On-vehicle system and connector

JP2024103346A5Pending Publication Date: 2025-06-05AUTONETWORKS TECH LTD +2

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Patent Information

Application Number: JP2023007625
Authority / Receiving Office: JP · JP
Patent Type: Applications
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date: 2023-01-20
Publication Date: 2025-06-05

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing in-vehicle systems do not effectively transmit power from power distribution devices to power supply devices using small-diameter electric wires, leading to challenges in heat dissipation, flexibility, and routing thick wires within limited spaces.

Method used

An in-vehicle system utilizing a connector with a current interrupting portion and multiple small-diameter core wires, allowing power transmission while improving heat dissipation and flexibility, and reducing the need for additional connectors and electronic parts.

Benefits of technology

The system efficiently transmits power using thin wires, enhancing flexibility and heat dissipation, and reduces the number of components and weight, while maintaining current capacity and simplifying wiring within confined vehicle spaces.

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Abstract

To provide an on-vehicle system which can transmit power from a power source distribution device to a power supply device using a small-diameter electric wire (small-diameter core wire).SOLUTION: An on-vehicle system includes a power supply device which is mounted on a vehicle, receives power from a power source device or a power source distribution device and supplies the received power to a vehicle load, and a wire body which is interposed between the power supply device and the power source device or the power source distribution device, and is composed of a plurality of small-diameter core wires, wherein the wire body is provided with a connector, and the connector is provided with a current interruption part which corresponds to the wire body and flows current to the vehicle load connected to the power supply device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

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Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present technology relates to an in-vehicle system and a connector. [Background technology]

[0002] A vehicle is equipped with an on-board ECU (Electronic Control Unit) for controlling on-board devices such as a power train system for engine control, a body system for air conditioning control, etc. The vehicle is equipped with a power supply distribution system (on-board system) that includes a plurality of power supply distribution devices that distribute power from a power source to the plurality of on-board ECUs (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-101184 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the in-vehicle system described in Patent Document 1 does not take into consideration a configuration in which power is transmitted from a power distribution device to a power supply device (in-vehicle ECU) using a thin electric wire (thin core wire).

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has an object to provide an in-vehicle system capable of transmitting power from a power distribution device to a power supply device using a thin electric wire (thin core wire). [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An in-vehicle system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is an in-vehicle system including a power supply device that is mounted on a vehicle, receives power from a power supply device or a power distribution device, and supplies the received power to a vehicle load, and an electric wire body that is interposed between the power supply device and the power supply device or the power distribution device and is composed of a plurality of thin core wires, wherein the electric wire body is provided with a connector, and the connector is provided with a current interruption section that corresponds to the electric wire body and through which current flows to the vehicle load connected to the power supply device. Effect of the Invention

[0007] In the in-vehicle system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, it is possible to transmit power from the power distribution device to the power supply device using a thin electric wire (thin core wire). [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overview of an in-vehicle system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a wire harness. [Diagram 3] 3 is a cross-sectional view of the wire harness taken along line III-III shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a connector. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a connector and a power supply device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a microcomputer; [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a threshold table. [Figure 8] 5 is a flowchart showing an example of processing by a control unit of a microcomputer. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a bus bar and the like according to a third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] [Description of the embodiment of the present invention] First, embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described. In addition, at least some of the embodiments described below may be arbitrarily combined.

[0010] (1) An in-vehicle system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is an in-vehicle system including: a power supply device that is mounted on a vehicle, receives power from a power supply device or a power distribution device, and supplies the received power to a vehicle load; and an electric wire body that is interposed between the power supply device and the power supply device or the power distribution device and is composed of a plurality of thin core wires, wherein the electric wire body is provided with a connector, and the connector is provided with a current interruption section that corresponds to the electric wire body and through which current flows to the vehicle load connected to the power supply device.

