KR-20260067429-A - High Voltage Power Distribution Unit with Integrated Monitoring Control System

KR20260067429AKR 20260067429 AKR20260067429 AKR 20260067429AKR-20260067429-A

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention provides a high-voltage power distribution device having an integrated monitoring control function, comprising: a plurality of relays for cutting off and supplying high-voltage power, each having a main contact through which high-voltage power flows and an auxiliary contact that contacts simultaneously with the main contact to indirectly indicate the contact state of the main contact; and a control board; wherein the control board includes: a contact state monitoring unit that detects the contact state of the auxiliary contacts and confirms the contact state of the main contact through this; a main control unit that controls the operation of the plurality of relays based on the detection result of the contact state monitoring unit; and a CAN communication unit that performs CAN (Controller Area Network) communication with the vehicle control device, transmits contact state information of the main contacts detected by the contact state monitoring unit to the vehicle control device, and receives control commands for the relays from the vehicle control device; wherein the main control unit stops the operation of the corresponding relay when an abnormality is detected in the contact state of the main contact detected through the contact state monitoring unit.

Inventors

윤희복
김태우
곽현

Assignees

주식회사 미래이앤아이

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20241104

Claims (16)

In a high-voltage power distribution device having an integrated monitoring control function for distributing high-voltage power from a battery of an electric vehicle to electrical components, As a plurality of relays for interrupting and supplying high-voltage power, The plurality of relays each having a main contact through which high voltage power flows and an auxiliary contact that contacts simultaneously with the main contact to indirectly indicate the contact state of the main contact; and Includes a control board; The above control board is, A contact state monitoring unit that detects the contact state of the above auxiliary contacts and confirms the contact state of the main contact through this; A main control unit that controls the operation of the plurality of relays based on the detection result of the contact status monitoring unit; and A CAN communication unit that performs CAN (Controller Area Network) communication with the vehicle control unit, transmits contact status information of the main contacts detected by the contact status monitoring unit to the vehicle control unit, and receives control commands for the relays from the vehicle control unit; A high-voltage power distribution device having an integrated monitoring control function, characterized in that the main control unit above stops the operation of the corresponding relay when an abnormality is detected in the contact state of the main contact detected through the contact state monitoring unit.
In claim 1, the contact state monitoring unit is, A signal receiving unit that receives signals from auxiliary contacts of the plurality of relays; A voltage detection unit for detecting the voltage of the received signal; and It includes a signal conversion unit that converts the detected signal and transmits it to the main control unit; The above main control unit is, The signal received from the above signal conversion unit is analyzed to determine the main contact status of each relay, and If an abnormality is detected in the contact state of the main contact based on the above judgment result, the operation of the corresponding relay is controlled to be blocked, and A high-voltage power distribution device having an integrated monitoring control function characterized by notifying the vehicle control device of the contact abnormality status of the corresponding relay through the CAN communication unit.
In paragraph 2, Each of the above plurality of relays is, Main terminal for input and output of high-voltage power; A main contact that rises and contacts the main terminal when power is applied to the coil; An auxiliary contact that rises and contacts a fixed auxiliary terminal when power is applied to the above coil; and The coil that operates the main contact and the auxiliary contact; The above control board is, A high-voltage power distribution device having an integrated monitoring control function, characterized by further including a contact control unit that controls the main contact and the auxiliary contact to each operate by applying power to the coil to make contact with the corresponding terminal.
In paragraph 3, The above main control unit is, After applying power to the coil to operate the main contact and the auxiliary contact, the contact status information of the auxiliary contact is received from the contact status monitoring unit to determine whether the main contact is in normal contact. If a contact signal of the auxiliary contact is not received from the contact status monitoring unit while power is applied to the coil, it is determined that there is a contact failure of the main contact, and the power supply to the coil is cut off to stop the operation of the corresponding relay. A high-voltage power distribution device having an integrated monitoring control function characterized by notifying the vehicle control device of the contact failure status of the corresponding relay through the CAN communication unit.
In claim 2, The above plurality of relays are, A battery positive relay and a battery negative relay connected to the positive and negative electrodes of the battery, respectively; A charging positive relay and a charging negative relay connected to the positive and negative terminals of the fast charging connector, respectively; and Includes a drive relay that controls the power supply to the drive motor; The above driving relay is, A main relay including a main contact; and A high-voltage power distribution device having an integrated monitoring control function, characterized by including a pre-charging relay connected in parallel to the main relay and performing initial charging through a current limiting resistor.
