阅读说明：本技术 负载控制装置、负载控制系统和车载控制系统 (Load control device, load control system, and vehicle-mounted control system ) 是由 池谷浩二 于 2020-03-10 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种负载控制装置,包括：一个H桥电路(BC)；半桥电路(B2至B4)；共用连接电路(共用输出线LOC),该共用连接电路将多个负载中的每个负载的一个端子(M1b、M2b、M3b、M4b)共同连接到所述H桥电路的一个输出端子(共用输出端子Oc)；单独连接电路(单独输出线LO1至LO4),每个所述单独连接电路均将所述多个负载中的每个负载的另一个端子(M1a、M2a、M3a、M4a)连接到所述H桥电路的另一个输出端子(O1)或者所述多个半桥电路的输出端子(O2至O4)中的任意一个输出端子；以及排他控制单元(指示检测单元10；S14；S16),该排他控制单元生成要分别供给到所述H桥电路和所述多个半桥电路的信号,以排他地控制所述多个负载。(A load control device comprising: an H-Bridge Circuit (BC); a half-bridge circuit (B2-B4); a common connection circuit (common output line LOC) that connects one terminal (M1b, M2b, M3b, M4b) of each of a plurality of loads in common to one output terminal (common output terminal Oc) of the H-bridge circuit; separate connection circuits (separate output lines LO1 to LO4) each connecting the other terminal (M1a, M2a, M3a, M4a) of each of the plurality of loads to the other output terminal (O1) of the H-bridge circuit or any one of the output terminals (O2 to O4) of the plurality of half-bridge circuits; and an exclusive control unit (instruction detecting unit 10; S14; S16) that generates signals to be supplied to the H-bridge circuit and the plurality of half-bridge circuits, respectively, to exclusively control the plurality of loads.)

1. A load control device configured to control three or more independent loads that can be reversely driven by switching an energization direction and allow an operation of one, the load control device comprising:

an H-bridge circuit;

a plurality of half-bridge circuits;

a common connection circuit that connects one terminal of each of a plurality of the loads in common to one output terminal of the H-bridge circuit;

separate connection circuits each connecting another terminal of each of the plurality of loads to another output terminal of the H-bridge circuit or any one of the output terminals of the plurality of half-bridge circuits; and

an exclusive control unit that generates signals supplied to the H-bridge circuit and the plurality of half-bridge circuits, respectively, to exclusively control the plurality of loads.

2. The load control device of claim 1,

wherein, when it is detected that a simultaneous driving instruction for each of the plurality of loads is input, the exclusive control unit drives only the load having the highest priority among the plurality of loads for which the driving instruction has been generated, in accordance with priorities assigned to the plurality of loads.

3. A load control system comprising:

three or more independent loads that can be reversely driven by switching the energization direction and that allow an operation of one;

an H-bridge circuit;

a plurality of half-bridge circuits;

a common connection circuit that connects one terminal of each of a plurality of the loads in common to one output terminal of the H-bridge circuit;

separate connection circuits each connecting another terminal of each of the plurality of loads to another output terminal of the H-bridge circuit or any one of the output terminals of the plurality of half-bridge circuits;

an exclusive control unit that generates signals supplied to the H-bridge circuit and the plurality of half-bridge circuits, respectively, to exclusively control the plurality of loads; and

a drive instruction generation unit that supplies a drive instruction for each of the plurality of loads to the exclusive control unit.

4. The load control system of claim 3,

wherein, when the driving instruction for each of the plurality of loads is input from the driving instruction generation unit, the exclusive control unit drives only the load having the highest priority among the plurality of loads for which the driving instruction has been generated, in accordance with the priorities assigned to the plurality of loads.

5. An onboard control system comprising:

three or more independent loads that are mounted on a vehicle, that can be reversely driven by switching an energization direction, and that allow an operation of one;

an H-bridge circuit;

a plurality of half-bridge circuits;

a common connection circuit that connects one terminal of each of a plurality of the loads in common to one output terminal of the H-bridge circuit;

separate connection circuits each connecting another terminal of each of the plurality of loads to another output terminal of the H-bridge circuit or any one of the output terminals of the plurality of half-bridge circuits;

an exclusive control unit that generates signals supplied to the H-bridge circuit and the plurality of half-bridge circuits, respectively, to exclusively control the plurality of loads; and

a drive instruction generation unit that supplies a drive instruction for each of the plurality of loads to the exclusive control unit.

Technical Field

The invention relates to a load control device, a load control system and a vehicle-mounted control system.

Background

Many different loads, such as electric motors, are mounted on the vehicle. Such a load can be driven reversely by switching the energization direction. Therefore, in a circuit that drives this type of load, not only the control of the on and off of the energization but also the switching of the energization direction are required as needed.