[0011] In this embodiment, the power distribution device transmits power to a power supply device (vehicle-mounted ECU), and the power supply device supplies the power received from the power distribution device to a vehicle load. When the power supply device is installed at a location far from the power distribution device, a long electric wire is required to transmit power from the power distribution device to the power supply device. In contrast to the case where all the necessary current is transmitted from the power distribution device to the power supply device using a single electric wire, when power is transmitted using multiple thin electric wires (for example, a thin core wire of 2 sq or less, or a thin core wire of 1 sq or less, or 0.5 sq or less. By increasing the degree of thinness in this way, heat dissipation properties that release heat generated during power transmission and flexibility that facilitates wiring are excellent. By connecting the power distribution device to a connector, connecting an electric wire body including a plurality of thin electric wires (thin core wires) to each current interrupting section of the connector, and connecting the electric wire body to a power supply device, it is possible to transmit power from the power distribution device to the power supply device using the thin core wires while maintaining the amount of current transmitted to the power supply device. In addition, since the connector includes a function of a wire-to-wire connector (WtoW connector) that connects an electric wire connected to the power distribution device and an electric wire connected to a vehicle load, it is possible to eliminate the need to provide a new WtoW connector between the power distribution device and the vehicle load that is connected without the power supply device. The plurality of thin core wires included in the electric wire body are bundled at the point where they are connected to the connector and at the point where they are connected to the power supply device or the vehicle load, and the intermediate part is arranged in a planar shape. One current interrupting section is connected to one power supply device or vehicle load through one electric wire body, but one power supply device is connected to multiple current interrupting sections. The power distribution device can transmit power to the power supply device by distributing it to multiple electric wire bodies. By providing a current-breaking section in the connector to which the electric wire body is connected in this manner, it is no longer necessary to provide a current-breaking section to each of the multiple thin electric wires (thin core wires) that make up the electric wire body, which reduces the number of current-breaking sections required and enables a reduction in the number of components and product weight.

[0012] (2) In one embodiment of the in-vehicle system of the present disclosure, the electric wire is arranged from left to right along an instrument panel area in an instrument panel of the vehicle, and the power supply device includes a left power supply device arranged on the left side of the electric wire and a right power supply device arranged on the right side.

[0013] In this embodiment, the power supply devices are disposed on the left and right sides of an instrument panel area, which is an interior of an instrument panel (instrument panel). When the power distribution device is provided near the power supply device on the left side, the electric wires transmitting power from the power distribution device to the power supply device on the right side in the instrument panel area become longer. Since the power supply device on the right side requires a current of a predetermined value or more to operate, if all the required current is transmitted through a single electric wire, the electric wire needs to be thick. However, the thickness of the instrument panel area is limited, and it is difficult to wire a thick electric wire in the instrument panel area. Therefore, it is desirable to transmit power through multiple thin electric wires in order to reduce the thickness. By connecting the power distribution device to a connector, wiring multiple thin electric wires (thin core wires) included in an electric wire body connected to each current interrupter of the connector so as to be arranged in the width direction in the instrument panel area, and connecting the electric wire body to the power supply device, it is possible to transmit power from the power distribution device to the power supply device or a vehicle load using thin electric wires (thin core wires) while maintaining the amount of current transmitted to the power supply device.

[0014] (3) In an in-vehicle system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the connector includes an input terminal connected to the power supply device or the power distribution device, and an output terminal connected to the power supply device or the vehicle load, the input terminal being larger in size than the output terminal, and the number of the output terminals being greater than the number of the input terminals.

[0015] In this embodiment, the size of the input terminal of the connector to which the electric wire connected to the power distribution device is connected is larger than the size of the output terminal to which the electric wire connected to the vehicle load or the power supply device is connected, and the allowable current value is large. Also, the number of output terminals (the number of output poles) is greater than the number of input terminals (the number of input poles). This allows the connector to output a current with a large current value transmitted from the power distribution device by dividing it among many electric wires.

[0016] (4) In an in-vehicle system according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the current interruption unit is mounted on a surface of a substrate provided in the connector.

[0017] In this aspect, the current interruption unit of the connector is provided on a substrate provided in the connector. The current interruption unit can be, for example, a mechanical fuse or a semiconductor fuse. The current interruption unit can cut off the current by turning off when a current equal to or greater than a predetermined current value flows, thereby protecting the vehicle load, the electric wire, and the power supply device.

[0018] (5) In an in-vehicle system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the current interruption unit includes a semiconductor fuse, the power supply device includes a control unit that controls power supply to the vehicle load, and the semiconductor fuse is switched on or off under the control of the control unit of the power supply device.

