected to the embedded control chip electrical signal, the semiconductor switch unit is connected in parallel to the pre-charging circuit, the input end of the drive circuit is connected to the embedded control chip electrical signal, and the output end of the drive circuit is connected to the switch unit.

[0006] In the above solution, the input-end voltage stabilizing circuit and the output-end voltage stabilizing circuit are both voltage stabilizing circuits formed by connecting voltage stabilizing diodes. This arrangement can stabilize the voltages at the input and output ends.

[0007] In the above scheme, the pre-charging circuit includes a pre-charging resistor, a voltage-stabilizing diode and a third semiconductor switch, the pre-charging resistor, the voltage-stabilizing diode and the third semiconductor switch are connected in series, the control end of the third semiconductor switch is connected to the driving circuit, and the driving circuit is connected to the embedded control chip.

[0008] In the above solution, the semiconductor switch unit includes a first semiconductor switch and a second semiconductor switch, the first semiconductor switch and the second semiconductor switch are connected in series, and the first terminal of the first semiconductor switch is connected to the current sampling resistor, the first terminal of the second semiconductor switch is connected to the output end of the sub-control system, the second terminals of the first semiconductor switch and the second semiconductor switch are connected, and the control terminals of the first semiconductor switch and the second semiconductor switch are both connected to the embedded control chip.

[0009] In the above solution, the first semiconductor switch, the second semiconductor switch and the third semiconductor switch are all Mosfet or IGBT semiconductor switches.

[0010] A second object of the present invention is to provide a method for controlling a programmable electronic fuse box. The fuse box comprises multiple sub-control systems. All sub-control systems and pre-charging circuits are initially disconnected. When a sub-control system is powered on, an embedded control chip sends a signal to the pre-charging circuit to turn on the semiconductor switch in the pre-charging circuit, thereby starting pre-charging. After pre-charging is completed, the embedded control chip sends a signal to the semiconductor switch unit to turn on the semiconductor switch unit and close the pre-charging circuit. During the operation of the fuse box, the voltage across the sampling resistor is sampled through the voltage sampling circuit, and the voltage signal is filtered to remove high-frequency interference signals in the voltage signal, thereby realizing overvoltage diagnosis and protection for the fuse box. The current flowing through the sampling resistor is sampled through the current sampling circuit to realize overcurrent diagnosis and protection for the fuse box. At the same time, the embedded control chip calculates the heat accumulation of the working fuse box to realize overheating fault diagnosis and protection for the fuse box.

[0011] In the above scheme, when overvoltage diagnosis and protection are performed, if the sampled voltage U>U 最大 , and duration t > t 最大 , the main control chip sends a command to turn off the semiconductor switches S1 and S2, and records the overvoltage fault, and uploads the fault status and type through CAN / LIN communication.

[0012] In the above scheme, when performing overcurrent diagnosis and protection, if the sampled current I>I 最大 , and duration t > t 最大 , the main control chip sends a command to turn off the semiconductor switches S1 and S2, and records the overvoltage fault, and uploads the fault status and type through CAN / Lin communication.

[0013] In the above solution, when the embedded control chip performs heat accumulation calculation on the working fuse box, it calculates the heat accumulation of the wiring harness based on the parasitic resistance parameters of the wiring harness in each loop and the real-time collected current value. The calculation formula is: Where i is the current flowing through the harness, r is the estimated resistance of the harness, t is the time, and Q is the actual heat. If the calculated actual heat Q > Q 最大 , the main control chip issues a command to turn off the semiconductor switches S1 and S2, and records the overcurrent fault, and uploads the fault status and type through CAN / LIN communication. If the calculated actual heat Q > Q 最大 , the main control chip sends a command to turn off the semiconductor switches S1 and S2, and records the overcurrent fault, and uploads the fault status and type through CAN / LIN communication.

[0014] In the above solution, when calculating the heat accumulation of the wiring harness, it is necessary to compensate according to the current ambient temperature to obtain a wiring harness resistance value close to the actual wiring harness resistance value in the current environment.

