Control device

Abstract

To provide a control device which can control a power source unit with an inexpensive configuration.SOLUTION: A control device 1 includes a control IC 10 that receives power supplied from a power source unit 2 activated by a first signal, and that is configured to control driving of the power source unit 2 with the control ID 10. The control device includes: a first signal acquisition unit 11 equipped in the control IC 10 and configured to acquire the first signal; a detection unit 12 equipped in the control IC 10 and configured to detect rising and falling of the first signal; a second signal output unit 13 equipped in the control IC 10 and configured to output a second signal when the falling of the first signal is detected by the detection unit 12; and a lowering unit 20 configured to lower, according to the second signal output from the second signal output unit 13, a voltage value of a terminal T of the power source unit 2, to which the first signal is to be input, to a predetermined value or less for a predetermined period of time set in advance.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device that includes a control IC that receives power supply from a power supply unit that is activated by a first signal as a trigger, and that controls driving of the power supply unit by the control IC. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, electronic control devices have been used that include a control unit and a power supply unit that supplies power to the control unit. An example of such an electronic control device is described in Patent Document 1, the source of which is shown below.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses an electronic control device. This electronic control device is configured with a control unit, a power supply unit, and a monitoring unit. The power supply unit supplies power to the control unit and stops the power supply, and the monitoring unit monitors the operation of the control unit, starts measuring time when a clear signal is output from the control unit, and resets the control unit when the measured time reaches a preset value. The control unit outputs a clear signal to the monitoring unit when a condition for stopping the power supply from the power supply unit is not satisfied, and outputs a stop signal to the monitoring unit when a condition for stopping the power supply from the power supply unit is satisfied. The monitoring unit clears the measured time and starts measuring time anew when a clear signal is output, and stops the power supply by the power supply unit when a stop signal is output. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2014 / 203501 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The technology described in Patent Document 1 clears the measured time and delays the time until the power supply by the power supply unit is stopped based on signals (clear signal and stop signal) output from the control unit. In order to measure the time and delay the time until the power supply by the power supply unit is stopped, it is necessary to provide a functional unit in the electronic control unit, and therefore it is necessary to improve the performance of the electronic control unit compared to a case in which the functional unit is not provided. This causes an increase in costs.

[0006] Therefore, there is a demand for a control device that is capable of controlling a power supply unit (corresponding to the above-mentioned "power supply unit") with an inexpensive configuration. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A characteristic configuration of a control device according to the present invention is a control device including a control IC that receives power from a power supply unit that is activated by a first signal as a trigger, and controls driving of the power supply unit by the control IC, the control IC including a first signal acquisition unit that is included in the control IC and acquires the first signal, a detection unit that is included in the control IC and detects a rising edge and a falling edge of the first signal, a second signal output unit that is included in the control IC and outputs a second signal when the detection unit detects a falling edge of the first signal, and a drop unit that drops a voltage value of a terminal of the power supply unit to which the first signal is input to a predetermined value or less for a predetermined period of time in response to the second signal output from the second signal output unit. The second signal output unit stops outputting the second signal when the detection unit detects a rising edge of the first signal during the predetermined time. The point is that

[0008] With this characteristic configuration, the voltage value of the terminal of the power supply unit to which the first signal is input is dropped below a predetermined value in response to the falling edge of the first signal, thereby making it possible to reliably restart the power supply unit in response to the next input of the first signal. Also, the control IC does not require high-performance computing capabilities because it only needs to be configured to output a second signal to the drop section in response to the falling edge of the first signal. Therefore, this control device can reliably restart the power supply unit with an inexpensive configuration.

[0010] Also,With this configuration, when a rising edge of the first signal is detected in a state in which the drop unit has caused the voltage value of the terminal of the power supply unit to which the first signal is input to be lowered to a predetermined value or lower due to the falling edge of the first signal, the function of the drop unit to drop the voltage value of the terminal of the power supply unit to which the first signal is input to be lowered to a predetermined value or lower can be stopped. Therefore, it becomes possible to input the first signal to the terminal of the power supply unit.

