RELAY CONTROL BOX ASSEMBLY

Abstract

An electrical system for a vehicle is provided. The electrical system includes a control unit configured to control operation of one or more vehicle systems. The electrical system also includes a multiplexed data bus communicatively coupled to the control unit, and configured to carry multiplexed signals to and from the control unit. The electrical system also includes a relay control box. The relay control box has one or more relays, and a controller. The controller is communicatively coupled to the multiplexed data bus, and is configured to decode the multiplexed control signals from the control unit to generate one or more decoded signals, and operate the one or more relays according to the decoded signal. A method of retrofitting a motor vehicle relay control box assembly is also provided.

Claims

1. An electrical system for a motor vehicle comprising: a control unit configured to control operation of one or more systems; a multiplexed data bus, communicatively coupled to the control unit, configured to carry multiplexed control signals to and from the control unit; and a relay control box assembly having a housing defining a housing space, wherein a controller and one or more relays are provided, being configured to receive one or more additional relays, and the controller, communicatively coupled to the multiplexed data bus, being configured to: decode the multiplexed control signals from the control unit to generate one or more decoded control signals; and control operation of the one or more relays according to the decoded control signal.

2. The electrical system of claim 1 further comprising a relay driver module, in the relay control box assembly, configured to drive the one or more relays according to the decoded control signal.

3. The electrical system of claim 2 further comprising a processor module, in the relay control box assembly, configured to receive decoded control signals, and generate one or more relay control signals.

4. The electrical system of claim 3, wherein the processor module is communicatively coupled to the relay driver module, and the relay driver module is configured to drive the one or more relays according to the relay control signals.

5. The electrical system of claim 2 further comprising a decoder module, in the relay control box assembly, being configured to decode the multiplexed control signal.

6. The electrical system of claim 2 further comprising a circuit board, in the relay control box assembly, wherein the one or more relays are mounted on the circuit board.

7. The electrical system of claim 6, wherein the circuit board defines a circuit board space configured to allow one or more additional relays to be mounted on the circuit board.

8. The electrical system of claim 7, wherein the circuit board space is configured such that each of the additional relays can be either an electromechanical relay, or a transistor relay.

9. The electrical system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the relays is an electromechanical relay.

10. The electrical system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the relays is a transistor relay.

11. The electrical system of claim 1 further comprising one or more additional control units, wherein the additional control units are communicatively coupled to the multiplexed data bus, and wherein the controller is configured to receive multiplexed control signals from the additional control units.

12. A vehicle relay control box comprising: an input configured to receive a multiplexed signal from a control unit; a controller configured to decode the multiplexed signal; a relay, operatively controlled according to the multiplexed signal; and a housing, in which the controller and the relay are provided, defining a space configured to receive an additional relay.

13. The vehicle relay control box of claim 12 further comprising a circuit board, wherein the relay is mounted to the circuit board.

14. The vehicle relay control box of claim 13, wherein the circuit board defines a board space configured to receive the additional relay such that the additional relay is mounted on the circuit board.

15. A method of retrofitting a vehicle relay control box comprising: providing a relay control assembly having: a controller, communicatively coupled to an input, configured to decode multiplexed signals received at the input; one or more relays communicatively coupled to the controller, operatively controllable according to the multiplexed signals; and a housing, in which the controller and the one or more relays are provided, defining a space configured to receive one or more additional relays; and coupling the input to a multiplexed data bus being communicatively coupled to one or more control units.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising reconfiguring one or more of the one or more control units to transmit signals to the relay control assembly via the multiplexed data bus.

17. The method of claim 15 further comprising reconfiguring the controller to control operation of the one or more additional relays according to the multiplexed signals.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising reconfiguring one or more of the one or more control units to transmit multiplexed signals via the multiplexed data bus to control operation of the additional relays.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a previously proposed electrical system for a motor vehicle;

[0038] FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic views of relay control box assemblies according to arrangements of the present disclosure;

[0039] FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an electrical system for a motor vehicle according to arrangements of the present disclosure;

[0040] FIG. 4 shows a method of retrofitting a relay control box assembly according to arrangements of the present disclosure; and

[0041] FIG. 5 shows a method of upgrading a relay control box assembly according to arrangements of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 1, each of the ECUs (6, 8a, 8b) may be communicatively coupled to a data bus 10, e.g. a multiplex data bus, such as a Controller Area Network (hereinafter “CAN”) data bus, provided on the vehicle. The PCM 6, and the first and second BCUs 8a, 8b may be configured to communicate with each other by passing messages over the data bus 10. Messages transmitted via the data bus 10 may be received by each of the other ECUs, and any other devices communicatively coupled to the data bus 10, regardless of which ECU is sending the message and which ECU or other device the message is intended.

[0044] With reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B, a relay control box assembly 100, according to arrangements of the present disclosure, may be configured to communicate with the PCM and/or the BCUs 8a, 8b via the data bus 10. The relay control box assembly 100 comprises an input 102, a controller 104 communicatively coupled to the input 102, and one or more relays 106a, 106b, 106c.