[0019] In this embodiment, the current interrupter of the connector is composed of a semiconductor fuse. An electric wire through which a current supplied to a vehicle load flows is connected to the semiconductor fuse, and the semiconductor fuse is switched on or off by a control unit of the power supply device. The control unit of the power supply device can switch the semiconductor fuse on or off depending on the vehicle load to which the current is supplied.

[0020] (6) In an in-vehicle system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the semiconductor fuses detect a current value passing through them, and the power supply device includes a memory unit that stores a table that associates a threshold value for a total current value obtained by adding up the individual current values detected by each of the semiconductor fuses with the semiconductor fuses to be turned off, and the control unit of the power supply device acquires the individual current values from a plurality of the semiconductor fuses, calculates the total current value by adding up the acquired plurality of individual current values, refers to the table, identifies the semiconductor fuses to be turned off based on the calculated total current value, and turns off the identified semiconductor fuses.

[0021] In this aspect, by turning off the semiconductor fuse according to the total current value of the currents transmitted to one power supply device, it is possible to prevent overcurrent from flowing and protect the vehicle load, the electric wire, and the power supply device. The semiconductor fuse to be turned off based on the total current value may be specified randomly, or may be specified as a semiconductor fuse to be turned off in sequence. Furthermore, the multiple power supply devices may be configured in a master-slave system. In this case, the master power supply device may obtain the current value of the semiconductor fuse connected to the slave power supply device, and may turn off the semiconductor fuse connected to the slave power supply device based on the obtained current value.

[0022] (7) In an in-vehicle system according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the current interruption unit includes a mechanical fuse, and the mechanical fuse is switched off when an overcurrent flows.

[0023] In this aspect, at least some of the multiple current interrupting units are configured with mechanical fuses. The electric wire connected to the current interrupting unit of this aspect transmits the current required for the power supply device to operate. The current flowing through the current interrupting unit of this aspect is smaller than the current flowing through the current interrupting unit through which the current supplied to the vehicle load flows. Therefore, it is possible to use inexpensive fuses with a relatively low rated current value for the current interrupting unit of this aspect. The current interrupting unit of this aspect is normally turned on and is turned off only when an overcurrent flows.

[0024] (8) In an in-vehicle system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the thin core wire is covered with an insulating coating, and a plurality of the electric wire bodies are arranged in parallel to form a wire harness, the wire harness including the insulating coating and a functional exterior member formed in a sheet shape, and at least a portion of an overlapping portion between the insulating coating and the functional exterior member is welded.

[0025] In this embodiment, heat from the electric wire can be easily dissipated. Also, since the electric wire has higher flexibility than a wire having a thicker diameter, positioning of the electric wire can be easily performed when arranging the connector.

[0026] (9) An in-vehicle system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a bus bar connected to the power supply device or the power distribution device, the bus bar including a substrate on which a plurality of the current interruption units are provided.

[0027] In this aspect, it is possible to split a current having a large current value transmitted from the power distribution device via the bus bar and output it to a large number of small-diameter core wires.

[0028] (10) An in-vehicle system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a vehicle load connected to the power supply device or the power distribution device, and an electric wire body interposed between the vehicle load and the power supply device or the power distribution device, and the connector is provided with a current interruption section corresponding to the electric wire body and through which current to the vehicle load flows.

[0029] In this aspect, it is possible to transmit power using a small diameter core wire while maintaining the amount of current transmitted to a vehicle load directly connected to the power supply device or the power distribution device.

[0030] (11) A connector according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a connector used in an in-vehicle system including a power supply device that is mounted on a vehicle, receives power from a power supply device or a power distribution device, and supplies the received power to a vehicle load, and an electric wire body that is interposed between the power supply device and the power supply device or the power distribution device and is composed of a plurality of thin core wires, and a current-breaking section that is provided on the electric wire body, corresponds to the electric wire body, and allows current to flow to the vehicle load that is connected to the power supply device.

[0031] In this embodiment, it is possible to transmit power from the power distribution device to the power supply device using a thin electric wire (thin core wire).

[0032] [Details of the embodiment of the present disclosure] Specific examples of power supply control devices according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to these examples, but is defined by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims.