[0011] Also, a control device including a control IC that receives power from a power supply unit that is activated by a first signal as a trigger, and controls driving of the power supply unit by the control IC, the control IC including a first signal acquisition unit that acquires the first signal, a detection unit that detects a rising edge and a falling edge of the first signal, a second signal output unit that outputs a second signal when the detection unit detects a falling edge of the first signal, and a drop unit that drops a voltage value of a terminal of the power supply unit to which the first signal is input to a predetermined value or lower for a predetermined period of time in response to the second signal output from the second signal output unit; a communication unit provided in the control IC and communicating with the power supply unit at preset time intervals; a stop instruction output unit provided in the control IC and configured to output, when the detection unit detects a falling edge of the first signal and the communication unit acquires terminal information from the power supply unit indicating that a voltage value of the terminal has become equal to or lower than the predetermined value, a drive stop instruction output unit that outputs, via the communication unit, to the power supply unit a drive stop instruction to stop the power supply; and a third signal acquisition unit provided in the control IC and configured to acquire, via the communication unit, a third signal to be output by the power supply unit when the drive stop instruction is acquired by the power supply unit. Preparation Preferably, the predetermined time is set to be longer than the time from when the detection unit detects a falling edge of the first signal to when the third signal acquisition unit acquires the third signal.

[0012] With this configuration, the voltage value of the terminal of the power supply unit to which the first signal is input can be maintained at a value lower than the predetermined value at least from when the falling edge of the first signal is detected until the third signal is acquired, making it possible to reliably restart the power supply unit in response to the next input of the first signal.

[0013] Also, A control device comprising a control IC that receives power from a power supply unit that is activated by a first signal as a trigger, and controls driving of the power supply unit by the control IC, the control IC comprising: a first signal acquisition unit that is provided in the control IC and acquires the first signal; a detection unit that is provided in the control IC and detects a rising edge and a falling edge of the first signal; a second signal output unit that is provided in the control IC and outputs a second signal when the detection unit detects a falling edge of the first signal; and a drop unit that drops a voltage value of a terminal of the power supply unit to which the first signal is input to a predetermined value or lower for a predetermined period of time in response to the second signal output from the second signal output unit; The second signal output unit is preferably configured to stop outputting the second signal when the power supply from the power supply unit to the control IC is stopped, and further includes a maintaining unit that causes the drop unit to maintain the voltage value of the terminal at or below the predetermined value for the predetermined time when the second signal output unit stops outputting the second signal.

[0014] With this configuration, after the control IC stops driving the power supply unit by communicating with the power supply unit, it is possible to continue for a while the state in which the voltage value of the terminal of the power supply unit to which the first signal is input is dropped below a predetermined value. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control device. [Diagram 2] 4 is a timing chart showing the processing of the control device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] The control device according to the present invention includes a control IC, and is configured to control the driving of the power supply unit by means of this control IC. The control device 1 of this embodiment will be described below.

[0017] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the control device 1. FIG. 2 is a timing chart showing the processing of the control device 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the control device 1 is configured to include a control IC 10, a maintenance unit 17, and a drop unit 20. The control IC 10 includes a first signal acquisition unit 11, a detection unit 12, a second signal output unit 13, a communication unit 14, a stop instruction output unit 15, and a third signal acquisition unit 16. Each functional unit is constructed of hardware or software, or both, with a CPU as a core member, in order to perform processing related to the control of the drive of the power supply unit 2.

[0018] The control IC 10 is supplied with power from the power supply unit 2, which is started up using the first signal as a trigger. Although not shown in FIG. 1, the power supply unit 2 is composed of a DC / DC converter that steps down the input voltage to a voltage of a predetermined voltage value. The voltage generated by the power supply unit 2 is applied to the control IC 10. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the power supply unit 2 is configured to start up (#1) when, for example, a first signal from a higher-level system is input to a terminal T, and to generate and output the above-mentioned voltage (#2). The power supply unit 2 is thus started up using the first signal as a trigger, and after starting up, its operation is controlled by the control IC 10. The power supply unit 2 may be a DC / DC converter that steps up the input voltage to a voltage of a predetermined voltage value.

[0019] The first signal acquisition unit 11 acquires a first signal. The first signal is divided based on the resistance values ​​of resistors R1 and R2 via a backflow prevention diode D1. The divided first signal is input to the first signal acquisition unit 11 via a filter consisting of resistor R3 and capacitor C1. This first signal is also input to the terminal T of the power supply unit 2 described above via diode D2 and resistor R4. The first signal acquired by the first signal acquisition unit 11 is transmitted to the detection unit 12 described later.

[0020] The detector 12 detects the rising and falling edges of the first signal. The detector 12 may detect the rising and falling edges of the first signal based on a change in the voltage of the first signal (e.g., a gradient), or may detect the rising and falling edges of the first signal based on the voltage value of the first signal. The detection result by the detector 12 is transmitted to the second signal output unit 13, which will be described later.

[0021] The second signal output unit 13 outputs a second signal when the detection unit 12 detects the falling edge of the first signal. As described above, the rising and falling edges of the first signal are detected by the detection unit 12, and the detection result is transmitted to the second signal output unit 13. When the detection result from the detection unit 12 indicates the falling edge of the first signal (#3), the second signal output unit 13 outputs a second signal (#4). In this embodiment, the second signal is transmitted to the fall unit 20 via the maintenance unit 17, which will be described later.

