To provide a contactor failure determination apparatus capable of appropriately determining failure of a contactor provided in a vehicle, a voltage sensor capable of detecting rising or dropping of a voltage of a second circuit including an external charger is provided. When an external charging request is made, a first control for closing each external charging contactor is executed, a second control for closing a pre-charge contactor is executed after execution of the first control, a third control for closing a second main contactor is executed after execution of the second control, and response to the voltage sensor detecting that the voltage of the second circuit has not risen after execution of the third control, it is determined that at least one of the external charging contactors has failed in an open state.

A power supply system includes a power source, a relay, a switch, and a controller. The relay is interposed between the power source and a load. The switch is configured to be coupled to the load in a state where the switch allows or disallows for power supply from the power source to the load when the relay is in a closed state. The controller is configured to control an operation of the switch. The controller is configured to execute forced driving control at a time of a closing operation of the relay. The forced driving control causes the switch to operate independently of a request for driving the load and thereby causes power to be supplied from the power source to the load.

To provide a contactor failure determination apparatus capable of appropriately determining failure of a contactor provided in a vehicle, a voltage sensor capable of detecting rising or dropping of a voltage of a second circuit including an external charger is provided. When a vehicle start request is made, a first control for closing one external charging contactor is executed, a second control for closing a pre-charge contactor is executed after execution of the first control, a third control for closing a main contactor, which is not parallel with the pre-charge contactor, is executed after execution of the second control, and in response to the voltage sensor detecting that the voltage of the second circuit has risen after execution of the third control, it is determined that the other external charging contactor has failed in a closed state.

A method for diagnosing failure of a current breaking device 21A included in a power supply system 12 of a vehicle 1 includes: a supply step of supplying power to a first electric load 11 and a first energy storage apparatus 13 by a power supply apparatus 14; a command step of commanding the current breaking device 21A to perform cutoff while power is supplied from the power supply apparatus 14 to the first electric load 11 and the first energy storage apparatus 13; and a determination step of measuring a charge current of a secondary battery 20A by a current sensor 21B while the cutoff is commanded to the current breaking device 21A, and determining presence or absence of failure of the current breaking device 21A based on a measured current value.

A drive system for a switch can include a control module configured to control, directly or indirectly, a state of a switch between a first state and a second state. The drive system can also include a transition timing system configured to measure a transition time that the switch is in transit between the first state and the second state.

A system may include a switching device. The switching device may include an armature that may move between a first position that electrically couples the armature to a first contact and a second position that electrically couples the armature to a second contact. The switching device may also include a coil that may receive a voltage that magnetizes a core, thereby causing the armature to move from the first position to the second position. The system may also include a control system that may monitor a voltage waveform associated with the coil during an open operation of the switching device.

The disclosure is directed to systems and methods by which the lifetime, e.g., remaining life or amount of life used, of variable use items, such as rechargeable batteries, battery relays, vehicles and power tools, can be determined that takes into account the conditions of the use of the item. The systems and methods involve an algorithm that can be described as accumulating points based on the real time utilization of the item, e.g., rechargeable battery, battery relay, vehicle, or power tool, and when an agreed-upon number of points have been accumulated, the item can be considered to be at end of life or end of warranty.

The relay safety system provided by the present invention includes a relay, an emergency stop device, a trigger detection circuit, a sticking detection circuit, and a power-off circuit. The emergency stop device is used to generate an emergency stop signal. The trigger detection circuit connects the relay and the emergency stop device, and is used to convert the emergency stop signal into a trigger signal. The sticking detection circuit is connected to the trigger detection circuit and the relay, and is used to detect the sticking signal generated by the relay, and generate a power-off signal according to the trigger signal and the sticking signal. The power-off circuit is connected to the emergency stop device, the relay and the sticking detection circuit, and receives the power-off signal, and disconnects the power of the relay according to the power-off signal.

A method of monitoring a contact force between electrical contacts in a mechanical contactor. The method includes receiving, from a force sensor, a signal including information about a base force sensed by the force sensor between a stationary core and a base; determining a magnitude of the contact force based on the received information; and outputting information based on the determined magnitude to an operator.

Systems and methods of detecting current leakage in a heating element are provided. An alternating current signal can be applied to the heating element. The heating element can have an associated line relay and an associated neutral relay coupled to a line terminal of the heating element and a neutral terminal of the heating element, respectively. A control system can be configured to control a sequence of operations of the line and neutral relays such that the magnitude of a leakage current flowing through the heating element to ground is increased. Such increased magnitude can facilitate detection of the leakage current. The detected leakage current can be compared with a leakage threshold. The control system can cease the operation of the heating element if the leakage current is greater than the leakage threshold.