Integrated electronic device with solid-state relay and pre-charge circuit

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10046647-B2
Application number	US-201615050516-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 23, 2016
Priority date	Feb 24, 2015
Publication date	Aug 14, 2018
Grant date	Aug 14, 2018

Abstract

An electronic device including an electronic switch M1, an electrical pre-charge circuit and a measurement, command and diagnosis module. The main electronic switch M1 has a first electrical terminal D1, a second electrical terminal S1, and a main driving terminal G1. The main electronic switch M1 is adapted to take, based on a driving signal DRV, depending on the command signal CMD and on an enabling signal ENB, a closed condition or an open condition, wherein the first electrical terminal D1 is respectively connected to or disconnected from the second electrical terminal S1. The pre-charge electrical circuit is adapted to carry out, based on the command signal CMD, a pre-charge operation, aimed at equalizing the electric potentials (V1, V2) of the first and second terminals of the device, before the main electronic switch M1 takes a closed condition, upon of a transition from the open condition.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An electronic device for electrically connecting/disconnecting, based on a command signal (CMD), a first device terminal and a second device terminal connectable to an electrical generator and to an electrical load (L), respectively, the device comprising:
at least one main electronic switch (M 1 ), having a first electrical terminal (D 1 ) connected to the first device terminal, a second electrical terminal (S 1 ) connected to the second device terminal, and a main driving terminal (G 1 ), the main electronic switch (M 1 ) adapted to take, based on a driving signal (DRV), depending on the command signal (CMD) and on an enabling signal (ENB), a closed condition or an open condition, wherein the first electrical terminal (D 1 ) is respectively connected or disconnected to the second electrical terminal (S 1 );
a pre-charge electrical circuit, connected between said first and second device terminal, comprising at least one impedance element and at least one pre-charge electronic switch (M 2 ), arranged in series, the pre-charge electrical circuit adapted to carry out, based on the command signal (CMD), a pre-charge operation, aimed at equalizing the electrical potentials (V 1 , V 2 ) present at the first and at the second device terminal, before the main electronic switch (M 1 ) takes a closed condition upon a transition from the open condition;
a measurement, command and diagnosis module, adapted to detect a voltage difference (ΔV) between the first and the second device terminal, and further adapted to generate said enabling signal (ENB) based on the detected voltage difference (ΔV), and further adapted to generate, based on the detected voltage difference (ΔV) and on the command signal (CMD), a status signal (STS) indicative of a start phase, of an in-progress phase and of a completion phase of the pre-charge operation carried out by the pre-charge electrical circuit,
wherein said main electronic switch (M 1 ) and pre-charge electronic switch (M 2 ) are power solid-state relays;
wherein the device is adapted to receive a command signal (CMD) that can take an opening logic level, suitable to cause the open condition of the pre-charge electronic switch (M 2 ), and a closure logic level, suitable to cause the closed condition of the pre-charge electronic switch (M 2 ),
wherein the device is further adapted so as to provide said status signal (STS) to an output terminal (To) of the device, wherein the status signal (STS) is a digital signal suitable to take a first status logic level or a second status logic level,
and wherein:
a transition of the status signal (STS) from the second to the first status logic level indicates a start phase of the pre-charge operation;
a transition of the status signal (STS) from the first to the second status logic level, detected with a preset time delay (ΔT) with respect to a previous transition from the second to the first status logic level, and in the presence of a closure logic level of the command signal (CMD), indicates a completion phase of the pre-charge operation;
in the presence of a closure logic level of the command signal (CMD), a missed detection of said transition of the status signal (STS) from the first to the second status logic level, after said preset time delay (ΔT) with respect to the previous transition from the second to the first status logic level, indicates a non-completion phase of the pre-charge operation.

