Method and control circuit for operating a switching element of an electrical component in order to avoid overheating by electrical dissipated heat, and an electrical component having the control circuit

A control circuit that controls a switching element of an electrical component, the control circuit comprising:

• at least one processor;
• and
• at least one memory storing program code that, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to:
• provide a time series of current strength values of an electrical current flowing in the electrical component registered in time steps that are consecutive, the electrical current being led through the switching element;
• operate a thermal model of the electrical component, wherein the thermal model is a first order recursive filter that filters squared current strength values of the time series and generates, as a respective output value in each of the time steps, a presently estimated temperature value Tn, that is compared to a limit value;
• determine a temperature of the electrical component from the current strength values using the thermal model;
• and
• in response to determining that the temperature is greater than the limit value, switch the switching element to an electrically blocking state in which the electrical current is interrupted.

An electrical component comprising:

• a switching element;
• and
• a control circuit coupled to the switching element,
• wherein the control circuit includes:
• at least one processor;
• and
• at least one memory storing program code that, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to:
• provide a time series of current strength values of an electrical current flowing in the electrical component registered in time steps that are consecutive, the electrical current being led through the switching element;
• operate a thermal model of the electrical component, wherein the thermal model is a first order recursive filter that filters squared current strength values of the time series and generates, as a respective output value in each of the time steps, a presently estimated temperature value Tn, that is compared to a limit value;
• determine a temperature of the electrical component from the current strength values using the thermal model;
• and
• in response to determining that the temperature is greater than the limit value, switch the switching element to an electrically blocking state in which the electrical current is interrupted.