[0015] The present invention has positive effects: the programmable electronic fuse box of the present invention adopts an electronic and electrical architecture, and compared with traditional fuses, it can achieve a rapid circuit shutdown response, can be restored to use after the fault is eliminated, and the electronic fuse box can be reused. The programmable electronic fuse box of the present invention can communicate with a remote controller through a CAN / Lin line, perform OTA software upgrades on the embedded control chip, achieve flexible control of the fuse box, adjust the control parameters of the electronic fuse box, and achieve fault recording and storage. The programmable electronic fuse box of the present invention mainly monitors and protects the loop current through embedded chips, semiconductor switching devices and analog circuits, and can achieve a faster protection response speed by controlling the semiconductor switch; the embedded control chip can perform protection in multiple scenarios based on the collected current signal, including overvoltage diagnosis and protection, overcurrent diagnosis and protection, and overheating fault diagnosis and protection. The programmable electronic fuse box of the present invention is equipped with a pre-charge circuit to prevent surge currents during power-on from affecting the circuit. Furthermore, the present invention has a high level of integration, enabling the installation of multiple parallel sub-control systems within a single electronic fuse box. This allows the control of multiple circuit branches through a single electronic fuse box, significantly reducing circuit costs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic block diagram of the structure of the programmable electronic fuse box of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 2 This is a schematic block diagram of the structure of the sub-control system of the programmable electronic fuse box of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the circuit connection between the sub-control system and the embedded control chip of the programmable electronic fuse box of the present invention.

[0019] The reference numerals in the figure are: sub-control system 1, current sampling resistor 10, current sampling circuit 11, pre-charging circuit 12, semiconductor switch unit 13, output voltage stabilizing circuit 14, input voltage stabilizing circuit 15, drive circuit 16, voltage sampling circuit 17, embedded control chip 2, CAN / LIN transceiver 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The technical solutions of the present invention are described clearly and completely below through examples. It is obvious that the examples described are only some examples of the present invention, not all examples. All other examples derived by persons of ordinary skill in the art based on the examples of the present invention without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0021] like Figure 1 A programmable electronic fuse box is shown, which includes an embedded control chip 2 , a CAN / LIN transceiver 3 and a plurality of sub-control systems 1 .

[0022] The embedded control chip 2 may be an MCU control chip. Control software is set inside the embedded control chip 2 to control the on and off of each sub-control system 1 through the control software.

[0023] The embedded control chip 2 is electrically connected to the remote controller via the CAN / LIN transceiver 3. This allows the embedded control chip 2 to upload the fault status and type of each sub-control system 1 to the remote controller via the CAN / LIN transceiver 3. Simultaneously, the remote controller can transmit software upgrade data to the embedded control chip 2 via the CAN / LIN transceiver 3, upgrading the embedded control chip 2's OTA software and optimizing the parameters of each sub-control system 1, enabling flexible control of the fuse box. This allows the electronic fuse box to optimize adjustment parameters, such as current thresholds, voltage thresholds, and thermal thresholds, based on its usage, resulting in more precise control of each sub-control system within the electronic fuse box.

[0024] The input and output ends of each sub-control system 1 are connected in parallel, each sub-control system 1 is electrically connected to the embedded control chip 2, and the embedded control chip 2 is electrically connected to the remote controller via the CAN / LIN transceiver 3.

[0025] like Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, each sub-control system 1 includes a voltage sampling circuit 17, a current sampling circuit 11, an input-end voltage stabilizing circuit 14, an output-end voltage stabilizing circuit 15, a pre-charging circuit 12, a semiconductor switch unit 13 and a drive circuit 16; the voltage sampling circuit 17 and the input-end voltage stabilizing circuit 14 are connected in parallel to the input end of the sub-control system 1, the signal output end of the voltage sampling circuit 17 is connected to the embedded control chip 2, the current sampling resistor 10 and the pre-charging circuit 12 are connected in series between the input end and the output end of the sub-control system 1, one end of the current sampling circuit 11 is connected to the current sampling resistor 10, and the other end is electrically connected to the embedded control chip 2, the semiconductor switch unit 13 is connected in parallel to the pre-charging circuit 12, the input end of the drive circuit 16 is electrically connected to the embedded control chip 2, and the output end of the drive circuit 16 is connected to the switch unit 13.

