Vehicle power distribution having relay with integrated voltage converter

Abstract

A vehicle power distribution system includes a battery having a nominal voltage, a vehicle electrical load having a supply voltage different than the nominal voltage, and a monolithic solid state relay including integrated circuitry to convert the nominal voltage to the rated voltage and an output configured to selectively energize the vehicle electrical load with the rated voltage in response to a control signal from a vehicle controller applied to an input of the relay. The relay may include a PWM controller to provide a switching signal to a transistor connected to an output filter to step down the nominal voltage of the battery to the rated voltage of the vehicle electrical load. Relay output voltage and current monitoring circuitry may be connected to the PWM controller to provide over current and over voltage protection.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.