For example, the motor forward rotation and reverse rotation drive circuit in patent document 1 includes an H-bridge circuit that drives the motor M to rotate forward and reverse. That is, of the four transistors constituting the H-bridge circuit, two transistors of the first transistor MOS1 and the fourth transistor MOS4, which are diagonally related, are turned on, and the remaining two transistors MOS2 and MOS3 are turned off, so that the motor M as a load can be driven to rotate in the forward direction by causing a current to flow in a specified direction. In addition, the second transistor MOS2 and the third transistor MOS3 are turned on, and the remaining two transistor MOS1 and MOS4 are turned off, so that the motor M as a load can be driven to rotate reversely by causing current to flow in the opposite direction.

REFERENCE LIST

Patent document

[ patent document 1] JP-A-2004-274817

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem

When the H-bridge circuit is used as in patent document 1, four semiconductor devices are required to drive the loads, respectively. In addition, when a large current flows through the load, a large and expensive semiconductor device is required.

For example, a door on a vehicle is often provided with: a motor that controls locking and unlocking of the door lock mechanism, a motor that controls storage and deployment of the door mirror, and a plurality of motors that adjust the mirror surface direction of the door mirror in the up-down direction and the left-right direction. Such a mechanism exists in each of the left and right doors. In this way, when the number of loads as control targets increases, the number of semiconductor devices required to drive the control targets is also enormous, possibly resulting in an increase in cost.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a load control device, a load control system, and an in-vehicle control system, which are capable of reducing the number of semiconductor devices and the like used for energization control when the number of loads as control targets is large.

Means for solving the problems

In order to achieve the above object, the load control device, the load control system, and the in-vehicle control system according to the present invention are characterized by the following (1) to (5).

(1) A load control device configured to control three or more independent loads capable of being reversely driven by switching an energization direction and allowing an operation of one,

the load control device includes:

an H-bridge circuit;

a plurality of half-bridge circuits;

a common connection circuit that connects one terminal of each of a plurality of the loads in common to one output terminal of the H-bridge circuit;

separate connection circuits each connecting another terminal of each of the plurality of loads to another output terminal of the H-bridge circuit or any one of output terminals of the plurality of half-bridge circuits;

an exclusive control unit that generates signals to be supplied to the H-bridge circuit and the plurality of half-bridge circuits, respectively, to exclusively control the plurality of loads.

(2) The load control device according to (1),

when it is detected that a simultaneous driving instruction for each of a plurality of the loads is input, the exclusive control unit drives only the load having the highest priority among the plurality of the loads for which the driving instruction has been generated, in accordance with the priorities assigned to the plurality of the loads.

(3) A load control system comprising:

three or more independent loads that can be reversely driven by switching the energization direction and that allow an operation of one;

an H-bridge circuit;

a plurality of half-bridge circuits;

a common connection circuit that connects one terminal of each of a plurality of the loads in common to one output terminal of the H-bridge circuit;

separate connection circuits each connecting another terminal of each of the plurality of loads to another output terminal of the H-bridge circuit or any one of output terminals of the plurality of half-bridge circuits;

an exclusive control unit that generates signals to be supplied to the H-bridge circuit and the plurality of half-bridge circuits, respectively, to exclusively control the plurality of loads; and

a drive instruction generation unit that supplies a drive instruction for each of the plurality of loads to the exclusive control unit.

(4) The load control system according to (3),

when the driving instruction for each of the plurality of loads is input from the driving instruction generation unit, the exclusive control unit drives only the load having the highest priority among the plurality of loads for which the driving instruction has been generated, in accordance with the priorities assigned to the plurality of loads.

(5) An onboard control system comprising:

three or more independent loads that are mounted on a vehicle, that can be reversely driven by switching an energization direction, and that allow an operation of one;

an H-bridge circuit;

a plurality of half-bridge circuits;

a common connection circuit that connects one terminal of each of a plurality of the loads in common to one output terminal of the H-bridge circuit;

separate connection circuits each connecting another terminal of each of the plurality of loads to another output terminal of the H-bridge circuit or any one of output terminals of the plurality of half-bridge circuits;

an exclusive control unit that generates signals to be supplied to the H-bridge circuit and the plurality of half-bridge circuits, respectively, to exclusively control the plurality of loads; and

a drive instruction generation unit that supplies a drive instruction for each of the plurality of loads to the exclusive control unit.

According to the load control device having the configuration (1), it is possible to perform energization control of a plurality of loads without using a plurality of H-bridge circuits. That is, a part of a single H-bridge circuit is shared by a plurality of loads, so that a half-bridge circuit can be used instead of the H-bridge circuit. Since only two switching devices are required to constitute a half-bridge circuit for energization control, the number of components can be significantly reduced as compared with an H-bridge circuit. In addition, since the exclusive control unit exclusively controls the plurality of loads, a malfunction due to the influence of the common connection circuit can be avoided.

According to the load control device having the configuration (2), in a state where the first load having a low priority is being driven, when the drive instruction for the second load having a high priority is generated at a later point in time, the drive of the first load can be stopped, and the drive of the second load can be started. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a delay in the start of driving of the load having a high priority.

According to the load control system having the configuration (3), it is possible to perform energization control of a plurality of loads without using a plurality of H-bridge circuits. That is, a part of a single H-bridge circuit is shared by a plurality of loads, so that a half-bridge circuit can be used instead of the H-bridge circuit. Since only two switching devices are required to constitute a half-bridge circuit for energization control, the number of components can be significantly reduced as compared with an H-bridge circuit. In addition, since the exclusive control unit exclusively controls the plurality of loads, a malfunction due to the influence of the common connection circuit can be avoided.