[0033] (Embodiment 1) 1 is a block diagram showing an overview of an in-vehicle system S. The in-vehicle system S is mounted on a vehicle C, and includes a power supply device 1, a power distribution device 2, a wire harness 3, a power supply device 4, and a vehicle load 5. The vehicle C is partitioned into a plurality of mounting areas, and each component of the in-vehicle system S is mounted in one of the mounting areas.

[0034] In this embodiment, the multiple mounting areas include an engine room area A1, an instrument panel area A3, and a floor area A2. The engine room area A1 indicates an area of the engine room, and a power supply device 1 and a power distribution device 2 are mounted in the engine room area A1. The power supply device 1 is, for example, a battery power source, and transmits power to the power distribution device 2 via a power line 11. The power distribution device 2 is, for example, a relay box, and controls the power to be transmitted to the power supply device 4 or the power to be transmitted to a vehicle load 5 (51) connected without passing through the power supply device 4. The power supply device 4 or the vehicle load 51 may receive power directly from the power supply device 1 without passing through the power distribution device 2. The vehicle load 51 connected without passing through the power supply device 4 is, for example, an in-vehicle device or an in-vehicle ECU of an in-vehicle device provided at a location remote from the instrument panel area A3, such as a brake lamp.

[0035] The floor area A2 indicates an area partitioned by a floor panel or an area inside a seat, and vehicle loads 5 (52-54) such as vehicle-mounted devices such as a seat drive device or a vehicle-mounted ECU are placed in the floor area A2. The instrument panel area A3 indicates an area partitioned by an instrument panel, and a plurality of power supply devices 4 and wire harnesses 3 are placed in the instrument panel area A3. Also, vehicle loads 5 (55-57) such as vehicle-mounted devices such as an HMI (Human Machine Interface) device, an air conditioner, or meters or a vehicle-mounted ECU are placed in the instrument panel area A3. The vehicle loads may be placed in the engine room area A1.

[0036] In this embodiment, the power supply devices 4 are mounted on the left and right sides of the instrument panel area A3. In the following description, the left power supply device 4 is referred to as the left power supply device 4a, and the right power supply device is referred to as the right power supply device 4b. The positions at which the power supply devices 4 are mounted are not limited to the left and right sides of the instrument panel area A3, and they may be mounted on the front and rear sides of the vehicle, for example. Furthermore, the number of power supply devices 4 is not limited to two, and three or more power supply devices 4 may be mounted on the vehicle C.

[0037] The wire harness 3 includes a relay connector 6. The relay connector 6 divides the power received from the power distribution device 2 via the power line 21 into a plurality of electric wires 31 and outputs the power. The relay connector 6 will be described later in detail. The power supply device 4 receives power from the power distribution device 2 via the relay connector 6 and the plurality of electric wires 31. Furthermore, the vehicle load 51 connected to the power distribution device 2 without the power supply device 4 receives power from the power distribution device 2 via the relay connector 6 and the electric wires 31. Note that the relay connector 6 may be provided outside the wire harness 3 and connected to the wire harness 3.

[0038] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the wire harness 3. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the wire harness 3 taken along the line III-III shown in FIG. 2. The wire harness 3 includes an electric wire body 31, a functional exterior member 32, a relay connector 6, and a device connector 7. The electric wire body 31 includes a plurality of thin core wires 31a and an insulating coating 31b covering each of the thin core wires 31a. The thin core wires 31a are formed of a conductive material such as copper or aluminum. In this embodiment, the thin core wires 31a are solid wires, but may be twisted wires. In addition, the electric wire body 31 formed of the plurality of thin core wires 31a may be covered with an insulating coating 31b. The insulating coating 31b is formed by extruding a resin such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride), PE (polyethylene), or PP (polypropylene) onto the outer periphery of the thin core wires 31a.

[0039] The functional exterior member 32 is formed of a sheet material such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride), PE (polyethylene), PP (polypropylene), or nonwoven fabric. The functional exterior member 32 is a member having at least one of the following functions for the thin core wire 31a: soundproofing (sound deadening, sound absorption, sound insulation, etc.), protection (abrasion resistance, tensile resistance, penetration resistance, etc.), heat dissipation, shielding, waterproofing, etc. In this embodiment, the functional exterior member 32 is formed in a rectangular sheet shape, but can be appropriately changed depending on the wiring form of the electric wire body 31, etc.