In claim 5, The above main control unit is, When the above driving relay is operated, the above pre-charging relay is operated first to perform initial charging, and then the above main relay is operated, and The above contact status monitoring unit checks the initial charging state based on contact status information fed back from the auxiliary contact of the above pre-charging relay, and A high-voltage power distribution device having an integrated monitoring control function, characterized in that the main control unit determines the operating time of the main relay according to the confirmed initial charging state.
In paragraph 2, The above control board is, Voltage sensor for sensing the voltage of a high-voltage line; A non-contact current sensor that senses the current at the input and output terminals of a plurality of fuses each connected in series to the plurality of relays above; Insulation sensor for sensing the insulation state between a high-voltage positive line and a negative line; A voltage and current processing unit that processes voltage and current data sensed from the above voltage sensor, non-contact current sensor, and insulation sensor; A fuse fault detection unit that determines whether the fuses are disconnected based on data processed by the voltage and current processing unit; An insulation detection unit that determines the insulation state based on data processed from the above voltage and current processing unit; and It further includes an interlock detection unit that detects the interlock status of high-voltage connectors based on data processed from the above voltage and current processing unit; The above main control unit is, If a fuse open circuit, insulation abnormality, or interlock release is detected by the above-mentioned fuse fault detection unit, insulation detection unit, and interlock detection unit, the operation of the corresponding relay is blocked, and A high-voltage power distribution device having an integrated monitoring control function characterized by notifying the vehicle control device of the corresponding abnormal condition through the CAN communication unit.
In Paragraph 7, The above voltage and current processing unit is, Data sensed from the above voltage sensor and the above non-contact current sensor is processed in real time and transmitted to the above fuse fault detection unit, and The above-mentioned fuse fault detection unit is, The above-mentioned processed voltage and current data is compared and analyzed to determine whether each fuse is open-circuited, and A high-voltage power distribution device having an integrated monitoring control function, characterized by transmitting a disconnection signal to the main control unit along with information about the relay connected to the fuse when a fuse disconnection is detected.
In Paragraph 7, The insulation detection unit above is, Based on the data processed by the voltage and current processing unit, if the insulation resistance value sensed by the insulation sensor decreases to below a first reference value, a first warning signal is generated, and If the insulation resistance value decreases to a second reference value lower than the first reference value, a second warning signal is generated, and The above interlock detection unit is, Based on the data processed by the above voltage and current processing unit, the interlock status of each high-voltage connector is individually monitored, When the release of the interlock of a high-voltage connector is detected, an interlock release signal is generated along with the corresponding connector information, and The above main control unit is, A high-voltage power distribution device having an integrated monitoring control function characterized by immediately blocking the operation of the corresponding relay when the above-mentioned second warning signal or interlock release signal is received.
In paragraph 2, The above control board is, A PCB temperature sensor mounted on the PCB of a control board to sense the temperature of the PCB; A relay unit temperature sensor mounted near the plurality of relays to sense the temperature of the relays; A fuse unit temperature sensor mounted near the plurality of fuses to sense the temperature of the fuses; A temperature monitoring unit that receives temperature data for each part sensed from the PCB temperature sensor, the relay part temperature sensor, and the fuse part temperature sensor, compares it with a set threshold temperature of the corresponding part, and transmits a temperature abnormality signal to the main control unit when the threshold temperature is exceeded; further comprising A high-voltage power distribution device having an integrated monitoring control function, characterized in that when the main control unit receives a temperature abnormality signal from the temperature monitoring unit, it restricts the operation of a relay connected to the corresponding part to regulate power distribution and notifies the vehicle control unit of the temperature abnormality state through the CAN communication unit.
In Paragraph 10, The above temperature monitoring unit is, By part, A first critical temperature, which is the upper limit of the normal operating temperature range, and Multistage critical temperatures including a second critical temperature which is a dangerous temperature higher than the first critical temperature, and If the sensed temperature exceeds the first threshold temperature, a first warning message is generated along with a first control signal that limits the relay operation of the corresponding part, and When the sensed temperature exceeds the second threshold temperature, a second warning message is generated along with a second control signal that blocks the relay operation of the corresponding part, A high-voltage power distribution device having an integrated monitoring control function, characterized in that the above control signal is transmitted to the main control unit, and the above warning message is transmitted to the vehicle control device through the CAN communication unit.