[0022] The drop unit 20 drops the voltage value of the terminal T of the power supply unit 2 to which the first signal is input to a predetermined value or less for a predetermined time period in response to the second signal output from the second signal output unit 13. The predetermined time period is a time period from when the falling edge of the first signal is detected until the power supply unit 2 stops outputting the power supply unit 2 and at least when restarting is possible, as will be described later in detail. In this embodiment, the drop unit 20 includes a transistor Q, resistors R5, R6, and the resistor R4 described above. In this embodiment, an npn bipolar transistor is used as the transistor Q. The resistor R5 is provided between the base terminal of the transistor Q and the second signal output unit 13, and functions as a base resistor. The resistor R6 is provided between the base terminal and the emitter terminal of the transistor Q. The emitter terminal of the transistor Q is grounded, and the collector terminal is connected to the terminal T. The resistor R4 prevents an overcurrent from flowing through the diode D2. Therefore, the drop unit 20 operates in response to the second signal from the second signal output unit 13 (#5) and drops the voltage value of terminal T to a predetermined value or below (ideally to ground potential in the example of Figure 1) (#6). In other words, the drop unit 20 latches terminal T to a low potential (low latches) in response to the second signal from the second signal output unit 13.

[0023] The communication unit 14 communicates with the power supply unit 2 at preset time intervals. Communicating at preset time intervals means communicating in synchronization with a clock signal oscillating at a predetermined frequency. As such a communication method, for example, SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) communication is used. Therefore, the communication unit 14 communicates with the power supply unit 2 in synchronization with a clock signal oscillating at a predetermined frequency. Of course, the communication unit 14 may communicate using other communication methods.

[0024] This type of communication can transmit information not only from the control IC 10 to the power supply unit 2, but also from the power supply unit 2 to the control IC 10. As described above, when the voltage value of terminal T falls below a predetermined value, in this embodiment, the power supply unit 2 transmits terminal information indicating that the voltage value of terminal T has fallen below the predetermined value to the control IC 10 (#7).

[0025] When the detection unit 12 detects the falling edge of the first signal and the communication unit 14 acquires terminal information from the power supply unit 2, the stop instruction output unit 15 outputs a drive stop instruction to stop the power supply to the power supply unit 2 via the communication unit 14. The stop instruction output unit 15 is capable of detecting that the first signal has fallen based on the detection result of the detection unit 12. The terminal information from the power supply unit 2 is transmitted from the communication unit 14. When the stop instruction output unit 15 acquires from the detection unit 12 the detection result indicating that the first signal has fallen and the terminal information from the power supply unit 2, it outputs a drive stop instruction to stop the power supply to the power supply unit 2 via the communication unit 14 (#8).

[0026] In this embodiment, when the power supply unit 2 receives a drive stop instruction from the control IC 10, it outputs a third signal to the control IC 10 (#9). The third signal acquisition unit 16 acquires such a third signal via the communication unit 14. Furthermore, when the power supply unit 2 outputs the third signal, it is configured to stop outputting the generated voltage (#10). This stops the power supply to the control IC 10. Therefore, the output of the second signal from the second signal output unit 13 is stopped (#11).

[0027] Here, the drop unit 20 has been described as dropping the voltage value of the terminal T to a predetermined value or less for a preset predetermined time. This predetermined time is preferably set longer than the time from when the detection unit 12 detects the falling of the first signal to when the third signal acquisition unit 16 acquires the third signal. That is, in the example of FIG. 2, the second signal output unit 13 preferably outputs the second signal for a time M from #4 to #11, which is longer than the time L from when the detection unit 12 detects the falling of the first signal, indicated by #3, to when the third signal acquisition unit 16 acquires the third signal, indicated by #9. This enables the drop unit 20 to drop the voltage value of the terminal T to a predetermined voltage value or less for a time M longer than the time L (#5 to #11).

[0028] Moreover, when the power supply from the power supply unit 2 to the control IC 10 is stopped (#10), the second signal output unit 13 stops outputting the second signal (#11). When the second signal output unit 13 stops outputting the second signal, the maintenance unit 17 causes the drop unit 20 to maintain the voltage value of the terminal T at or below a predetermined value for a predetermined time. In this embodiment, the maintenance unit 17 is provided between the second signal output unit 13 and the drop unit 20, and is configured to delay the fall of the second signal from the second signal output unit 13. Specifically, the maintenance unit 17 includes a resistor R7 provided between the second signal output unit 13 and the resistor R5, and a capacitor C2 provided between the node of the resistor R7 and the resistor R5 and the ground potential. As a result, the capacitor C2 is charged by the second signal, and after the second signal falls, it becomes possible to operate the drop unit 20 by utilizing the charge charged in the capacitor C2 (#12, #13). Therefore, after the second signal falls (#11), it becomes possible to maintain the voltage value of terminal T at or below a predetermined value for a predetermined time (#14).