[0045] With reference to FIG. 3, an electrical system 200 for a motor vehicle functions in a similar way to the electrical system 2 described above. As shown in FIG. 3, the relay control box assembly 100 may be coupled to the data bus 10 at the input 102.

[0046] As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the controller 104 may comprise one or more modules, such as a transceiver and/or decoder module 104a, a processor module 104b and a relay driver module 104c. In alternative arrangements (not shown), one or more of the modules may be omitted, as described below. Additionally or alternatively, in some arrangements, two or more of the modules may be combined, e.g. into a single module configured to perform the functions of each module.

[0047] The decoder module 104a may be configured to receive multiplexed signals transmitted on the data bus 10. The decoder module 104a may decode the multiplexed signals in order to generate one or more decoded control signals.

[0048] As mentioned above, the decoder module 104a may receive each of the multiplexed signals transmitted via the data bus 10. One or more of the multiplexed signals received by the decoder module 104a may not relate to the control of the relay control box assembly 100, e.g. to the control of the relays 106a-c provided within the relay control box assembly 100. The decoder module 104a may, therefore, be configured to determine whether a received multiplexed control signal relates to the control of the relay control box assembly 100, and may decode the multiplexed control signals that do relate to the control of the relay control box assembly 100. Alternatively, the decoder module may decode each of the multiplex control signals, but may only generate decoded control signals for the multiplexed control signals that relate to the control of the relay control box assembly 100.

[0049] The processor module 104b may receive the decoded control signals from the decoder 104a. The processor module 104b may control the operation of the relays according to the decoded control signals. For example, the processor mode 104b may process the decoded control signal to generate one or more relay control signals, and may transmit each relay control signal to the relay being controlled.

[0050] In some arrangements, the relays 106a-c provided in the relay control box assembly 100 may be electro-mechanical relays comprising an electromagnetic coil (not shown) configured to generate an electromagnetic field when an electric current is passed through the coil. The electromagnetic field may in turn act on a mechanical switch element (not shown) within the relay to switch the relay. In other arrangements, the relays 106a-c may be transistor relays comprising one or more power transistors, such as FETs. Any combination of electro-mechanical relays and transistors relays may be provided within the relay control box assembly 100.

[0051] The current output by the processor module 104b may be low and insufficient to control, e.g. directly control, the operation of the relays 106a-c. In other words, the current output by the processor module 104b may be too low to cause the coil to generate a sufficiently strong electromagnetic field to switch the mechanical switch element. Hence, it may be desirable for the relay control signals generated by the processor module 104b to be transmitted to the relay driver module 104c. The relay driver module 104c may comprise one or more driver circuits (not shown) configured to amplify the current output by the processor module 104b in order to control the operation of the relays 106a-c.

[0052] In the arrangement shown in FIG. 2b, the first and second relays 106a and 106b are electromechanical relays, and the third relay 106c is a semiconductor relay, e.g. a transistor relay. The input current required in order to control the operation of the transistor relay 106c may be low compared to the current required to control the operation of the electro-mechanical relays 106a, 106b and, hence, the processor module 104b may be directly coupled to the transistor relay 106c, as shown in FIG. 2b, and may directly control the operation of the relay.

[0053] In an alternative arrangement, the relay driver module 104c may control the operation of each of the relays regardless of the type of relays provided. In a further alternative arrangement, the processor module 104b may be configured to provided sufficient current to control, e.g. directly control, the operation of the relays 106a-c regardless of the type of relay. In this arrangement, the relay driver module 104c may not be provided.

[0054] With reference to FIG. 2a, the relay control box assembly 100 may comprise a first housing 108a, the controller 104, and the one or more relays 106a-c provided within the first housing 108a. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 2b, the relay control box assembly 100 may further comprise a second housing 108b, and one or more of the relays 106a-c may be provided within the second housing 108b.

[0055] In an alternative arrangement (not shown), one or more modules of the controller 104 may be provided within the second housing 108b.

[0056] As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, a circuit board 110 may optionally be provided within the first and/or second housings 108a, 108b of the relay control box assembly 100. The relays 106a-106c may be coupled to the circuit board 110. The relays 106a-106c may be communicatively coupled to the controller 104 via the circuit board. The relay control box assembly 100 may further comprise a relay plug (not shown), which may be coupled to the circuit board. The relay plug may be configured to allow an electromechanical relay to be coupled to the circuit board 110. The circuit board 110 may be configured to allow both transistor relays and electromechanical relays to be coupled to the circuit board 110. In other words, the relays 106a-106c may be coupled to the circuit board 110 regardless of the type of relay provided.

[0057] In some arrangements (not shown), the controller 104 may be coupled to, e.g. mounted on, the circuit board 110. Alternatively, the controller 104 may be coupled to a further circuit board.

[0058] As described above, in the arrangement shown in FIG. 1, each of the relays 12a, 12b is controlled via different signal wires 18a, 18b, 20a, 20b, and the relay control box assembly 12 is configured to facilitate connections between each of the signal wires and the corresponding relay 12a, 12b. In contrast to this, by providing the relay control box assembly 100 depicted in FIGS. 2a and 2b, each of the relays may be controlled via the data bus 10 through the connection between the data bus 10 and the input 102 of the relay control box assembly 100. The data bus 10 and/or the ECUs 6, 8a, 8b may be configured to allow any number of relays to be controlled via the data bus 10. The number of wires provided in the electrical system 200, to control the operation of the relay control box assembly 100, e.g. the relays provided within the relay control box assembly, may be reduced. Furthermore, the number of connections at the input 102 of the relay control box assembly may be independent of the number of relays 106a-c provided in the relay control box assembly 100.

