Load-driving integrated circuit device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10340683-B2
Application number	US-201715646313-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 11, 2017
Priority date	Feb 13, 2017
Publication date	Jul 2, 2019
Grant date	Jul 2, 2019

Abstract

To provide a semiconductor device for driving an electric load to be divided into a plurality of opening/closing devices so that when an abnormality exists in any one of the division devices, that division device can be removed and replaced by an auxiliary device. Each of a plurality of opening/closing circuit units has an upper-side opening/closing device and a lower-side opening/closing device; while load driving is stopped, there is monitored the potential of the connection point between the upper and lower opening/closing devices at a time when any one of the opening/closing devices is closed or both of them are opened, and it is determined whether there exists short-circuit abnormality or disconnection abnormality in each of the opening/closing devices. When abnormality exists, the upper and lower opening/closing devices are removed and the auxiliary circuit is made effective.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A load-driving integrated circuit device comprising:
a calculation control circuit unit that generates a load driving command Son that is a command signal for applying a power-source voltage to an electric load;
an opening/closing device unit that is connected in series with a negative-side load wiring lead or a positive-side load wiring lead of the electric load and has a plurality of semiconductor opening/closing devices;
a monitoring control circuit unit that makes the plurality of semiconductor opening/closing devices perform opening/closing operation in response to the load driving command Son; and
an opening/closing device integrated circuit in which the opening/closing device unit and the monitoring control circuit unit are integrated on a semiconductor chip,
wherein the opening/closing device unit has a plurality of opening/closing circuit units which are equal to or more than three opening/closing circuit units of a first opening/closing circuit unit, a second opening/closing circuit unit, and a third opening/closing circuit unit, which are connected in parallel with one another,
wherein each of the plurality of opening/closing circuit units has upper and lower opening/closing devices which form a pair of upper-side opening/closing device and lower-side opening/closing device which are connected in series with each other, and a connection point potential detection circuit that generates an output voltage corresponding to the potential of the connection point between the upper-side opening/closing device and the lower-side opening/closing device,
wherein the calculation control circuit unit has an application circuit selection calculator that selects an application circuit, which is an opening/closing circuit unit for performing on/off operation of a load current corresponding to the load driving command Son, from the plurality of opening/closing circuit units; in the case where it is determined based on an output voltage of the connection point potential detection circuit that a device disconnection abnormality or a device snort-circuit abnormality has occurred in the upper-side opening/closing device or the lower-side opening/closing device, the application circuit selection calculator removes an opening/closing circuit unit, in which an abnormality has occurred, from the application circuit, and includes an auxiliary circuit, which is a normal opening/closing circuit unit which is not selected as the application circuit, in the application circuit in the case where there is the auxiliary circuit, and
wherein the monitoring control circuit unit has an opening/closing signal selection circuit that distributes opening/closing command signals corresponding to the load driving command Son into the upper and lower opening/closing devices of the application circuit selected by the application circuit selection calculator.

2. The load-driving integrated circuit device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the opening/closing signal selection circuit provides an upper-side opening/closing timing signal and a lower-side opening/closing timing signal, which are common opening/closing signals S 00 generated at the same timing in response to the load driving command Son, to the upper and lower opening/closing devices of the application circuit,
alternatively, the opening/closing signal selection circuit is provided with an effective on/off command circuit that generates an effective opening/closing signal S 01 which performs delayed closing and instantaneous opening of one of the upper and lower opening/closing devices of the application circuit in response to a logic level of the load driving command Son, or generates the effective opening/closing signal S 01 with which one of the upper and lower opening/closing devices of the application circuit becomes an opening state at least when the other one of the upper and lower opening/closing devices of the application circuit performs opening/closing operation; and an ineffective on/off command circuit that generates an ineffective opening/closing signal S 10 which performs instantaneous closing and delayed opening of the other one of the upper and lower opening/closing devices of the application circuit in response to the logic level of the load driving command Son, or generates the ineffective opening/closing signal S 10 with which the other one of the upper and lower opening/closing devices of the application circuit performs opening/closing operation at least in a period in which one of the upper and lower opening/closing devices of the application circuit is opened, and
wherein the ineffective opening/closing signal S 10 becomes the upper-side opening/closing timing signal or the lower-side opening/closing timing signal which is generated for one of the upper and lower opening/closing devices of the application circuit, and the effective opening/closing signal S 01 becomes the upper-side opening/closing timing signal or the lower-side opening/closing timing signal which is generated for the other one of the upper and lower opening/closing devices of the application circuit.

3. The load-driving integrated circuit device according to claim 2 ,
wherein the opening/closing signal selection circuit sets both the upper-side opening/closing timing signal and the lower-side opening/closing timing signal for the upper and lower opening/closing devices in the auxiliary circuit, which is not selected as the application circuit, to the circuit-opening command or to a special circuit-closing signal S 11 for closing later than closing of the effective opening/closing signal S 01 , and opening earlier than opening of the effective opening/closing signal S 01 , and
wherein after the auxiliary circuit is selected as the application circuit, the opening/closing signal selection circuit switches the opening/closing timing signal for one of the upper and lower opening/closing devices to the ineffective opening/closing signal S 10 and switches the opening/closing timing signal for the other one thereof to the effective opening/closing signal S 01 .

4. The load-driving integrated circuit device according to claim 2 ,
wherein the application circuit selection calculator has a revival circuit selection calculator that selects an opening/closing circuit unit whose upper and lower opening/closing devices are normal, as the application circuit, that selectively removes a disconnection opening/closing circuit unit, in which at least one of the upper and lower opening/closing devices has a device disconnection abnormality, from the application circuit; and that selects in a revival manner a partially broken opening/closing circuit unit, in which one of the upper and lower opening/closing devices has a device short-circuit abnormality and the other one thereof is normal, as the application circuit,
wherein the opening/closing signal selection circuit provides the ineffective opening/closing signal S 10 to one of the upper and lower opening/closing devices of the application circuit selected by the application circuit selection calculator and provides the effective opening/closing signal S 01 to the other one of the upper and lower opening/closing devices of the application circuit, and
wherein before the revival selection, both the upper-side and lower-side opening/closing timing signals are set to the circuit-opening command, and then, after the revival selection, in response to the revival circuit selection calculator, the opening/closing signal selection circuit provides the effective opening/closing signal S 01 to any normal one of the upper and lower opening/closing devices and provides a circuit-opening command signal, a circuit-closing command signal, or the ineffective opening/closing signal S 10 to the other one, of the upper and lower opening/closing devices, which has a short-circ

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Electric Corp

Inventors

• Murakami Takatoshi
• Iwagami Yuki
• Nishida Mitsunori

Classifications

• H02H7/205 Primary

  for controlled semi-conductors which are not included in a specific circuit arrangement · CPC title

• H01H47/002

  Monitoring or fail-safe circuits · CPC title

• H03K17/102 Primary

  in field-effect transistor switches · CPC title

• H03K17/122

  in field-effect transistor switches · CPC title

• H03K17/18

  Modifications for indicating state of switch · CPC title