[0029] With the above-mentioned configuration, the control IC 10 included in the control device 1 can appropriately control the driving of the power supply unit 2.

[0030] Other embodiments In the above embodiment, the control device 1 is described as including a communication unit 14, a stop instruction output unit 15, and a third signal acquisition unit 16, but it is also possible to configure the control device 1 without including the communication unit 14, the stop instruction output unit 15, and the third signal acquisition unit 16.

[0031] In the above embodiment, the control device 1 is described as including the maintaining unit 17. However, it is also possible to configure the control device 1 without including the maintaining unit 17.

[0032] In the above embodiment, it has been described that the second signal output unit 13 outputs the second signal when the detection unit 12 detects a falling edge of the first signal, but the second signal output unit 13 can also be configured to stop outputting the second signal when the detection unit 12 detects a rising edge of the first signal within a predetermined time. This makes it possible for the power supply unit 2 to be restarted by the input of the first signal when the first signal is input again to the power supply unit 2.

[0033] The present invention can be used in a control device that includes a control IC that receives power supply from a power supply unit that is activated by a first signal as a trigger, and that controls the driving of the power supply unit by the control IC. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 1: Control device 2: Power supply section 10: Control IC 11: First signal acquisition unit 12: Detection section 13: Second signal output section 14: Communications Department 15: Stop instruction output section 16: Third signal acquisition unit 17: Maintenance Department 20: Descent section T:Terminal

Claims

1. A control device including a control IC that receives power from a power supply unit that is activated by a first signal as a trigger, and controls driving of the power supply unit by the control IC, a first signal acquisition unit provided in the control IC and configured to acquire the first signal; a detection unit provided in the control IC and configured to detect a rising edge and a falling edge of the first signal; a second signal output unit that is provided in the control IC and that outputs a second signal when the detection unit detects a falling edge of the first signal; a drop unit that drops a voltage value of a terminal of the power supply unit to which the first signal is input to a predetermined value or less for a predetermined time period in response to the second signal output from the second signal output unit; Equipped with The second signal output unit stops outputting the second signal when the detection unit detects a rising edge of the first signal during the predetermined time period.

2. A control device comprising a control IC that receives power from a power supply unit that is activated by a first signal as a trigger, and controls the operation of the power supply unit by the control IC, a first signal acquisition unit provided in the control IC and configured to acquire the first signal; a detection unit provided in the control IC and configured to detect a rising edge and a falling edge of the first signal; a second signal output unit that is provided in the control IC and that outputs a second signal when the detection unit detects a falling edge of the first signal; a drop unit that drops a voltage value of a terminal of the power supply unit to which the first signal is input to a predetermined value or less for a predetermined time period in response to the second signal output from the second signal output unit; a communication unit provided in the control IC and configured to communicate with the power supply unit at preset time intervals; a stop instruction output unit provided in the control IC, which outputs, when the detection unit detects a falling edge of the first signal and the communication unit acquires terminal information from the power supply unit indicating that a voltage value of the terminal has become equal to or lower than the predetermined value, a drive stop instruction to the power supply unit via the communication unit to stop the power supply; a third signal acquisition unit that is provided in the control IC and that acquires, via the communication unit, a third signal that is output by the power supply unit when the power supply unit acquires the drive stop instruction; A control device in which the specified time is set longer than the time from when the detection unit detects a falling edge of the first signal to when the third signal acquisition unit acquires the third signal.

3. A control device comprising a control IC that receives power from a power supply unit that is activated by a first signal as a trigger, and controls driving of the power supply unit by the control IC, a first signal acquisition unit provided in the control IC and configured to acquire the first signal; a detection unit provided in the control IC and configured to detect a rising edge and a falling edge of the first signal; a second signal output unit that is provided in the control IC and that outputs a second signal when the detection unit detects a falling edge of the first signal; a drop unit that drops a voltage value of a terminal of the power supply unit to which the first signal is input to a predetermined value or less for a predetermined period of time in response to the second signal output from the second signal output unit; Equipped with the second signal output unit is configured to stop outputting the second signal when the power supply from the power supply unit to the control IC is stopped; a maintaining unit that causes the drop unit to maintain the voltage value of the terminal at or below the predetermined value for the predetermined time when the second signal output unit stops outputting the second signal.

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