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US 12,062,900 B2Granted
Method for the detection of an arc fault in an electrical circuitry, and motor vehicle
AssigneeAudi AG
InventorViktor Kell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method detects an arc fault in an electrical circuitry. The electrical circuitry includes a controller, an energy storage and a plurality of loads each connected to the energy storage via a respective load path. A current measuring device determines current measurement values describing an energy storage current is assigned to the energy storage. Voltage measuring devices for determining voltage measurement values describing a load voltage at the respective load are assigned to said loads. The current measurement values and voltage measurement values are continuously transmitted to the controller via at least one communication link.
Claims17
A method for detecting an arc fault in an electrical circuitry including a switching device electrically coupled between plurality of loads and an energy storage that stores energy, the method comprising:
- determining, with a current measuring device electrically coupled between the energy storage and the switching device of the electrical circuitry, current measurement values indicative of an energy storage current between the energy storage and a plurality of loads of the electrical circuitry, wherein the current measuring values include, for each time interval of a plurality time intervals, a mean value of the energy storage current and a maximum value of the energy storage current;
- determining, for each load of the plurality of loads of the electrical circuitry, voltage measurement values indicative of a load voltage at the load with a respective voltage measuring device electrically coupled to the load, wherein each load is connected to the energy storage by a respective load path;
- continuously transmitting the current measurement values and the voltage measurement values to a controller of the electrical circuitry via at least one communication link, wherein a sampling frequency of the current measuring device is higher than a transmission frequency of the current measurement values from the current measuring device to the controller;
- detecting a parallel arc in the electrical circuitry by comparing the current measurement values or a change over time of the energy storage current indicated by the current measurement values with at least one current limit value;
- detecting a series arc in one of the load paths by comparing the voltage measurement values or a change over time of the load voltages of the load associated with the load path indicated by the voltage measurement values with at least one voltage limit value assigned to the respective load;
- and
- disconnecting, via the switching device, the energy storage from the load associated with the one of the load paths responsive to detecting the parallel arc or switching off the load associated with the one of the load paths responsive to detecting an occurrence of the series arc in the one of the load paths.
4 more elements
A motor vehicle, comprising:
- electrical circuitry including:
- a controller;
- an energy storage that, in operation, stores energy;
- a plurality of loads each connected to the energy storage via a respective load path;
- a switching device electrically coupled between the energy storage and the plurality of loads;
- a current measuring device electrically coupled between the switching device and the energy storage that, in operation, stores energy,
- wherein the current measuring device, in operation, determines current measurement values indicative of an energy storage current between the energy storage and a plurality of loads of the electrical circuitry, wherein the current measurement values include, for each time interval of a plurality time intervals, a mean value of the energy storage current and a maximum value of the energy storage current;
- and
- a plurality of voltage measuring devices,
- wherein each of the voltage measuring devices, in operation, voltage measurement values indicative of a load voltage at a respective load of the plurality of loads,
- wherein the current measuring devices and the voltage measuring devices are connected to the controller via a communication link which, in operation, continuously transmits the current measurement values and the voltage measurement values, and wherein the controller, in operation:
- determines, with the current measuring device, the current measurement values;
- determines the voltage measurement values with the voltage measuring devices;
- continuously transmits the current measurement values and the voltage measurement values to the controller via at least one communication link, wherein a sampling frequency of the current measuring device is higher than a transmission frequency of the current measurement values from the current measuring device to the controller;
- detects a parallel arc in the electrical circuitry by comparing the current measurement values or a change over time of the energy storage current indicated by the current measurement values with at least one current limit value;
- detects a series arc in one of the load paths by comparing the voltage measurement values or a change over time of the load voltages of the load associated with the load path indicated by the voltage measurement values with at least one voltage limit value assigned to the respective load;
- and
- disconnects, via the switching device, the energy storage from the load associated with the one of the load paths responsive to detecting the parallel arc or switches off the load associated with the one of the load paths responsive to detecting an occurrence of the series arc in the one of the load paths.
15 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.