Device outage detector including a current detector and a voltage detector

A device outage detector, comprising:

• a microcontroller;
• a plurality of shunt resistors, each connected to at least one of a plurality of vehicle elements;
• a current sensor configured to measure a plurality of instantaneous currents passing through the plurality of shunt resistors, respectively;
• and
• a voltage sensor configured to measure a plurality of instantaneous voltages across the plurality of shunt resistors, respectively,
• wherein
• the microcontroller is configured to issue a warning for a given shunt resistor if its corresponding instantaneous current is below a first threshold value and its instantaneous voltage is zero,
• the microcontroller is configured to issue a warning for the given shunt resistor if its corresponding instantaneous current is above a second threshold value, and
• the first threshold value is equal to a moving average current minus an adjustment value.

A method of operating a device outage detector, comprising:

• obtaining a plurality of initial current values associated with each of i shunt resistors;
• determining i moving average current values associated with the i shunt resistors, respectively, based on the plurality of initial current values;
• for each of the i shunt resistors,
• obtaining an ith instantaneous current value associated with an ith shunt resistor after determining the moving average current value;
• obtaining an ith instantaneous voltage value associated with the ith shunt resistor after determining the moving average current value;
• determining whether the ith instantaneous current value is below an ith lower current threshold;
• determining whether the instantaneous current value is above an ith upper current threshold when the ith instantaneous current value is not below the ith lower current threshold;
• determining whether the ith instantaneous voltage is zero when the ith instantaneous current value is below the ith lower current threshold;
• reporting a short circuit on a branch associated with the ith shunt resistor when the ith instantaneous current is above the ith upper current threshold;
• reporting an open circuit on the branch associated with the ith shunt resistor when the ith instantaneous voltage is zero;
• and
• updating the ith moving average current value based on the ith instantaneous current value and the ith moving average current value,
• wherein i is an integer greater than one.