KR20060136309A - A connection unit for the connection of electrical components to a motor vehicle battery - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a connection unit for connecting electrical and / or electronic components to a pole of an automobile battery, comprising: a first conductor section connectable to the battery pole; A second conductor section originating from the first conductor section and comprising a bypass conductor and a main conductor to which at least one electrical and / or electronic component may be connected, the electrical and / or connected to the main conductor A connection unit comprising an interruption unit capable of electrically disconnecting an electronic component from the battery and at least one sensor for measuring battery current and / or battery voltage.

Battery, connection unit, conductor, sensor

Description

CONNECTION UNIT FOR THE CONNECTION OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS TO A MOTOR VEHICLE BATTERY}

1 shows a first embodiment of a connection unit according to the invention.

2 shows a second embodiment of a connection unit according to the invention.

3 shows a third embodiment of a connection unit according to the invention.

4 shows a fourth embodiment of a connecting unit according to the invention.

The present invention relates to a connection unit for connecting electrical and / or electronic components to a pole of a car battery.

Modern vehicles have battery management systems that require monitoring of battery current and / or battery voltage. Thus, a connection unit having a sensor for measuring battery current and / or battery voltage is known, which is provided for connection to the negative pole of an automobile battery.

In addition, the stability regulations for modern cars require that, in the event of an accident, the starting device and optionally the generator of the car are automatically unplugged from the car. For this purpose, another known connection unit has an interruption unit which interrupts the electrical connection between the car battery and the starting device and / or the generator when activated by accident.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a connection unit which satisfies modern safety requirements and at the same time contributes to the cost reduction of the car battery management system and which makes it easy to install or remove the car battery from the car.

In order to satisfy this object, a connection unit having the features of claim 1 is provided.

A connection unit according to the invention for connecting electrical and / or electronic components to a pole of an automobile battery comprises: a first conductor section which can be connected to a battery pole; A second conductor section originating from said first conductor section and comprising a main conductor and a bypass conductor to which at least one electrical and / or electronic component can be connected; An interruption unit capable of electrically disconnecting electrical and / or electronic components connected to the main conductor from the battery; And at least one sensor for measurement of battery current and / or battery voltage.

The connection unit according to the invention thus comprises, for example, an interruption unit for electrical disconnection of electrical and / or electronic components connected to a battery, such as a starting device or a generator, and for measuring battery current and / or voltage. Both sensors. Thus, the connection unit according to the invention can be used not only in the above mentioned safety requirements, but also in the vehicle battery management system.

According to the invention, the stop unit and the sensor are combined to form one unit and are preferably housed in a common housing. As a result, the interruption unit and the sensor can be connected to the battery pole, for example the positive or negative pole of a car battery, in one working step or simultaneously. This simplifies the stop unit and sensor assembly and ultimately simplifies the installation or removal of the car battery in the vehicle.

Furthermore, the common acceptance of the stopping unit and the sensor into one connection unit is a conventional discrete structure since only one common housing is manufactured and electrically connected and ready for the connection of electrical and / or electronic components. That means cost savings compared to sensors and outage units.

By dividing the sensor conductor section into a main conductor and a bypass conductor according to the invention and placing the interruption unit in the main conductor, only the components connected to the main conductor are electrically disconnected from the battery when the interruption unit is activated. On the other hand, it is achieved that the component connected to the bypass conductor remains connected to the battery. In this way, for example, the starting device, and optionally the generator of the motor vehicle, may be decoupled from the battery in the event of an accident, while it is ensured that the voltage is still provided to the motor's other electrical consumptions, in particular the electrical onboard network. Can be.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention can be seen from the dependent claims and the description and drawings.

According to one embodiment, a sensor is disposed in the first conductor section. With this type of sensor arrangement, the total battery current flowing through the connection unit can be measured.

According to an alternative embodiment, a sensor is arranged in the second conductor section. Depending on whether the sensor is connected to the main conductor or the bypass conductor, the current flowing through each conductor can be measured.

Preferably, the first sensor is connected to the main conductor and the second sensor is connected to the bypass conductor. In this case, both the partial current flowing through the main conductor and the partial current flowing through the bypass conductor can be measured.

According to yet another embodiment, the corresponding interface is provided for connecting the vehicle's electrical and / or electronic onboard network to the main conductor and for each case connecting the vehicle's starting device and generator to the bypass conductor. do. The interfaces may be formed by a plug portion, which may be plugged into a plug portion which is connected to the onboard network or the starting device or the wiring equipment following the generator and which is complementary. By connecting the onboard network to the bypass conductor and the starter and generator to the main conductor, only the starter and generator are disconnected from the battery during activation of the interruption unit, while the battery voltage is still applied to the onboard network. Can be guaranteed.