In Paragraph 11, The above main control unit is, Upon receiving the first control signal, the operation frequency of the relay connected to the corresponding part is limited or the power distribution amount is reduced, and Upon receiving the above second control signal, the operation of the relay connected to the corresponding part is completely blocked, and A high-voltage power distribution device having an integrated monitoring control function characterized by restricting the operation of all relays when a temperature abnormality signal is received from the above-mentioned PCB temperature sensor.
In a high-voltage power distribution device having an integrated monitoring control function for distributing high-voltage power from a battery of an electric vehicle to electrical components, A power distribution unit that distributes high-voltage power through multiple relays; A plurality of fuses each connected in series to the above plurality of relays; and Includes a control board; The above control board is, Voltage sensor for sensing the voltage of a high-voltage line; A non-contact current sensor for sensing the current at the input and output terminals of the plurality of fuses; A first sensor unit including an insulation sensor that senses the insulation state between a high-voltage positive line and a negative line; A PCB temperature sensor mounted on the PCB of the above-mentioned control board to sense the temperature of the PCB; A relay unit temperature sensor mounted near the plurality of relays to sense the temperature of the relays; A second sensor unit comprising a fuse unit temperature sensor mounted near the plurality of fuses to sense the temperature of the fuses; A voltage and current processing unit that processes voltage and current data sensed from the first sensor unit; A fuse fault detection unit that determines whether the fuses are disconnected based on data processed by the voltage and current processing unit; An insulation detection unit that determines the insulation state based on data processed from the above voltage and current processing unit; An interlock detection unit that detects the interlock status of high-voltage connectors based on data processed from the above voltage and current processing unit; and A temperature monitoring unit that receives temperature data for each part sensed from the second sensor unit and compares it with a set threshold temperature; is included. The above control board is, A main control unit that controls the operation of the plurality of relays based on the detection results of the fuse fault detection unit, insulation detection unit, interlock detection unit, and temperature monitoring unit; and A CAN communication unit that performs CAN (Controller Area Network) communication with the above vehicle control device; and The above main control unit is, If a fuse disconnection is detected by the above-mentioned fuse fault detection unit, If an insulation abnormality is detected by the insulation detection unit above, When an interlock release is detected by the interlock detection unit above, When the above temperature monitoring unit detects an exceedance of the critical temperature, Restrict or block the operation of the relay connected to the part where the abnormality was detected, and A high-voltage power distribution device having an integrated monitoring control function characterized by notifying the vehicle control device of the corresponding abnormal condition through the CAN communication unit.
In Paragraph 13, Each of the above plurality of relays is equipped with a main contact and an auxiliary contact indicating the contact state of the main contact, and The above control board is, A signal receiving unit that receives signals from the above auxiliary contacts; A voltage detection unit for detecting the voltage of the received signal; and The contact state monitoring unit further includes a signal conversion unit that converts the above-mentioned detected signal; and The above main control unit is, The signal received from the above contact status monitoring unit is analyzed to determine the main contact status of each relay, and If an abnormality is detected in the contact state of the main contact based on the above judgment result, the operation of the corresponding relay is controlled to be blocked, and A high-voltage power distribution device having an integrated monitoring control function characterized by notifying the vehicle control device of the contact abnormality status of the corresponding relay through the CAN communication unit.
In Paragraph 14, The above plurality of relays are, A battery positive relay and a battery negative relay connected to the positive and negative electrodes of the battery, respectively; A charging positive relay and a charging negative relay connected to the positive and negative terminals of the fast charging connector, respectively; and Includes a drive relay that controls the power supply to the drive motor; The above driving relay is, A main relay including a main contact; and It includes a pre-charging relay connected in parallel to the main relay and performing initial charging through a current limiting resistor; The above main control unit is, When the above driving relay operates, the above pre-charging relay is operated first to perform initial charging, and then, Receive auxiliary contact status information of the pre-charging relay from the contact status monitoring unit to check the initial charging state, and A high-voltage power distribution device having an integrated monitoring control function characterized by determining the operating time of the main relay according to the confirmed initial charging state.
In Paragraph 14, The above control board is, A driving voltage generating unit that converts a control signal generated by the main control unit above into a voltage level suitable for driving the coils of the relays; and It further includes a coil voltage monitoring unit that monitors the voltage applied to each of the coils of the above relays, and The above main control unit is, If the coil voltage monitoring unit detects that the coil voltage is outside the normal range, If a contact abnormality of the main contact is detected by the above contact status monitoring unit, A high-voltage power distribution device having an integrated monitoring control function characterized by stopping the operation of the corresponding relay and notifying the vehicle control device of an abnormal condition through the CAN communication unit.