2. The device as set forth in claim 1 , wherein said driving (DRV) and enabling (ENB) signals are digital signals, wherein:
the enabling signal (ENB) can take an enabling logic level and a disabling logic level;
the driving signal (DRV) takes a first driving logic level, suitable to cause the closed condition of the main electronic switch (M 1 ) when the command signal (CMD) takes the closure logic level and the enabling signal (ENB) takes the enabling logic level, and otherwise it takes a second driving logic level, suitable to cause the open condition of the main electronic switch (M 1 );
the status signal (STS) takes said first status logic level when the command signal (CMD) takes the closure logic level and the enabling signal (ENB) takes the disabling logic level, and otherwise it takes said second status logic level.

3. The device as set forth in claim 1 , having a tridimensional integrated structure, and comprising:
a frame including said first and second device terminals;
a metal support, fastened to the frame;
a first printed circuit board, fastened to the metal support in order to be fastened to the frame, and comprising said at least one main electronic switch (M 1 ) and pre-charge electrical circuit;
a second printed circuit board, fastened to the frame such as to be overlapped to the first printed circuit board, and comprising said measurement, command and diagnosis module.

4. The device as set forth in claim 3 , wherein the frame is manufactured through insert moulding of plastic material with electrical- and/or mechanical-type elements.

5. The device as set forth in claim 3 , wherein the first and second printed circuit board are mutually interconnected by first conductive elements provided for in the frame, and respective second conductive elements provided for in the second printed circuit board, and wherein:
the second printed circuit board comprises an electrical connector to interface the command, measurement and diagnosis module outwards the device, said electrical connector comprising an input terminal (Ti), suitable to receive the command signal (CMD), an output terminal (To), suitable to provide the status signal (STS), and a couple of supply terminals (Ta 1 , Ta 2 ).

6. The device as set forth in claim 1 , wherein:
each of the at least one main electronic switch (M 1 ) comprises a main power MOSFET transistor (M 1 ), having a main MOSFET driving terminal (G 1 ), a main MOSFET first electrical terminal (D 1 ) and a main MOSFET second electrical terminal (S 1 );
each of the at least one pre-charge electronic switch (M 2 ) comprises a pre-charge power MOSFET transistor (M 2 ), having a pre-charge MOSFET driving terminal (G 2 ), a pre-charge MOSFET first conductive terminal (D 2 ) and a pre-charge MOSFET second conductive terminal (S 2 ).

7. The device as set forth in claim 6 , wherein the at least one impedance element is connected between the first device terminal and the pre-charge MOSFET first conductive terminal (D 2 ), and the pre-charge MOSFET second conductive terminal (S 2 ) is connected to the second device terminal,
and wherein each of said at least one impedance element comprises one or more resistors electrically arranged in series.

8. The device as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the measurement, command and diagnosis module comprises:
a comparator module, adapted to detect the voltage difference (ΔV) between the first and the second device terminal, and further adapted to carry out a comparison of the detected voltage difference (ΔV) with a threshold voltage (VT), and further adapted to generate the enabling signal (ENB) based on said comparison;
a command module, suitable to receive the command signal (CMD) and operatively connected to the comparator module to receive the enabling signal (ENB), the command module adapted to generate a control signal (CTR) based on the command signal (CMD), and further adapted to generate the driving signal (DRV), based on the command signal (CTR) and on the enabling signal (ENB), and further adapted to provide the driving signal (DRV) to the main electronic switch (M 1 ) and to provide the control signal (CTR) to the pre-charge electronic switch (M 2 );
a diagnosis module, operatively connected to the command module to receive the control signal (CTR) and to the comparator module

Assignees

• Magneti Marelli Spa

Inventors

• Pritelli Danilo
• Ciampolini Franco
• Suglia Rosanna
• Aurilio Gianluca

Classifications

• H02J7/1492 Primary

  by means of controlling devices between the generator output and the battery · CPC title

• B60L50/51

  characterised by AC-motors · CPC title

• H03K17/0822

  in field-effect transistor switches · CPC title

• B60L58/21

  having the same nominal voltage · CPC title

• H05K7/1422

  Printed circuit boards receptacles, e.g. stacked structures, electronic circuit modules or box like frames · CPC title