[0026] The input voltage stabilizing circuit 14 and the output voltage stabilizing circuit 15 are both voltage stabilizing circuits formed by connecting voltage stabilizing diodes. Figure 3 The input-side voltage-stabilizing circuit 14 and the output-side voltage-stabilizing circuit 15 shown in the figure use four Zener diodes to form a voltage-stabilizing circuit. For example, in the input-side voltage-stabilizing circuit, two Zener diodes D1 and D2 are connected in series, with the cathodes and anodes of D1 and D2 connected in opposite directions. This branch is connected in parallel with Zener diode D4, which is then connected in series with Zener diode D3. The connection directions of D3 and D4 are the same as those of D2. The structure of the output-side voltage-stabilizing circuit is the same as that of the input-side voltage-stabilizing circuit, formed by connecting four Zener diodes D5-D8 in the same manner as the input-side voltage-stabilizing circuit.

[0027] The pre-charging circuit 12 includes a pre-charging resistor R1, a voltage regulator diode D9 and a third semiconductor switch S3. The pre-charging resistor R1, the voltage regulator diode D9 and the third semiconductor switch S3 are connected in series. The control end of the third semiconductor switch S3 is connected to the driving circuit 16, and the driving circuit 16 is connected to the embedded control chip 2.

[0028] The semiconductor switch unit 13 includes a first semiconductor switch S1 and a second semiconductor switch S2. The first semiconductor switch S1 and the second semiconductor switch S2 are connected in series, and the first terminal of the first semiconductor switch S1 is connected to the current sampling resistor 10, the first terminal of the second semiconductor switch S2 is connected to the output end of the sub-control system 1, the second terminals of the first semiconductor switch S1 and the second semiconductor switch S2 are connected, and the control terminals of the first semiconductor switch S1 and the second semiconductor switch S2 are both connected to the embedded control chip 2.

[0029] The first semiconductor switch S1 , the second semiconductor switch S2 and the third semiconductor switch S3 can be selected according to design requirements, for example, Mosfet, IGBT or other semiconductor switches can be used.

[0030] A second object of the present invention is to provide a method for controlling a programmable electronic fuse box. The fuse box comprises multiple sub-control systems. All sub-control systems and pre-charging circuits are initially disconnected. When a sub-control system is powered on, an embedded control chip sends a signal to the pre-charging circuit to turn on the semiconductor switch in the pre-charging circuit, thereby starting pre-charging. After pre-charging is completed, the embedded control chip sends a signal to the semiconductor switch unit to turn on the semiconductor switch unit and close the pre-charging circuit. During the operation of the fuse box, the voltage across the sampling resistor is sampled through the voltage sampling circuit, and the voltage signal is filtered to remove high-frequency interference signals in the voltage signal, thereby realizing overvoltage diagnosis and protection for the fuse box. The current flowing through the sampling resistor is sampled through the current sampling circuit to realize overcurrent diagnosis and protection for the fuse box. At the same time, the embedded control chip calculates the heat accumulation of the working fuse box to realize overheating fault diagnosis and protection for the fuse box.

[0031] During overvoltage diagnosis and protection, if the sampled voltage U>U 最大 and duration t > t 最大 , the main control chip sends a command to turn off the semiconductor switches S1 and S2, and records the overvoltage fault, and uploads the fault status and type through CAN / Lin communication.

[0032] During overcurrent diagnosis and protection, if the sampled current I>I 最大 and duration t > t 最大 , the main control chip sends a command to turn off the semiconductor switches S1 and S2, and records the overvoltage fault, and uploads the fault status and type through CAN / Lin communication.

[0033] When the embedded control chip performs heat accumulation calculation on the working fuse box, it calculates the heat accumulation of the wiring harness based on the parasitic resistance parameters of the wiring harness in each loop and the real-time collected current value. The calculation formula is: Where i is the current flowing through the wiring harness, r is the estimated resistance of the wiring harness, t is time, and Q is the actual heat. If the calculated actual heat Q > Qmax, the main control chip issues a command to turn off semiconductor switches S1 and S2, records the overcurrent fault, and uploads the fault status and type via CAN / LIN communication.

[0034] When calculating the heat accumulation of the wiring harness, it is necessary to compensate according to the current ambient temperature to obtain a wiring harness resistance value close to the actual value in the current environment.

