Counter-Based e-Fuse Protection for Circuit Overcurrent Reliability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing software-based protection mechanisms for circuit elements in new energy vehicles are prone to failure or false triggering due to improper parameter settings, leading to increased costs and the need for high-specification circuit elements.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that utilize an electronic fuse (e-Fuse) protected by a counter-based system, where the counter is initialized and updated based on the current flowing through the circuit element and a reference value, with the e-Fuse state set based on a comparison with a set threshold.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If software-based protection mechanism with e-Fuse is used, then hardware cost is reduced, but failure probability and false triggering probability increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter representation from simple current threshold to a two-dimensional parameter space combining current magnitude and duration. By updating counter values based on both current levels and time accumulation, the system achieves more accurate protection decisions that reduce false triggering while maintaining software-based cost advantages
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional hardware-based protection circuits with a software-based counter mechanism that runs on a processor. The counter accumulates damage values based on current and time, substituting physical protection hardware with computational logic that achieves comparable or superior reliability
2Reliability
If high-specification circuit elements are selected to improve reliability, then protection mechanism failure probability decreases, but system cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the protection criterion from a single current threshold parameter to a composite parameter involving current magnitude, duration, and accumulated damage values. This parameter transformation enables the use of standard-specification circuit elements while achieving high reliability through sophisticated software-based damage assessment
3Device complexity
If simple threshold-based e-Fuse control is used, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision of damage assessment deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the damage assessment process into discrete counter updates that occur at different current thresholds. By dividing the current range into multiple levels and assigning different update rules to each segment, the system achieves precise damage measurement while keeping the overall device structure relatively simple
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a counter as an intermediary variable that mediates between raw current measurements and final protection decisions. The counter accumulates damage values through controlled updates, providing a precise intermediate representation that bridges simple sensing and complex protection logic
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The disclosure relates to electronics technologies, and in particular to a method and apparatus for protecting a circuit element, and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program for implementing the method. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a method for protecting a circuit element includes: A. performing an initialization operation on a counter (210); B. obtaining a current flowing through the circuit element (220); C. updating a count value of the counter based on the current and a reference value (230); and D. setting a state of an electronic fuse based on a result of comparison between an updated count value and a set threshold (240). Fig. 2