Electrical equipment for motor vehicles

Abstract

To provide an electric device for a motor vehicle that does not lose its operability even if a short circuit or a disconnection occurs. [Solution] In an electrical device 1 for a motor vehicle, the device 1 includes a protection device 2 and at least two connection elements 5, 6 connecting at least two voltage sources 3, 4 to at least two consumers 7, 8, the protection device 2 includes a combination of a short-circuit protection device 10 and an electrical bridge 9, the electrical bridge 9 connecting the at least two connection elements 5, 6 to each other.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The invention relates to an electrical arrangement for a motor vehicle, comprising a protection device and at least two connection elements connecting at least two voltage sources to at least two consumers. [Background technology]

[0002] Electrical devices for motor vehicles are basically known from the prior art for supplying electrical consumers, for example sensors, with electrical energy. Usually, protective devices are used, which maintain the operability of the electrical device in the event of a fault in the electrical device or in one of its components. For example, it is known to provide a plurality of voltage sources for redundancy purposes in electrical devices in order to provide electrical energy in a fail-safe manner to at least two consumers. In the event of a short circuit in a redundant current circuit, the corresponding current circuit is powered by another voltage source, so that the operability of the electrical device can be maintained by means of a suitable short-circuit protective device.

[0003] Typically, the above-mentioned protection devices are configured to catch a first defect of a given type of error in the electrical device or to ensure the operability of the electrical device when a first defect occurs. However, if another or other type of defect occurs, the electrical device usually loses its operability at least partially, because the protection device does not cover the other type of error. For example, if two other types of errors occur, such as a short circuit or a faulty contact or a wire break, a typical protection device is not configured to compensate for both errors. Typically, the protection device covers only one specific error or one type of error. In other words, even if the protection device is provided to prevent a short circuit, if another error occurs, such as a wire break, the electrical device loses its operability. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide an improved electrical system for motor vehicles. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] This problem is solved by an electrical device having the features of claim 1. Preferred configurations are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0006] As mentioned above, the invention relates to an electrical arrangement for a motor vehicle, comprising a protection device. The electrical arrangement further comprises at least two connection elements assigned to two voltage sources for connecting both voltage sources to at least two consumers. The invention is based on the realization that the protection device comprises a combination of a short-circuit protection device and an electrical bridge, the electrical bridge connecting the at least two connection elements to one another.

[0007] Basically, the invention therefore relates to a protection device or a "protection circuit" for an electric device. A protection device can also be understood as a separate module, which can be connected to the electric device in a connector-like or modular manner, for example. A protection device for an electric device ensures a high safety standard or a low error failure rate or error tolerance, since it allows an additional redundancy level, which can prevent not only one type of error but at least two other types of errors in the current circuit of the electric device. The above-mentioned electric device can in particular relate to an electric device in a safety-relevant system of a motor vehicle, for example a steering system or a subcomponent thereof, for example a sensor system.

[0008] Thus, the protection device is able to maintain the operation of the electrical device even if an error assigned to the first error type or the second error type occurs. For example, the error can be a short circuit ("short circuit") or an open circuit ("open circuit"), but the protection device maintains the operation of the electrical device. For example, individual contacts of the electrical device can corrode, for example due to the ingress of water, and the electrical device can become unsealed or operate under water. If the protection device comprises both a short circuit protection device and also an electrical bridge, it is possible to capture both of the above mentioned error types.

[0009] The combination of an electrical bridge and a short-circuit protection device in a protective device makes it possible, on the one hand, for both breaks and short circuits to be caught by the protective device, while other types of errors do not lead to the failure of the two voltage or current circuits. For example, if we consider a single electrical bridge operating independently of a separate short-circuit protection device, a short circuit in one of the connection elements connected to each other by both electrical bridges would result in a short circuit in both current circuits. The combination of a short-circuit protection device with an electrical bridge prevents a short circuit in one of the two connection elements from leading to a complete malfunction. Instead, the protective device can compensate for the further operation of the electrical device, since the operation of the electrical consumers is maintained by a current circuit that is not directly related to the short circuit.

[0010] In a first configuration, the short circuit protection device can comprise at least two protection elements assigned to at least two connection elements. The protection elements can ultimately be configured or selected arbitrarily. By the assignment of a protection element to each connection element, each connection element can be protected separately.

[0011] Furthermore, the short-circuit protection device can comprise at least two protection elements for each connection element. For example, each connection element can be assigned a predefined combination of protection elements or the short-circuit protection device can be configured such that each connection element is provided with a predefined combination of protection elements. The protection elements can in particular be configured differently from one another, so that, for example, two or more different protection elements are combined with one another to form a component or part of a short-circuit protection device for the associated connection element.

