Electronic control unit for a heat-generating electrical device of a vehicle
AssigneeGentherm Incorporated
InventorDávid Szabolcs Simon
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An electronic control unit for a heat-generating electrical device of a vehicle, that includes a microcontroller configured to control the operation of the heat-generating electrical device in dependence on a temperature signal of at least one temperature sensor thermally coupled with the heat-generating electrical device; and at least one electronic thermal protection circuit configured to at least temporarily interrupt the control of the operation of the heat-generating electrical device in dependence on the temperature signal of the at least one temperature sensor thermally coupled with the heat-generating electrical device.
Claims12
An electronic control unit for a heat-generating electrical device of a vehicle, comprising:
- a temperature sensor thermally coupled to the heat-generating electrical device;
- a microcontroller configured to control an operation of the heat-generating electrical device depending on a temperature signal from the temperature sensor;
- and
- an electronic thermal protection circuit configured to at least temporarily interrupt the operation of the heat-generating electrical device depending on the temperature signal from the temperature sensor;
- wherein the electronic thermal protection circuit is configured to monitor the temperature signal and to interrupt the operation of the heat-generating electrical device at least temporarily upon detection and determination that the temperature signal meets or exceeds a predetermined limit value, and
- wherein the microcontroller is configured to periodically simulate, at the electronic thermal protection circuit, the temperature signal meeting or exceeding the predetermined limit value without the temperature signal actually meeting or exceeding the predetermined limit value to check a function of the electronic thermal protection circuit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.