[0040] The thin core wire 31a is arranged so as to overlap with the functional exterior member 32 in at least a part of the region along the longitudinal direction. In the example shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, three thin core wires 31a are shown for convenience of explanation, but many more thin core wires 31a are arranged in the functional exterior member 32. At least a part of the overlapping portion between the insulating coating 31b covering the thin core wire 31a and the functional exterior member 32 is welded by, for example, ultrasonic welding. In this way, the electric wire body 31 and the functional exterior member 32 are fixed. The electric wire body 31 and the functional exterior member 32 may be fixed by sewing with a sewing thread.

[0041] One end of the thin core wire 31a is incorporated in the relay connector 6, and the other end is incorporated in the device connector 7. The multiple thin core wires 31a are bundled in the relay connector 6 and the device connector 7 to form an electric wire body 31. The thin core wires 31a included in each electric wire body 31 in the relay connector 6 and the device connector 7 are the same. The relay connector 6 is connected to the power distribution device 2, and the device connector 7 is connected to the power supply device 4 or the vehicle load 51. The relay connector 6 includes a current interrupter 62, which will be described later, but the device connector 7 does not. The device connector 7 may have a similar configuration to the relay connector 6.

[0042] 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the relay connector 6. The relay connector 6 includes a substrate 60. An input terminal 61, a plurality of current interrupting units 62, and a plurality of output terminals 63 are provided (mounted) on the surface of the substrate 60. The input terminal 61 is connected to the power line 21 and is a terminal that receives power from the power distribution device 2. A plurality of current interrupting units 62 are connected to the input terminal 61 in the relay connector 6. In this embodiment, the current interrupting unit 62 is a mechanical fuse. When a current equal to or greater than a rated current value flows, the current interrupting unit 62 interrupts the current by melting (is switched off). Each current interrupting unit 62 is connected to an output terminal 63.

[0043] The power input to the input terminal 61 is distributed and passed through the multiple current interruption units 62, and is transmitted from the output terminals 63 connected to the current interruption units 62. That is, the relay connector 6 has one input terminal 61, and the number of output terminals 63 is the same as the number of current interruption units 62, that is, multiple. Also, since the current value of the power transmitted from the output terminal 63 is lower than the current value of the power input to the input terminal 61, the input terminal 61 is larger in size than the output terminal 63 and has a larger allowable current value.

[0044] An electric wire 31 is connected to each output terminal 63. In this embodiment, the electric wire 31 includes electric wires 311-319. The electric wire 31 is connected to the vehicle load 51, the left power supply device 4a, or the right power supply device 4b. In this embodiment, the electric wire 311 is connected to the vehicle load 51, the electric wires 312-315 are connected to the left power supply device 4a, and the electric wires 316-319 are connected to the right power supply device 4b.

[0045] According to the above configuration, it is possible to transmit power from the power distribution device 2 to the power supply device 4 or the vehicle load 51 using the thin core wire 31a having excellent heat dissipation properties and flexibility, while maintaining the amount of current transmitted to the power supply device 4 or the vehicle load 51.

[0046] (Embodiment 2) In the first embodiment, the current interruption unit 62 included in the relay connector 6 is a mechanical fuse. However, the current interruption unit 62 may be a semiconductor fuse. The following describes the second embodiment and the differences from the first embodiment. The rest of the configuration is the same as in the first embodiment. Therefore, the components common to the first embodiment include: The same reference symbols as in the first embodiment are used and their explanations are omitted.

[0047] 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the relay connector 6 and the power supply device 4 according to embodiment 2. The power supply device 4 according to embodiment 2 includes a first power receiving unit 41, a second power receiving unit 42, a microcomputer 43, and a power transmitting unit 44. In this embodiment, the left power supply device 4a and the right power supply device 4b have the same configuration.

[0048] The current interruption unit 62 of the relay connector 6 according to this embodiment is a semiconductor fuse constituted by, for example, an N-channel FET. The current interruption unit 62 may be a P-channel FET, a thyristor, a bipolar, or an IPD (Intelligent Power Device) including a FET. The current interruption unit 62 is provided on the substrate 60 so that the drain is connected to the input terminal 61 and the source is connected to the output terminal 63. The current interruption unit 62 has a current detection function and can detect the current value to be passed, and outputs the detected current value to the power supply device 4. The gate of the current interruption unit 62 is connected to the microcomputer 43 of the power supply device 4 (see FIG. 6). When a high-level voltage is applied to the gate, the current interruption unit 62 is switched to an ON state in which current can be passed, and when a low-level voltage is applied, the current interruption unit 62 is switched to an OFF state in which current cannot be passed.