[0059] As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the relay control box assembly 100, e.g. the first or second housing 108a, 108b of the relay control box assembly 100, may define a housing space 108c configured to allow one or more additional relays (not shown) to be provided within the housing. The relay control box assembly 100 may be configured such that the additional relays may comprise electromechanical relays, transistor relays or any combination thereof.

[0060] As described above, the relays 106a-106c may be mounted on the circuit board 110 provided within the first or second housing 108a, 108b. The circuit board 110 may further define a circuit board space 110a configured to allow one or more relays to be mounted on the circuit board 110 at the circuit board space 110a. The circuit board space 110a may be configured such that each of the additional relays can be either an electromechanical relay or transistor relay. The circuit board space 110a may be provided adjacent to the housing space 108c such that additional relays mounted to the circuit board may be housed within the housing space 108c.

[0061] The processor module 104b, and/or the relay driver module 104c, may be configured to couple to the additional relays, and control the operation of the additional relays according to the multiplex control signals received via the data bus 10, in the same way as described above, in relation to the relays 106a-c. Hence, when one or more additional relays are provided in the relay control box assembly 100, the additional relays may be controlled by one or more of the ECUs 6, 8a, 8b without additional signal wires being provided between the relevant ECUs and the relay control box assembly 100.

[0062] With reference to FIG. 4, a method 400 of upgrading a relay control box assembly, according to arrangements of the present disclosure, comprises a first step 402, in which an additional relay is provided. In a second step 404, the additional relay is communicatively coupled to the controller 104. The method 400 may further comprise a third step 406, in which the controller 104 is reconfigured to control the operation of the one or more additional relays, according to the multiplexed control signals, e.g. received via the data bus 10.

[0063] One or more of the ECUs provided in the electrical system 200 may be reconfigured, e.g. may be provided with updated software, to transmit multiplexed control signals to control the operation of the additional relays via the data bus 10.

[0064] By using the method 400, the electrical system 200 of the vehicle may be upgraded to include additional relay controlled devices, or systems, without requiring hardware changes to be made to the relay control box assembly 100 beyond the inclusion of the one or more additional relays.

[0065] As described above, when the vehicle is provided with the electrical system 2 depicted in FIG. 1, the process of upgrading the electrical system may require hardware changes to the relay control box assembly 12, and additional wiring to be installed in the vehicle. Additionally, if it is desirable to reconfigure the ECUs such that different ones of the ECUs control different ones of the relays 12a, 12b, it may also be necessary to provide additional wiring within the vehicle. Changing relay control to a different ECU may also require a hardware and/or software change to one or more of the ECUs.

[0066] Hence, when upgrades are required to the electrical system 2, or if it is desirable to reconfigure one or more of the ECUs 6, 8a, 8b, e.g. to control different ones of the first and second relays 12a, 12b, it may be desirable to retrofit the electrical system 2 with a relay control box assembly 100 according to arrangements of the present disclosure. In some cases, this may reduce the level of hardware changes and/or rewiring required on the vehicle, and may allow future upgrades or reconfiguration to be performed without hardware, or wiring changes being required.

[0067] As mentioned above, the relay control box assembly 12 may comprise ECU specific wiring or connections to allow a particular ECU to control the operation of a particular relay. This may lead to additional hardware changes when reconfiguring one or more of the ECUs 6, 8a, 8b, e.g. to control different ones of the first and second relays 12a, 12b. Furthermore, due to the ECU specific wiring, the relay control box 12 may be restricted to use on a particular vehicle comprising the particular ECUs that the relays control box assembly 12 has been configured. In contrast to this, the relay control box assembly 100 may not comprise ECU specific wiring, and, hence, the relay control box assembly 100 may be provided on any vehicle configured to control the relays 106a-c through control signals transmitted via the data bus 10.

[0068] With reference to FIG. 5, a method 500 of retrofitting a motor vehicle relay control box assembly comprises a first step 502, which a relay control box assembly 100 according to arrangements of the present disclosure is provided. The method may further comprise a second step 504, which the relay control box assembly 100 is coupled to a data bus 10 of the vehicle, e.g. at an input 102 of the relay control box assembly 100. The data bus 10 may be coupled to one or more ECUs 6, 8a, 8b of the vehicle.

[0069] The ECUs may have previously been configured to transmit control signals to the relay control box assembly via the signal wires 18a, 18b, 20a, 20b depicted in FIG. 1. Hence, the method may further comprise a third step 506, which one or more of the ECUs 6, 8a, 8b are reconfigured to transmit control signals to one or more of the relays via the data bus 10.

[0070] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that, although the invention has been described by way of example, with reference to one or more exemplary examples, it is not limited to the disclosed examples, and that alternative examples could be constructed without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

[0071] While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the invention.