Vehicle Wire Harness Driver Circuit for LED Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle lighting systems face challenges in controlling diverse lighting configurations across different vehicle grades, leading to increased development costs and complexity due to the need for specific electronic control units and limited data communication channels, especially with the increasing use of LEDs and bi-color or tri-color light sources.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle wire harness with a driver operation portion that receives control signals from a control unit to generate drive patterns for light sources, allowing for flexible configuration and easy replacement, including a storage portion for controlling procedures that manage lighting order, color arrangement, and luminance brightness, thus enabling common operations for various electrical equipment and vehicle grades without altering the control unit configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If exclusive electronic control units are connected individually to corresponding pieces of electrical equipment to perform specific lighting controls, then lighting control precision is improved, but device complexity and development cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple control functions into a single control unit by incorporating a driver operation portion within the wire harness. This integrated approach allows one control unit to manage multiple light sources through internal signal processing and distribution, eliminating the need for separate control units for each lighting element while maintaining precise control capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The driver operation portion acts as an intermediary between the control unit and multiple light sources. It receives control signals from the single control unit, processes them internally, and generates appropriate drive patterns for different light sources, thereby enabling precise control without requiring direct individual connections between the control unit and each light source.
2Device complexity
If a standard communication line such as CAN is used to control multiple light sources, then device complexity is reduced, but the number of controllable light sources is limited due to limited data communication channels
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds a new dimension to signal transmission by incorporating a low-speed multiple communication interface within the driver operation portion. This interface operates in parallel with the standard CAN communication, providing additional communication channels specifically for controlling multiple light sources. By using multiple communication dimensions simultaneously, the system can control more light sources without increasing the complexity of the main control architecture.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the control unit configuration is changed to accommodate different vehicle grades and lighting configurations, then adaptability is improved, but development cost and manufacturing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic adaptability through software-based configuration in the driver operation portion. The system can dynamically adjust its control patterns and communication protocols to match different vehicle grades and lighting configurations without requiring physical reconfiguration or hardware changes. This allows a single control unit design to serve multiple applications while maintaining ease of manufacture.
Data Source
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AI summary
One end of a wire harness (10) is configured to be capable of connecting to a superordinate body-system electronic control unit (20), and an electronic circuit is installed in a connector (13) with a control function at the other end. This electronic circuit is provided with a drive processor (16) for receiving a control signal for designating a lighting status from the superordinate body-system electronic control unit (20), and outputting a drive pattern for driving a light source. It is possible to adapt to changes in the configuration or specifications of an LED unit (31) containing a light source merely by altering the electronic circuit within the wire harness (10), there is no need to alter the configuration or action of the superordinate body-system electronic control unit (20), and development costs and component costs can be reduced.