US-20260128582-A1 - A Short-Circuit Protection Circuit, Controller, and Vehicle

US20260128582A1US 20260128582 A1US20260128582 A1US 20260128582A1US-20260128582-A1

Abstract

A short-circuit protection circuit, controller, and vehicle are disclosed. The short-circuit protection circuit includes a current detection circuit, comparator circuit, switch circuit, and latch circuit. The current detection circuit is configured to generate a target voltage according to a target current flowing from a first node to a second node and provide the target voltage to a third node. When a target current is greater than a short-circuit current threshold, the target voltage is higher than a reference voltage. The comparator circuit is configured to output a first level via a fourth node when a voltage of the third node is higher than a reference voltage. The switch circuit is configured to disconnect the first node and the second node when the fourth node is at the first level. The latch circuit is configured to maintain a voltage of the third node higher than a reference voltage when the fourth node is at the first level. This short-circuit protection circuit can disconnect the loop when a short circuit occurs in the loop in which the circuit is located, thereby protecting the safety of other components in the loop.

Inventors

Xiaofei Qiu
Bo Yuan
Yiqun Huang
Bingqing Lin
Lue Shen

Assignees

ROBERT BOSCH GMBH

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251030
Priority Date: 20241104

Claims (13)

1 . A short-circuit protection circuit, comprising: a current detection circuit configured to generate a target voltage according to a target current flowing from a first node to a second node and provide the target voltage to a third node, wherein when the target current is greater than a short-circuit current threshold, wherein the target voltage is higher than a reference voltage; a comparator circuit configured to output a first level via a fourth node when the voltage of the third node is higher than the reference voltage; a switch circuit configured to disconnect the first node and the second node when the fourth node is at the first level; and a latch circuit configured to maintain the voltage of the third node higher than the reference voltage when the fourth node is at the first level.
2 . The short-circuit protection circuit according to claim 1 , wherein the target voltage is lower than the reference voltage when the target current is less than a short-circuit current threshold, the comparator circuit is further configured to output a second level via the fourth node when the voltage of the third node is lower than the reference voltage, and the switch circuit is further configured to connect the first node and the second node when the fourth node is at the second level.
3 . The short-circuit protection circuit according to claim 2 , wherein the latch circuit comprises: a pull-down circuit configured to pull down the voltage of a fifth node to the first level when the fourth node is at the second level; a pull-up circuit configured to pull up the voltage of the fifth node to the second level when the fourth node is at the first level; a first control circuit configured to pull down the voltage of a sixth node to the first level when the voltage of the fifth node is at the second level; and a second control circuit configured to pull up the voltage of the third node to the second level when the voltage of the sixth node is at the first level and to stop operating in other cases, wherein the second level is higher than the reference voltage.
4 . The short-circuit protection circuit according to claim 3 , wherein: the pull-down circuit comprises a first resistor and a first transistor, a first terminal of the first resistor is coupled to the fourth node and a second terminal of the first resistor is coupled to a second voltage terminal, and a control electrode of the first transistor is coupled to the first terminal of the first resistor, a first electrode of the first transistor is coupled to the second voltage terminal, and a second electrode of the first transistor is coupled to the fifth node.
5 . The short-circuit protection circuit according to claim 3 , wherein: the pull-up circuit comprises a second resistor, and a first terminal of the second resistor is coupled to a power supply voltage terminal and a second terminal of the second resistor is coupled to the fifth node.
6 . The short-circuit protection circuit according to claim 3 , wherein: the first control circuit comprises a third resistor and a second transistor, a first terminal of the third resistor is coupled to the fifth node and a second terminal of the third resistor is coupled to a second voltage terminal, and a control electrode of the second transistor is coupled to the fifth node, a first electrode of the second transistor is coupled to the second voltage terminal, and a second electrode of the second transistor is coupled to the sixth node.
7 . The short-circuit protection circuit according to claim 3 , wherein: the second control circuit comprises a fourth resistor, a fifth resistor, a sixth resistor, a seventh resistor, and a third transistor, a first terminal of the fourth resistor is coupled to the power supply voltage terminal and a second terminal of the fourth resistor is coupled to the sixth node, a first terminal of the fifth resistor is coupled to the sixth node and a second terminal of the fifth resistor is coupled to a control electrode of the third transistor, a first terminal of the sixth resistor is coupled to the power supply voltage terminal and a second terminal of the sixth resistor is coupled to a first electrode of the third transistor, and a first terminal of the seventh resistor is coupled to a second electrode of the third transistor and the third node and a second terminal of the seventh resistor is coupled to a second voltage terminal.
8 . The short-circuit protection circuit according to claim 3 , wherein the latch circuit further comprises a power supply circuit configured to provide a power supply voltage to the pull-up circuit and the second control circuit.
9 . The short-circuit protection circuit according to claim 1 , wherein: the switch circuit comprises a fourth transistor and a fifth transistor, a control electrode of the fourth transistor is coupled to the fourth node, a first electrode of the fourth transistor is coupled to a first electrode of the fifth transistor, and a second electrode of the fourth transistor is coupled to an input terminal of the current detection circuit, and a control electrode of the fifth transistor is coupled to the fourth node and a second electrode of the fifth transistor is coupled to the first node.
10 . The short-circuit protection circuit according to claim 9 , wherein: the current detection circuit comprises an eighth resistor and a first operational amplifier, a first terminal of the eighth resistor is coupled the second electrode of the fourth transistor and a second terminal of the eighth resistor is coupled to the second node, and a first input terminal of the first operational amplifier is coupled to the first terminal of the eighth resistor, a second input terminal of the first operational amplifier is coupled to the second terminal of the eighth resistor, and an output terminal of the first operational amplifier is coupled to the third node.
11 . The short-circuit protection circuit according to claim 1 , wherein: the comparator circuit comprises a second operational amplifier, and a first input terminal of the second operational amplifier is provided with the reference voltage, a second input terminal of the second operational amplifier is coupled to the third node, and an output terminal of the second operational amplifier is coupled to the fourth node.
12 . A controller comprising the short-circuit protection circuit according to claim 1 , wherein: the first node is coupled to a ground terminal of an interface circuit in the controller, and the second node is coupled to an external ground terminal.
13 . A vehicle comprising the controller according to claim 12 .