[0049] The microcomputer 43 can acquire the value of the current flowing through the current interruption unit 62 and the value of the current transmitted from the power transmission unit 44 to the vehicle load 5. When the value of the current flowing through the current interruption unit 62 or the value of the current transmitted to the vehicle load 5 is equal to or greater than a threshold, the microcomputer 43 turns off the current interruption unit 62 to interrupt the current.

[0050] A device connector 7 (see FIG. 2 ) is connected to the first power receiving unit 41 and the second power receiving unit 42. The first power receiving unit 41 receives power supplied from the power supply device 4 to the vehicle load 5, and transmits the received power to the power transmitting unit 44. The second power receiving unit 42 receives power for operating the microcomputer 43, and transmits the received power to the microcomputer 43.

[0051] The power transmitting unit 44 transmits the power received from the first power receiving unit 41 to the vehicle load 5. The power transmitting unit 44 also includes a current detecting unit (not shown) that detects the current value of the power transmitted to the vehicle load 5 by energizing the power transmitting unit 44 and outputs the detected current value to the microcomputer 43. In this embodiment, the power transmitting unit 44a of the left power supply device 4a is connected to the vehicle loads 52-54 and detects the current value (transmission current value) of the power transmitted to the vehicle loads 52-54. The power transmitting unit 44b of the right power supply device 4b is connected to the vehicle loads 55-57 and detects the current value (transmission current value) of the power transmitted to the vehicle loads 55-57.

[0052] The current interruption unit 62 according to the present embodiment includes current interruption units 621 to 629. The current interruption unit 621 is connected to the vehicle load 51. The current interruption units 622 to 624 are connected to the first power receiving unit 41 (41a) of the left power supply device 4a. The current interruption unit 625 is connected to the second power receiving unit 42 (42a) of the left power supply device 4a. The current interruption units 626 to 628 are connected to the first power receiving unit 41 (41b) of the right power supply device 4b. The current interruption unit 629 is connected to the second power receiving unit 42 (42b) of the right power supply device 4b. The current interruption units 622 to 624 connected to the first power receiving unit 41a of the left power supply device 4a are switched on or off by the microcomputer 43a of the left power supply device 4a. The current interruption units 625 and 629 connected to the second power receiving unit 42 are not controlled by the microcomputer of the power supply device 4, and interrupt the current when an overcurrent flows. The current interrupting units 625 and 629 connected to the second power receiving unit 42 may be mechanical fuses.

[0053] In this embodiment, the current interruption units 622-624 are controlled by the microcomputer 43a of the left power supply device 4a, and the current interruption units 626-628 are controlled by the microcomputer 43b of the right power supply device 4b, but this is not limited thereto. For example, the left power supply device 4a and the right power supply device 4b may be configured in a master-slave manner with the left power supply device 4a as the master. In this case, the microcomputer 43a of the left power supply device 4a may obtain a current value detected by the current interruption units 626-628 connected to the first power receiving unit 41b of the right power supply device 4b, and may control the current interruption units 626-628 to be switched on or off.

[0054] 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the microcomputer 43. The microcomputer 43 includes a control unit 431, a storage unit 432, an input unit 433, and an output unit 434. The control unit 431 is configured with a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), and performs various control processes and arithmetic processes by reading and executing a program P (program product) and data stored in advance in the storage unit 432. The control unit 431 is not limited to only a software processing unit that performs software processing such as a CPU, and may include a hardware processing unit that performs various control processes and arithmetic processes by hardware processing such as an FPGA, an ASIC, or an SOC.

[0055] The storage unit 432 is configured with a volatile memory element such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a non-volatile memory element such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM) or a flash memory, and stores a program P (program product) and a threshold table T in advance. The program P (program product) stored in the storage unit 432 may be a program P (program product) read from a recording medium A readable by the power supply device 4. Alternatively, the program P (program product) may be downloaded from an external computer (not shown) connected to a communication network (not shown) and stored in the storage unit 432. Details of the threshold table T will be described later.

