# US 11,079,730 B2 · Control device comprising a processor and an IC > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,079,730 B2 - Document ID: US11079730B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/464,675 - Filed: 2017-10-24 - Published: 2019-09-26 - Granted: 2021-08-03 - Earliest claimed: 2016-12-05 - Assignees: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd. - Applicants: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd. - Inventors: Katsuya Oyama; Mitsuhiko Watanabe; Takeshi Konno; Yasushi Sugiyama; Chihiro Sato - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11079730B2 ## CPC - F02D 41/266: {the computer being backed-up or assisted by another circuit, e.g. analogue} - G05B 19/042: using digital processors (G05B19/05 takes precedence) - B60R 16/02: electric {constitutive elements} - B60R 16/0231: {Circuits relating to the driving or the functioning of the vehicle (monitoring tyres B60C23/00; indicating overspeed B60K31/00; for dash boards B60K37/00, B60Q3/10; for indicating emergencies B60Q1/52; brake control systems B60T; registering or indicating the working of vehicles G07C5/00; measuring distance G01C, e.g. combinations of speed and distance G01C23/00; engine indicators G01L; measuring speed or acceleration G01P)} - F02D 41/20: Output circuits, e.g. for controlling currents in command coils - F02P 5/15: Digital data processing - H03K 17/08: Modifications for protecting switching circuit against overcurrent or overvoltage - H03K 17/08142: {in field-effect transistor switches} - H03K 17/687: the devices being field-effect transistors - F02D 45/00: Electrical control not provided for in groups F02D41/00 - F02D43/00 - F02P 3/0414: {using digital techniques (F02P3/0428, F02P3/0442 take precedence)} - F02P 5/045: {combined with electronic control of other engine functions, e.g. fuel injection (in general F02D37/02)} - G05B 2219/2637: Vehicle, car, auto, wheelchair - Y02T 10/40: Engine management systems - F02D: CONTROLLING COMBUSTION ENGINES (vehicle fittings, acting on a single sub-unit only, for automatically controlling vehicle speed B60K31/00; conjoint control of vehicle sub-units of different type or different function, road vehicle drive control systems for purposes other than the control of a single sub-unit B60W) - G05B: CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS (systems for controlling or regulating non-electric variables G05D; systems for regulating electric or magnetic variables G05F; control devices or systems insofar as characterised by mechanical features only G05G) - B60R: VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - F02P: IGNITION, OTHER THAN COMPRESSION IGNITION, FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES; TESTING OF IGNITION TIMING IN COMPRESSION-IGNITION ENGINES ({anti-pollution means for internal-combustion engines F02B17/00}; specially adapted for rotary-piston or oscillating-piston engines F02B53/12; {ignition of gas turbine plants F02C7/26; ignition of jet propulsion plants F02K9/95; starting of combustion engines F02N9/00}; ignition of combustion apparatus in general, glowing plugs F23Q; measuring of physical variables in general G01; controlling in general G05; data processing in general G06; electrical components in general see Section H; {ignition coils H01F38/12}; sparking plugs H01T13/00) - H03K: PULSE TECHNIQUE (measuring pulse characteristics G01R; modulating sinusoidal oscillations with pulses H03C; transmission of digital information H04L; discriminator circuits detecting phase difference between two signals by counting or integrating cycles of oscillation H03D3/04; automatic control, starting, synchronisation or stabilisation of generators of electronic oscillations or pulses where the type of generator is irrelevant or unspecified H03L; coding, decoding or code conversion, in general H03M) - Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION ## Abstract The present disclosure provides a control device having versatility and extensibility of a load driving circuit. A control device includes a processor and an IC, in which the IC includes: a communication circuit that transmits a control signal from the processor; a first drive circuit that drives a first load; a second drive circuit that drives a second load and is provided outside the IC separately from the first drive circuit; and a third drive circuit that controls the second drive circuit, the processor transmits channel information corresponding to the number of switches of the second drive circuit to the IC, and the communication circuit changes the number of channels of the third drive circuit on the basis of the channel information. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A control device comprising a processor and an IC, wherein the IC comprises: a communication circuit that transmits a control signal from the processor by serial communication; a first drive circuit that drives a first load; a second drive circuit that drives a second load and is provided outside the IC separately from the first drive circuit; and a third drive circuit that controls the second drive circuit, the processor transmits channel information corresponding to the number of switches of the second drive circuit to the IC, and the communication circuit changes the number of channels of the third drive circuit on the basis of the channel information. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The control device according to claim 1, wherein the IC further comprises a channel number storage unit, and the communication circuit changes the number of channels when a power supply of the control device is activated and stores the changed number of channels in the channel number storage unit. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The control device according to claim 1, wherein the IC receives a command frame indicating whether or not to use the second drive circuit and the third drive circuit, and a data frame for controlling the third drive circuit from the processor. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The control device according to claim 3, wherein the IC identifies the command frame and the data frame by the first one bit of a signal received from the processor. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The control device according to claim 4, wherein the IC receives the command frame from the processor when a power supply of the control device is activated to change the number of channels, and the processor changes a bit length of the data frame according to the changed number of channels. ### Claim 6 (depends on 4) The control device according to claim 4, wherein the data frame further comprises data for controlling the first drive circuit. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The control device according to claim 1, wherein the second drive circuit comprises a plurality of different switching elements according to characteristics of the second load. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The control device according to claim 7, wherein the switching element is one of a MOSFET, a bipolar transistor, or an IGBT. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The control device according to claim 7, wherein the switching element comprises a breakdown voltage protection circuit for limiting a voltage equal to or smaller than a breakdown voltage of the switching element, the breakdown voltage protection circuit comprises a Zener diode and a diode, anodes of both the Zener diode and the diode are connected, a cathode of the Zener diode is connected to the second load side, and a cathode of the diode is connected to a node for controlling the second drive circuit from the third drive circuit. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The control device according to claim 7, wherein the switching element comprises a Zener diode, and the switching element comprises a breakdown voltage protection circuit in which a cathode of the Zener diode is connected to an upstream side of the switching element and an anode of the Zener diode is connected to a downstream side of the switching element. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The control device according to claim 1, wherein the second drive circuit controls an engine auxiliary machine to drive.