[0012] As protection elements, for example, protection resistors and / or protection diodes, in particular Zener diodes and / or FETs and / or MOSFETs can be used. As mentioned above, any combination of two or more such protection devices can be formed for each connection element for the short-circuit protection device. Various protection elements can therefore be used and can also be combined with one another in any way, which protection elements and their combinations are advantageous in terms of ASIL. Depending on which protection elements or which combinations are provided, various electrical errors or faults in the electrical device can be caught by the short-circuit protection device. For example, a first combination of protection elements can be assigned to a first power supply line and a second combination of protection elements can be assigned to a second power supply line. The first and second combinations can be the same or different. Similarly, any further power supply line can be equipped with any similar or different combination of protection elements. Depending on the electrical consumers, for example depending on the type of sensors and the like, it is possible to select which combination of protection elements is suitable for the purpose of use. The short-circuit protection device and thus the entire protection device of the electrical device can be adapted to the application.

[0013] At least one of the at least two voltage sources can be equipped with an additional short-circuit protection device. Thus, a short-circuit protection device, which may also be called or considered as a "short circuit protection", can be configured, for example, as a semiconductor component, integrated into the voltage source, or the voltage source used or the at least two voltage sources used can additionally be equipped with such a short-circuit protection device. A short-circuit protection device provided in addition to a short-circuit protection device integrated into a protection device for a corresponding current circuit is understood as an additional short-circuit protection device. Thus, advantageously, the voltage source itself and also the remaining current circuits, for example connection elements, can be protected against short circuits, for example in connectors.

[0014] As mentioned above, the electric device can be used to supply at least two electric consumers with electric energy. At least one consumer can then be formed as or include, in particular, a torque sensor or an angle sensor for an electric machine. The type and number of electric consumers assigned to the electric device and supplied with electric energy from the electric device can basically be freely selected or adapted to the application. In particular, the electric consumer can be a sensor, in particular a torque sensor or an angle sensor. Other types of sensors can be used as well.

[0015] At least one of the at least two consumers may comprise at least two electrical channels and / or at least two consumers with different channels may be connected to the same voltage source. The term "channel" is understood in this application as a superordinate concept for the connection of a voltage source via a power supply line to the at least one consumer. The term "channel" therefore relates to an electrical connection line or a power supply line, but not to a data line. According to this configuration, the sensor or at least one sensor may comprise several channels, the individual channels may share a common voltage source. For example, a first consumer, in particular a first sensor, may comprise a first and a second channel and a second consumer, in particular a second sensor, may comprise a third and a fourth channel, and both sensors may optionally share one voltage source or two voltage sources of an electrical device.

[0016] According to another embodiment, the protective device can be arranged in the region of the consumer, in particular in the housing or connection of the consumer or on the connection element or connector. The protective device can thus be arranged as close as possible to the consumer, so that the connection element can be protected by the protective device over as much of its length as possible or over a large part of its length, in particular from the voltage source to the consumer. In this way, errors occurring in the connection element can be captured in a particularly advantageous way. In principle, the choice of the location of the protective device can be chosen freely. As a protective device near the consumer, for example, the possibility of arrangement near the consumer or near a sensor is provided, for example a direct integration of the protective device in or at the consumer or at the connection element, in particular a connector. An arrangement of the protective device in the immediate vicinity of the consumer is preferably selected so that errors occurring due to the protective device can be captured by the protective device.

[0017] Furthermore, in this application it is possible to distinguish between single and multiple errors and types of errors (short circuits and wire breaks). For example, in a two (double) consumer system, a short circuit / wire break in the first channel and a short circuit / wire break in the second channel can cause the whole system to stop. On the other hand, only in a three (triple) consumer system is a redundant supply guaranteed, because for the above types of errors in both other channels the third channel can guarantee the supply to the consumers. In the proposed two consumer system as an example, only types of errors are covered, but not the number (only single errors). The number of maskable errors A is A=n-1, where n stands for the number of channels. The number of maskable errors (short circuits and wire breaks) therefore increases with the number of redundant channels or supply lines.

[0018] The electric device can also be developed in such a way that it comprises at least three connection elements connecting at least three voltage sources to at least three consumers, and the protection device comprises a combination of a short-circuit protection device and an electric bridge, the electric bridge connecting the at least three connection elements to each other. With regard to the above-mentioned or generally described electric device and its protection device in particular, the construction allows the protection device to be extended to at least three connection elements or ultimately to any number of connection elements. For this purpose, the electric bridge is extended by one connection so that the electric bridge can always connect all connection elements to each other. Basically, it is also possible to add another voltage source and a short-circuit protection device for each segment of the electric bridge or each connection element. In other words, a short-circuit protection device and a segment of the electric bridge can always be assigned to each connection element, so that the connection element is respectively coupled to another connection element. The proposed redundancy can therefore be extended arbitrarily and it is also possible to cover an arbitrarily larger redundancy, for example by "n connection elements".

[0019] Additionally, the invention relates to a motor vehicle including the above-mentioned electrical device, all the advantages, details and features mentioned for the electrical device being fully applicable to the motor vehicle.

[0020] The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] 1 shows a schematic diagram of an electrical device 1 for a motor vehicle, not shown in detail. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] The electrical device 1 comprises a protection device 2, which is designed to protect the electrical device 1, in particular to catch errors in the electrical device 1, such as short circuits and wire breaks, and to maintain the operation of the electrical device 1 in the event of such errors. The protection device 2 can be understood as a separate module. The protection device 2 can be integrated, for example, in a connector or a connection element of the electrical device 1, for example a cable. Particularly advantageously, the protection device 2 can be arranged in the vicinity of the consumers 7, 8.