[0056] A current value (individual current value) detected by the current interruption unit 62 connected to the first power receiving unit 41 is input to the input unit 433. The input unit 433 notifies the control unit 431 of the input individual current value.

[0057] The output unit 434 outputs a signal indicating an instruction to switch the current interruption unit 62 on or off. The control unit 431 instructs the output unit 434 to switch the current interruption unit 62 on or off. The output unit 434 switches the signal to be output to the current interruption unit 62 in accordance with the instruction of the control unit 431. This switches the current interruption unit 62 on or off. Specifically, the output unit 434 outputs a high-level voltage to the gate of the current interruption unit 62 to turn the current interruption unit 62 on, and outputs a low-level voltage to the gate of the current interruption unit 62 to turn the current interruption unit 62 off.

[0058] FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the threshold table T. The threshold table T shown in FIG. 7 is an example of the threshold table T stored in the microcomputer 43a of the left power supply device 4a. In the threshold table T, the current interrupting unit 62 corresponding to the vehicle load 5 to which the supply of power is stopped for the total current value obtained by the control unit 431 summing up the individual current values acquired from each current interrupting unit 62 is recorded. FIG. 7 shows the threshold table T stored in the left power supply device 4a. The management items (fields) of the threshold table T include, for example, a threshold field, a vehicle load field, a priority field, and a current interrupting unit field. The threshold field stores a threshold for the total current value that turns off the current interrupting unit 62. The vehicle load field stores a vehicle load to which the supply of power is stopped when the total current value exceeds the threshold stored in the threshold field. In this embodiment, XmA is the lowest value, and ZmA is the highest value. The priority field stores a priority indicating the necessity of power supply to each vehicle load. Priorities are assigned to each vehicle load according to, for example, ASIL (Automotive Safety Integrity Level), and are divided into D, C, B, and A in descending order of priority. The higher the priority of the vehicle load 5, the greater the need to supply power to operate it. In this embodiment, priority C is assigned to vehicle load 52, priority B to vehicle load 53, and priority A to vehicle load 54. The threshold table T stores vehicle loads 5 with low priorities corresponding to low thresholds. The current interruption unit field stores current interruption units 62 that pass current to be supplied to the vehicle loads 5 stored in the vehicle load field.

[0059] The control unit 431 of the microcomputer 43 acquires an individual current value from each current interruption unit 62, and calculates a total current value by adding up the acquired individual current values. The control unit 431 refers to the threshold table T to identify the current interruption unit 62 to be turned off. If the total current value is lower than the lowest threshold stored in the threshold table T, the control unit 431 does not turn off any of the current interruption units 62. In addition, the control unit 431 turns off all of the current interruption units 62 corresponding to the vehicle loads 5 having a priority equal to or lower than the priority of the vehicle load 5 corresponding to the total current value. That is, the supply of power to the vehicle loads 5 is stopped in order from the lowest priority according to the total current value. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 7, if the total current value is equal to or higher than YmA and lower than ZmA, the current interruption unit 623 corresponding to the vehicle load 53 and the current interruption unit 622 corresponding to the vehicle load 52 having a lower priority than the vehicle load 53 are turned off.

[0060] For example, when the total current value is lower than the lowest threshold value stored in the threshold value table T, the control unit 431 of the microcomputer 43 acquires the transmission current value from the power transmitting unit 44, and identifies the current interruption unit 62 to be turned off by referring to the threshold value table T in the same manner as described above based on the acquired transmission current value. Note that the control unit 431 may also refer to a table other than the threshold value table T and identify the current interruption unit 62 to be turned off based on the transmission current value.

[0061] 8 is a flowchart showing an example of processing of the control unit 431 of the microcomputer 43. For example, when the microcomputer 43 receives power from the second power receiving unit 42, the control unit 431 of the microcomputer 43 starts the following processing.

[0062] The control unit 431 acquires an individual current value from each current interruption unit 62 (S1). The control unit 431 sums the acquired individual current values to calculate a total current value (S2). The control unit 431 determines whether the total current value is equal to or greater than the lowest threshold value stored in the threshold table T (S3). If the total current value is equal to or greater than the lowest threshold value stored in the threshold table T (S3; YES), the control unit 431 refers to the threshold table T and identifies the current interruption unit 62 to be turned off based on the total current value (S4).