According to an alternative embodiment, a corresponding interface is provided for connecting the vehicle's electrical and / or electronic onboard network and generator to the bypass conductor and for each case connecting the vehicle's starting device to the main conductor. . In this case, only the starting device is disconnected from the battery during activation of the interruption unit, while the onboard network and generator are connected to the battery.

The interruption unit is preferably activated according to the measurement output by the at least one sensor. This means that when the sensor detects a current of intensity exceeding a predetermined threshold, for example when the conductor is short-circuited, and / or when it detects a current flow in an unwanted direction, the bypass conductor Allow to automatically disconnect electrical and / or electronic components connected to the battery from the battery. The activation signal caused by the sensor is also called an internal signal because it is generated within the connection unit itself.

As an alternative or in addition, the interruption unit can be activated by an external signal. Appropriate external signals are triggered by sensors provided for detection of impending collisions, such as sudden deceleration and / or rolling motions of a vehicle. For example, the signal used for activation of the airbag may be considered.

According to yet another embodiment, the interruption unit has a pyrotechnically actuable interruption element that can interrupt the main conductor upon activation of the interruption unit. The use of a spark ignitable stop element allows for quick and effective disconnection of the main conductor, allowing quick and reliable disconnection of electrical and / or electronic components connected to the main conductor from the battery.

The interruption of the main conductor can be either reversible or irreversible. In the case of irreversible interruption of the main conductor, the connecting unit must be replaced after activation of the interruption unit. On the other hand, in the case of reversible interruption of the main conductor, the electrical and / or electronic components connected to the main conductor can be easily recombined to the battery without replacement of the connection unit while reversing the interruption.

To allow subsequent calibration of the sensor, at least one sensor has a shunt resistor.

Additionally the battery temperature may be measurable by the sensor. This allows monitoring of additional parameters related to battery management.

The invention will be described below with reference to advantageous embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

A first embodiment of a connection unit 10 according to the invention is shown in FIG. 1. This connection unit comprises a housing 12 which can be mounted on the pole 14, such as the positive pole of an automobile battery (not shown).

A battery terminal 16 is provided in the housing 12 for electrically connecting the connection unit 10 to the pole 14 of the automobile battery.

The first conductor section 18 is merged into the second conductor section 20 and is formed of one conductor originating from the battery terminal 16. In the transition region from the second conductor section 18 to the second conductor section 20, the conductor 18 is the bypass conductor 22 and the main conductor forming the second conductor 20. It is divided into 24.

Each of the bypass conductor 22 and the main conductor 24 is provided on the side 26 of the housing 12 and serves to connect at least one electrical and / or electronic component to the connection unit 10. Ends at the interfaces 28 and 30.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the interface 28 of the bypass conductor 22 is provided for the connection of the electric vehicle onboard network, and the interface 30 of the main conductor 24 is used for the starting device and the generator. Provided for connection.

The interfaces 28, 30 are preferably by plug parts which are correspondingly complementary and which can be plugged into the plug parts provided in the connection equipment or starting device of the onboard network or the connection equipment following the generator. Is formed.

The sensor 32 responsible for the measurement of the total battery current flowing through the first conductor section 18 of the voltage of the battery and of the temperature of the battery is arranged on the circuit board 31 of the first conductor section 18. do. The sensor 32 has a shunt resistor that allows subsequent calibration of the sensor 32.

The sensor 32 is connected to the evaluation unit 34 via the lid 33. The measured signals output by the sensor 32 can be evaluated by this evaluation unit. The evaluation unit 34 may be integrated into the central computing unit of the vehicle, or may be made in a separate module or form, in addition to the sensor 32 and components of the battery management system of the vehicle.

The interruption unit 36 is arranged on the main conductor 24 and allows for reversible or irreversible electrical interruption of the main conductor 24. The stopping unit 34 has a spark ignition movable stopping element (not shown) which mechanically blocks the main conductor 24 during activation of the stopping unit 36. The starting device connected to the main conductor 24 and the connected generator can be electrically disconnected from the battery by actuation of the interrupting element, for example in the event of an accident.

The stopping unit 36 may be activated through the lead 38 by a signal supplied from the outside of the evaluation unit 10, ie an external signal. This external signal may for example be the signal used for activation of the airbag.