Description

High Voltage Power Distribution Unit with Integrated Monitoring Control System The present invention relates to a power distribution device for an electric vehicle, and more specifically, to a high-voltage power distribution device that distributes high-voltage power supplied from a battery of an electric vehicle to various electrical components. An electric vehicle is an eco-friendly means of transportation that uses power supplied from a battery as a driving force, and is essential for being equipped with a Power Distribution Unit (hereinafter referred to as 'PDU') to safely distribute the power supplied from the battery to various electrical components of the vehicle. The PDU performs the function of distributing high-voltage power supplied from the battery to various electrical components of the vehicle, such as a drive motor, an air conditioning system, and a DC-DC converter. Such a PDU includes a relay for power distribution, a fuse to protect electrical components from overcurrent, and a control circuit to control them. Conventional PDUs have a structure in which they are controlled by being directly connected to a Vehicle Control Unit (hereinafter referred to as 'VCU') via a hardwired I/O method. This hardwired control structure has the following problems. First, malfunctions may occur due to external noise or wire resistance, and maintenance is difficult due to the complex wiring inside the vehicle. Second, since the contact status of relays cannot be monitored in real time, it is difficult to immediately detect fault conditions such as relay welding or poor contact. Third, since the condition of fuse open circuits or insulation between high-voltage lines cannot be checked in real time, it is difficult to guarantee electrical safety in real time. Fourth, since potential risk factors such as temperature rise in relays or power lines inside the PDU cannot be monitored, it is difficult to prevent performance degradation or safety issues caused by overheating in advance. In particular, although relays are core components responsible for cutting off and supplying high-voltage power, conventional technology lacked a method to check the contact status of relays, making it difficult to respond immediately in the event of a failure. In addition, it was difficult to detect and prevent electrical hazards in advance because the insulation status between power lines to which high voltage is applied or whether a fuse is broken could not be checked in real time. As such, while conventional PDUs could perform power distribution functions, they had technical limitations in that they lacked monitoring functions to ensure the safety and reliability of the system in real time. Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the operation of a PDU in an electric vehicle. FIG. 2 shows a high-voltage power distribution device having an integrated monitoring control function according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a high-voltage power distribution device according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the structure and operation of an auxiliary contact relay. Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating the power applied to the auxiliary contact relay. Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating the HPDU of Figure 2 monitoring and controlling relay contacts. Figure 7 shows the arrangement and connection structure of auxiliary contact relays included in the HPDU of Figure 2. Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating the part for input voltage sensing in the HPDU of Figure 2. Figure 9 is an example of an input voltage sensing circuit diagram. Figure 10 shows an example of a current sensor in a non-contact state. The present invention is susceptible to various modifications and may take various forms; therefore, specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the text. However, this is not intended to limit the invention to the specific disclosed forms, and it should be understood that the invention includes all modifications, equivalents, and substitutions that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention. Similar reference numerals have been used for similar components in the description of each drawing. Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as generally understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant technology, and should not be interpreted in an ideal or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined in this application. Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the attached drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the HPDU (1000) of the present invention in an electric vehicle. FIG. 2 s