[0063] If the total current value is lower than the lowest threshold stored in the threshold table T (S3: NO), the control unit 431 acquires the transmission current value from the power transmission unit 44 (S5). The control unit 431 determines whether the transmission current value is equal to or higher than the lowest threshold stored in the threshold table T (S6). If the transmission current value is lower than the lowest threshold stored in the threshold table T (S6: NO), the control unit 431 returns the process to S1. If the transmission current value is equal to or higher than the lowest threshold stored in the threshold table T (S6: YES), the control unit 431 refers to the threshold table T and identifies the current interruption unit 62 to be turned off based on the transmission current value (S7).

[0064] After identifying the current interruption unit 62 to be turned off in S4 or S7, the control unit 431 causes the output unit 434 to output a signal to turn off the identified current interruption unit 62 (S8), and ends the process.

[0065] (Embodiment 3) In the first embodiment, the relay connector 6 is provided with the substrate 60 on which the current interruption unit 62 is provided, but this is not limited thereto. The power distribution device 2 may transmit power to the relay connector 6 via a bus bar, and the bus bar may be provided with a substrate on which the interruption unit is provided. The following describes the third embodiment, focusing on the differences from the first embodiment. The rest of the configuration is the same as in the first embodiment. Therefore, the components common to the first embodiment include: The same reference symbols as in the first embodiment are used and their explanations are omitted.

[0066] 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the bus bar 22 etc. according to the third embodiment. The bus bar 22 is connected to the power distribution device 2 and the relay connector 6, and a current transmitted from the power distribution device 2 to the relay connector 6 flows through the bus bar 22. The bus bar 22 includes a substrate 220. The substrate 220 includes a plurality of current interrupting units 62. The current transmitted from the power distribution device 2 is distributed and flows through the plurality of current interrupting units 62. Each current interrupting unit 62 is connected to an electric wire 31. The electric wire 31 is connected to the vehicle load 51, the left power supply device 4a, or the right power supply device 4b via the relay connector 6.

[0067] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The technical features described in each embodiment can be combined with each other, and the scope of the present invention is intended to include all modifications within the scope of the claims and equivalents to the scope of the claims. In addition, the independent claims and dependent claims described in the claims can be combined with each other in all combinations regardless of the reference format. Furthermore, the claims use a format in which a claim references two or more other claims (multiple claim format), but this is not limited to this. A format in which a multiple claim (multi-multi claim) that references at least one multiple claim may be used. [Explanation of symbols]

[0068] 1 Power supply 2 Power distribution device 3 Wire Harness 4 Power supply device 5 Vehicle Load 6 Relay connector 21 Power Lines 22 Busbar 31 Electric wire 31a Thin core wire 31b Insulation coating 32 Functional exterior materials 41 First power receiving section 42 Second power receiving section 43 Microcomputer 44 Power Transmission Section 60 Substrates 61 Input terminal 62 Current interrupter 621~629 Current interrupter (semiconductor fuse) 63 Output terminal 220 Substrate 431 Control Unit 432 Storage section 433 Input section 434 Output section A. Recording medium A1 Engine room area A2 Floor Area A3 Instrument panel area C Vehicle P Program S In-vehicle system T Threshold Table

Claims

1. a power supply device mounted on the vehicle, receiving power from a power supply device or a power distribution device, and supplying the received power to a vehicle load; an electric wire body interposed between the power supply device and the power supply device or the power distribution device and configured with a plurality of thin core wires; An in-vehicle system comprising: The electric wire is provided with a connector, The connector is provided with a current interruption section that corresponds to the electric wire and through which a current flows to the vehicle load that is connected to the power supply device. In-vehicle systems.

2. The electric wire is arranged along an instrument panel area in an instrument panel of the vehicle from left to right, The power supply device includes a left power supply device disposed on the left side of the electric wire body and a right power supply device disposed on the right side of the electric wire body. The in-vehicle system according to claim 1 .

3. The connector includes: an input terminal connected to the power supply device or the power distribution device; an output terminal connected to the power supply device or the vehicle load; Equipped with the input terminal is larger in size than the output terminal; The number of the output terminals is greater than the number of the input terminals.