The invention differs substantially from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in that a sensor 32 is arranged in the first conductor section 18 but not in the bypass conductor 22. A second embodiment of a connection unit 10 according to the embodiment is shown in FIG. 2.

Unlike in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, it is not the total battery current that can be measured by the arrangement of the sensors 32 in the bypass conductor 22, but the battery flowing through the bypass conductor 22. Is part of the current.

In addition to the first embodiment, the main conductor 24 of the second embodiment is provided for the purpose of connecting the starting device to the battery pole 14, while both the onboard network and the generator are bypassed. It is connected to the battery via a sieve 22.

Similar to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the bypass conductor 22 is provided for the connection of the vehicle onboard network while the main conductor 24 is provided for the connection of the starting device and generator of the vehicle. A third embodiment of the connection unit 10 according to the invention, which is different from the second embodiment shown in FIG. 2 in that respect, is shown in FIG. 3.

As another difference from the second embodiment, in the third embodiment, the first sensor 40 is arranged in the bypass conductor 22 and the second sensor 42 is arranged in the main conductor 24. It is. In addition to the current consumption by the onboard network, the current consumption by the starting device or the charging current generated by the generator can be monitored by the sensors 40, 42. The sensors 40, 42 are arranged on the circuit board 44 and allow monitoring of the battery temperature, similar to the sensor 32 of the previous embodiments.

As in the embodiment described above, the interruption unit 36 of the third embodiment can also be activated by an external signal.

Unlike the third embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the interruption unit 36 cannot be activated by an external signal and can only be activated by an internal signal generated by the sensors 40, 42. A fourth embodiment of a different connection unit 10 according to the invention is shown in FIG. 4. For this purpose the stopping unit 36 is connected to the circuit board 44 via a lead 46.

For example, instead of external activation of the stopping unit 36 by an airbag signal, the electrical decoupling of the starting device and the generator from the battery, the sensor 42 monitoring the main conductor 24 has a predetermined threshold value. When detecting a current intensity exceeding or detecting a current flow in an undesired direction, it is here executed exclusively internally by the sensors 40, 42.

Although the activation of the interruption unit 36 by the internal signal has been described in connection with the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in addition to or as an alternative to the description of the external activation of the interruption unit 36, FIGS. 1 to FIG. It should be noted that in the first to third embodiments described in 3, the internal activation of this kind of interruption unit 36 can also be implemented. Only the corresponding connection of the sensor 32 or the sensors 40, 42 and the interruption unit 36 is required.

Connection units are provided that meet modern safety requirements and at the same time contribute to reducing the cost of the car battery management system and simplify the installation or removal of the car battery in the car.

Claims (10)

In the connection unit 10 for connecting electrical and / or electronic components to the pole 14 of the car battery, A first conductor section (18) connectable to said battery pole (14); A second conductive originating from the first conductor section 18 and comprising a main conductor 24 and a bypass conductor 22 to which at least one electrical and / or electronic component can be connected, in this case Sieve section 20; An interruption unit (36) capable of electrically disconnecting electrical and / or electronic components connected to said main conductor (24) from said battery; And At least one sensor 32 (40, 42) for measurement of battery current and / or battery voltage Connection unit comprising a. Connection unit according to claim 1, characterized in that the sensor (32) is arranged in the first conductor section (18). Connection unit according to claim 1, characterized in that the sensor (32; 40, 42) is arranged in the second conductor section (20). 4. Connection unit according to claim 3, characterized in that the sensor (32, 40) is connected to the bypass conductor (22). The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the first sensor (40) is connected to the bypass conductor (22) and the second sensor (42) is connected to the main conductor (24). Connection unit. The vehicle according to claim 1, for the connection of the vehicle's electrical and / or electronic onboard network to the bypass conductor 22 and of the vehicle to the main conductor 24. Connection unit, characterized in that each interface (28, 30) is provided for connection of the starting device and the generator. 6. The vehicle according to claim 1, for the connection of an electric and / or electronic onboard network and a generator of the motor vehicle to the bypass conductor 22 and of the motor vehicle to the main conductor 24. Connection unit, characterized in that each interface (28, 30) is provided for connection of the starting device. 8. The stop unit 36 according to claim 1, wherein the stop unit 36 can be activated according to the measured value output by the at least one sensor 32; 40, 42. Connection unit. 9. Connection unit according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the interruption unit (36) can be activated by an external signal. 10. The flame ignition movable interrupting element as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the interruption unit (36) is capable of interrupting the main conductor (24) during activation of the interruption unit (36). and a pyrotechnically actuable interruption element.

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