Fuse management for an electric mobile application

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11660976-B2
Application number	US-201916712078-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 12, 2019
Priority date	Nov 8, 2017
Publication date	May 30, 2023
Grant date	May 30, 2023

Abstract

A system includes a vehicle including a motive electrical power path and at least one auxiliary electrical power path; a power distribution unit having a motive current protection circuit disposed in the motive electrical power path, the motive current protection circuit including a fuse; an auxiliary current protection circuit disposed in each of the at least one auxiliary electrical power path, each auxiliary current protection circuit including an auxiliary fuse; a motive current sensor electrically coupled to the motive electrical power path, where the motive current sensor is configured to provide a motive current value; and at least one auxiliary current sensor, each auxiliary current sensor electrically coupled to one of the at least one auxiliary electrical power path, each auxiliary current sensor configured to provide a corresponding auxiliary current value.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system, comprising:
a vehicle comprising a motive electrical power path and at least one auxiliary electrical power path; a power distribution unit having a motive current protection circuit disposed in the motive electrical power path, the motive current protection circuit including a fuse;
an auxiliary current protection circuit disposed in each of the at least one auxiliary electrical power path, each auxiliary current protection circuit including an auxiliary fuse;
a motive current sensor electrically coupled to the motive electrical power path, where the motive current sensor is configured to provide a motive current value;
at least one auxiliary current sensor, each auxiliary current sensor electrically coupled to one of the at least one auxiliary electrical power path, each auxiliary current sensor configured to provide a corresponding auxiliary current value; and
a controller comprising a fuse current model providing a second motive current value corresponding to the motive electrical power path, wherein the controller varies utilization of the motive current value from the current sensor or the second motive current value from the fuse current model depending upon an operating condition.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller comprises a vehicle interface circuit, the vehicle interface circuit structured to provide the motive current value to a vehicle network.

3. The system of claim 2 , the vehicle interface circuit further structured to provide an auxiliary current value corresponding to the at least one auxiliary electrical power path to the vehicle network.

4. The system of claim 2 , further comprising a battery management controller structured to receive the motive current value from the vehicle network.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second motive current value comprises a higher accuracy relative to the motive current value.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the second motive current value comprises a faster response time relative to the motive current value.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller further comprises a vehicle interface circuit, the vehicle interface circuit structured to provide the second motive current value to a vehicle network.

8. The system of claim 7 , further comprising a battery management controller structured to receive the second motive current value from the vehicle network.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the motive current value or one of the corresponding auxiliary current values are determined in accordance with a load voltage drop across a corresponding one of the fuse or the auxiliary fuse, and further determined in accordance with a corresponding fuse characteristic.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the fuse characteristic comprises at least one of a resistance, a dynamic resistance, or a fuse impedance value, and wherein the fuse characteristic is determined from an injected current operation across the corresponding one of the fuse or the auxiliary fuse.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second motive current value is determined by the controller in accordance with a load voltage drop across the fuse, a fuse resistance value determined from an injected current operation across the fuse, a fuse dynamic resistance value determined from the injected current operation across the fuse, or a fuse impedance value determined from the injected current operation across the fuse.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the operating condition is a charging operating condition, a quick-charging operating condition, a high performance operating condition, a high power operating condition, a limp home operating condition, an emergency vehicle operating condition, a service event operating condition, a user override operating condition, a reconnection command operating condition, an idle operating condition, or a high economy operating condition.

13. A controller, comprising:
a current determination circuit structured to interpret a motive current value corresponding to a motive electrical power path for a vehicle that is received from a motive current sensor that is electrically coupled to the motive electrical power path, and to interpret an auxiliary current value corresponding to at least one auxiliary electrical power path of the vehicle; and
a fuse current model structured to provide a second motive current value corresponding to the motive electrical power path for the vehicle, wherein the controller varies utilization of the motive current value from the current sensor or the second motive current value from the fuse current model depending upon an operating condition.

14. The controller of claim 13 , wherein the controller receives the auxiliary current value corresponding to at least one auxiliary electrical power path of the vehicle from at least one auxiliary current sensor.

15. The controller of claim 13 , further comprising a vehicle interface circuit, the vehicle interface circuit structured to provide the motive current value to a vehicle network.

16. The controller of claim 15 , wherein the vehicle interface circuit is further structured to provide the auxiliary current value corresponding to the at least one auxiliary electrical power path to the vehicle network.

17. The controller of claim 16 , further comprising a battery management controller structured to receive the motive current value from the vehicle network.

18. The controller of claim 13 , wherein the controller determines an expected accuracy of the current sensor or the fuse current model in response to the operating condition.

19. A method, comprising:
powering a vehicle motive electrical power path through a motive current protection circuit;
powering at least one auxiliary load through a corresponding one of at least one auxiliary current protection circuit;
determining a motive current value corresponding to the vehicle motive electrical power path from a sensor that is electrically coupled to the motive electrical power path;
determining a second motive current value corresponding to the vehicle motive electrical power path from a fuse current model;
varying utilization of the motive current value from the current sensor or the second motive current value from the fuse current model depending upon an operating condition; and
determining an auxiliary current value corresponding to each of the at least one auxiliary current protection circuit.

Assignees

• Eaton Intelligent Power Ltd

Inventors

• Fisher Brandon William

Classifications

• H01H85/0241

  Structural association of a fuse and another component or apparatus (switches with built-in fuses H01H9/10, spark-gap arresters H01H85/44, transformers and inductances H01F27/402, capacitors H01G2/14, lamps H01K1/66, semiconductors H10W20/493 or H10W42/80) · CPC title

• H02H3/087

  for DC applications · CPC title

• B60L58/21 Primary

  having the same nominal voltage · CPC title

• B60L3/04 Primary

  Cutting off the power supply under fault conditions (protective devices and circuit arrangements in general H01H; H02H) · CPC title

• H02H9/00

  Emergency protective circuit arrangements for limiting excess current or voltage without disconnection · CPC title