Description

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to application no. CN 2024 1156 4117.2, filed on Nov. 4, 2024 in China, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The examples of the present disclosure relate generally to the technical field of circuitry, and in particular to a short-circuit protection circuit, controller, and vehicle. BACKGROUND A short circuit occurs when a circuit or part of a circuit is shorted. During a short circuit, the current provided by the power supply will be much greater than the current provided under normal circumstances, which may burn out the power supply or device. SUMMARY Examples of the present disclosure provide a short-circuit protection circuit, controller, and vehicle. According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a short-circuit protection circuit is provided. The short-circuit protection circuit comprises: a current detection circuit, comparator circuit, switch circuit, and latch circuit. The current detection circuit is configured to generate a target voltage according to a target current flowing from a first node to a second node and provide the target voltage to a third node. When a target current is greater than a short-circuit current threshold, the target voltage is higher than a reference voltage. The comparator circuit is configured to output a first level via a fourth node when a voltage of the third node is higher than a reference voltage. The switch circuit is configured to disconnect the first node and the second node when the fourth node is at the first level. The latch circuit is configured to maintain a voltage of the third node higher than a reference voltage when the fourth node is at the first level. According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a controller is provided. The controller comprises: a short-circuit protection circuit according to the first aspect of the present disclosure. A first node is coupled to the ground of an interface circuit in the controller and a second node is coupled to the external ground. According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle is provided. The vehicle comprises a controller according to the second aspect of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The exemplary examples of the present disclosure will be described in further detail in conjunction with accompanying drawings in order to further clarify the above-mentioned and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present disclosure, wherein in the exemplary examples of the present disclosure, the same reference number typically represents the same part. FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary environment in which a short-circuit protection circuit according to an example of the present disclosure may be implemented; FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a short-circuit protection circuit according to an example of the present disclosure; FIG. 3 illustrates further schematic block diagram of a short-circuit protection circuit according to an example of the present disclosure; FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic circuit diagram of a short-circuit protection circuit according to an example of the present disclosure; and FIG. 5 illustrates another schematic circuit diagram of a short-circuit protection circuit according to an example of the present disclosure. In the various accompanying drawings, the same or corresponding numbers represent the same or corresponding portions. It is to be noted that the elements in the figures are schematic and not to scale. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The examples of the present disclosure will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While certain examples of the present disclosure are shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure may be implemented in various forms and should not be construed as being limited to the examples set forth herein, rather these examples are provided for a more thorough and complete understanding of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the accompanying drawings and examples of the present disclosure are for exemplary purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present disclosure. In the description of the examples of the present disclosure, the term “comprise” and other similar expressions should be understood as open-ended inclusion, that is, “comprising but not limited to.” The term “based on” should be understood as “at least partially based on.” The term “one example” or “this example” should be understood as “at least one example.” The terms “first,” “second,” etc. may refer to different objects or the same object. The text below may comprise other specific and implicit meanings. Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein (including technical and scientific terms) have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to whom the pre