[0023] The electric device 1 comprises, for example, two voltage sources 3, 4, which are connected via two connection elements 5, 6 to two consumers 7, 8. The consumers 7, 8 can in principle be chosen arbitrarily and are formed in the present embodiment purely by way of example as sensors, in particular as a torque sensor and an angle sensor for an electric machine of a motor vehicle. The connection elements 5, 6 are also called power supply lines and the entire connection between the voltage sources 3, 4 and the consumers can also be called a "channel".

[0024] The protection device 2 comprises an electric bridge 9 and a short-circuit protection device 10, which are therefore components of the protection device 2. The electric bridge 9 is designed to connect the two connection elements 5, 6 to one another in such a way that in the event of a wire break in one of the connection elements 5, 6, the power supply to both consumers 7, 8 nevertheless remains guaranteed. A wire break is exemplarily indicated by reference number 11 in the connection element 5. The electric device 1 nevertheless remains operable by the electric bridge 9, since both consumers 7, 8 can still be powered via the voltage source 4.

[0025] The short-circuit protection device 10 assigned to the consumers 7, 8 basically comprises a number of protection elements which can be selected arbitrarily. The following description can therefore be adapted or modified arbitrarily with regard to the number, type and combination of the various protection elements. As protection elements, inter alia, protection resistors, protection diodes, FETs, MOSFETs and the like can be used in any combination. In the following, specific terms are used for the various protection elements, resistors used as protection elements are called protection resistors or diodes used as protection elements are called protection diodes. The individual protection elements can be extended, combined or replaced arbitrarily by individual other types of protection elements or by combinations of protection elements.

[0026] As shown, for example, two protection elements can be assigned to the same connection element 5, 6. In the illustrated embodiment, a first protection resistor 12 and a first protection diode 13, in particular a Zener diode, are assigned to the connection element 5, and a second protection resistor 14 and a second protection diode 15, in particular a Zener diode, are assigned to the second connection element 6, which can prevent a short circuit in the corresponding connection element 5, 6.

[0027] A situation is shown by way of example in which a short circuit 16 is present in the connection element 5. In the illustrated embodiment, it is therefore possible for the supply of electrical energy to both electrical consumers 7, 8 to be ensured by the second voltage source 4, even if the first voltage source 3 is not available due to the short circuit 16. The illustrated situation should be understood as merely exemplary. It is also possible that a wire break 11 or a short circuit 16 occurs in other elements, for example in the connection element 6. The individual error states can also occur alone.

[0028] FIG. 1 also shows that additional short-circuit protection devices 17, 18 are assigned to the voltage sources 3, 4, respectively, which protect the voltage sources 3, 4 separately against short circuits. [Explanation of symbols]

[0029] 1 Electrical equipment 2 Protective device 3,4 Voltage Source 5,6 Connection elements 7,8 Consumption part 9. Bridge 10 Short circuit protection device 11 Disconnection 12 Protective Resistor 13 Protection Diode 14 Protective resistor 15 Diodes 16 Short Circuit 17,18 Short circuit protection device

Claims

1. An electrical device (1) for a motor vehicle, comprising a protection device (2) and at least two connection elements (5, 6) for connecting at least two voltage sources (3, 4) to at least two consumers (7, 8), 1. An electrical device, characterized in that the protection device (2) comprises a combination of a short-circuit protection device (10) and an electrical bridge (9), the electrical bridge (9) connecting at least two connection elements (5, 6) to each other.

2. 2. Electrical device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the short-circuit protection device (10) comprises at least two protection elements assigned to at least two connection elements (5, 6).

3. 3. Electrical device (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the short-circuit protection device (10) comprises at least two protection elements for each connection element (5, 6).

4. 4. The electrical device (1) according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that at least two protection elements are configured as protection resistors (12, 14) and / or as protection diodes (13, 15), in particular as Zener diodes and / or as FETs and / or as MOSFETs.

5. 4. Electrical device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that at least one voltage source (3, 4) is provided with an additional short-circuit protection device (17, 18).

6. 4. The electrical device (1) according to claim 1, wherein at least one consumer (7, 8) is configured as a torque or angle sensor, in particular for an electrical machine, or includes such a torque or angle sensor.

7. 4. An electrical device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the consumer (7, 8) has at least two electrical channels and / or at least two consumers (7, 8) are connected to different channels of the same voltage source (3, 4).

8. 4. An electrical device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the protection device (2) is arranged in the region of the consumer (7, 8), in particular in the housing or in the connection of the consumer (7, 8), or on a connection element or connector.

9. 4. An electric device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the electric device (1) comprises at least three connection elements (5, 6) for connecting at least three voltage sources (3, 4) to at least three consumers (7, 8), and the protection device (2) comprises a combination of a short-circuit protection device (10) and an electric bridge (9), the electric bridge (9) connecting the at least three connection elements (5, 6) to each other.

10. A motor vehicle comprising an electrical device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

Images