[0035] While embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions, and variations may be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, and that the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A programmable electronic fuse box, characterized in that: It includes an embedded control chip, a CAN / LIN transceiver and multiple sub-control systems, the input and output ends of each sub-control system are connected in parallel, each sub-control system is electrically connected to the embedded control chip, and the embedded control chip is electrically connected to the remote controller via the CAN / LIN transceiver; The sub-control system includes a voltage sampling circuit, a current sampling circuit, an input-end voltage stabilizing circuit, an output-end voltage stabilizing circuit, a pre-charging circuit, a semiconductor switch unit, and a drive circuit; the voltage sampling circuit and the input-end voltage stabilizing circuit are connected in parallel to the input end of the sub-control system, the signal output end of the voltage sampling circuit is connected to the embedded control chip, the current sampling resistor and the pre-charging circuit are connected in series between the input end and the output end of the sub-control system, one end of the current sampling circuit is connected to the current sampling resistor, and the other end is connected to the embedded control chip electrical signal, the semiconductor switch unit is connected in parallel to the pre-charging circuit, the input end of the drive circuit is connected to the embedded control chip electrical signal, and the output end of the drive circuit is connected to the switch unit.

2. The programmable electronic fuse box according to claim 1, characterized in that: The input-end voltage stabilizing circuit and the output-end voltage stabilizing circuit are both voltage stabilizing circuits formed by connecting voltage stabilizing diodes.

3. The programmable electronic fuse box according to claim 1, characterized in that: The pre-charging circuit includes a pre-charging resistor, a voltage-stabilizing diode and a third semiconductor switch, which are connected in series. The control end of the third semiconductor switch is connected to the driving circuit, and the driving circuit is connected to the embedded control chip.

4. The programmable electronic fuse box according to claim 1, characterized in that: The semiconductor switch unit includes a first semiconductor switch and a second semiconductor switch, the first semiconductor switch and the second semiconductor switch are connected in series, and the first terminal of the first semiconductor switch is connected to the current sampling resistor, the first terminal of the second semiconductor switch is connected to the output end of the sub-control system, the second terminals of the first semiconductor switch and the second semiconductor switch are connected, and the control terminals of the first semiconductor switch and the second semiconductor switch are both connected to the embedded control chip.

5. The programmable electronic fuse box according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first semiconductor switch, the second semiconductor switch and the third semiconductor switch are all Mosfet or IGBT semiconductor switches.

6. A control method for a programmable electronic fuse box according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: A plurality of sub-control systems are provided in the fuse box. All sub-control systems and the pre-charging circuit are initially disconnected. When a sub-control system is powered on, the embedded control chip sends a signal to the pre-charging circuit to turn on the semiconductor switch of the pre-charging circuit and start pre-charging. After pre-charging is completed, the embedded control chip sends a signal to the semiconductor switch unit to turn on the semiconductor switch unit and close the pre-charging circuit. During the operation of the fuse box, the voltage across the sampling resistor is sampled through the voltage sampling circuit, and the voltage signal is filtered to remove high-frequency interference signals in the voltage signal, thereby realizing overvoltage diagnosis and protection for the fuse box. The current flowing through the sampling resistor is sampled through the current sampling circuit to realize overcurrent diagnosis and protection for the fuse box. At the same time, the embedded control chip calculates the heat accumulation of the working fuse box to realize overheating fault diagnosis and protection for the fuse box.

7. The control method of a programmable electronic fuse box according to claim 6, wherein: During overvoltage diagnosis and protection, if the sampled voltage U>U 最大 , and duration t > t 最大 , the main control chip sends a command to turn off the semiconductor switches S1 and S2, and records the overvoltage fault, and uploads the fault status and type through CAN / LIN communication.

8. The control method of a programmable electronic fuse box according to claim 6, wherein: During overcurrent diagnosis and protection, if the sampled current I>I 最大 , and duration t > t 最大 , the main control chip sends a command to turn off the semiconductor switches S1 and S2, and records the overvoltage fault, and uploads the fault status and type through CAN / LIN communication.

9. The control method of a programmable electronic fuse box according to claim 6, wherein: When the embedded control chip performs heat accumulation calculation on the working fuse box, it calculates the heat accumulation of the wiring harness based on the parasitic resistance parameters of the wiring harness in each loop and the real-time collected current value. The calculation formula is: Where i is the current flowing through the harness, r is the estimated resistance of the harness, t is the time, and Q is the actual heat. If the calculated actual heat Q > Q 最大 , the main control chip sends a command to turn off the semiconductor switches S1 and S2, and records the overcurrent fault, and uploads the fault status and type through CAN / LIN communication.

10. The control method of a programmable electronic fuse box according to claim 9, wherein: When calculating the heat accumulation of the wiring harness, it is necessary to compensate according to the current ambient temperature to obtain a wiring harness resistance value close to the actual value in the current environment.

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