According to the load control system having the configuration (4), in a state where the first load having a low priority is being driven, when the drive instruction for the second load having a high priority is generated at a later point in time, the drive of the first load can be stopped, and the drive of the second load can be started. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a delay in the start of driving of the load having a high priority.

According to the in-vehicle control system having the configuration (5), it is possible to perform energization control of a plurality of loads without using a plurality of H-bridge circuits. That is, a part of a single H-bridge circuit is shared by a plurality of loads, so that a half-bridge circuit can be used instead of the H-bridge circuit. Since only two switching devices are required to constitute a half-bridge circuit for energization control, the number of components can be significantly reduced as compared with an H-bridge circuit. In addition, since the exclusive control unit exclusively controls the plurality of loads, a malfunction due to the influence of the common connection circuit can be avoided. For example, it is not required to drive the following loads simultaneously: for example, motors that drive a door lock mechanism, a door mirror housing and deployment mechanism of a door mirror, and a mirror surface angle adjustment mechanism in a vehicle, respectively. Therefore, when controlling these loads, a part of a single H-bridge circuit is shared by a plurality of loads, so that the total number of components can be reduced, and the apparatus cost and the apparatus weight can be reduced.

Advantageous effects of the invention

According to the load control device, the load control system, and the in-vehicle control system of the present invention, a part of a single H-bridge circuit is shared by a plurality of loads, so that the total number of components can be reduced. Therefore, when the number of loads as control targets is large, the number of semiconductor devices and the like used for energization control can be reduced.

The present invention has been described briefly as above. The details of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the embodiments (hereinafter, referred to as "examples") for carrying out the present invention described below, which is read with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration example of an in-vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing a specific example of the main control applied to the in-vehicle control system shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a timing chart showing an operation example of the in-vehicle control system shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a circuit diagram showing a modification of the in-vehicle control system.

List of reference marks

10-indication detection unit

20 driver control unit

31 power line

32 ground wire

BC H bridge circuit

B2, B3 and B4 half bridge circuit

M1, M2, M3 and M4 motors

M1a, M1b, M2a, M2b, M3a, M3b, M4a and M4b terminals

QC1, QC2, Q13 and Q14 switching devices

Q23, Q24, Q33, Q34, Q43 and Q44 switching devices

Oc common output terminal

O1, O2, O3 and O4 output terminals

LOC common output line

LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 individual output lines

SGC1, SGC2, SG13, SG14 control signals

SG23, SG24, SG33, SG34, SG43 and SG44 control signals

Detailed Description

Specific embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(configuration of vehicle control System)

Fig. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration example of an in-vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The in-vehicle control system shown in fig. 1 is assumed to be mounted on a vehicle as an electrical device, which centrally controls a plurality of loads arranged near a front door on the vehicle. Specifically, the electrical device controls motors M1, M2, M3, and M4, which serve as a mechanism for driving four independent systems as a load.

The motor M1 is assembled in a mechanism that drives the door mirror and positions the door mirror to a stored position (in the parking posture) and a deployed position (in the traveling posture). In order to enable positioning drive to the storage position and the deployed position, the motor M1 rotates not only in the normal rotation direction but also in the reverse rotation direction.

For example, when the terminal M1a is at a high potential and the terminal M1b is at a low potential, a current flows in the coil in the motor M1 in the forward direction, and the motor M1 is driven in the forward direction. When the terminal M1a is at a low potential and the terminal M1b is at a high potential, a current flows in the coil in the motor M1 in the reverse direction, and the motor M1 is driven in the reverse direction.

The motor M2 is fitted in the door lock mechanism to place the door lock mechanism in the locked position and the unlocked position. To enable positioning drive to the lock position and the unlock position, the motor M2 rotates not only in the normal rotation direction but also in the reverse rotation direction. For example, when the terminal M2a is at a high potential and the terminal M2b is at a low potential, the motor M2 is driven in the forward direction. When the terminal M2a is at a low potential and the terminal M2b is at a high potential, the motor M2 is driven in the reverse direction.

The motor M3 is incorporated in a mirror surface up-down adjusting mechanism that adjusts the mirror surface direction of the door mirror in the up-down direction. Since both upward and downward adjustments are required, the motor M3 rotates not only in the forward direction but also in the reverse direction. For example, when the terminal M3a is at a high potential and the terminal M3b is at a low potential, the motor M3 is driven in the forward direction. When the terminal M3a is at a low potential and the terminal M3b is at a high potential, the motor M3 is driven in the reverse direction.

The motor M4 is incorporated in a mirror surface left-right adjusting mechanism that adjusts the mirror surface direction of the door mirror in the left-right direction. Since both leftward and rightward adjustments are required, the motor M4 rotates not only in the forward direction but also in the reverse direction. For example, when the terminal M4a is at a high potential and the terminal M4b is at a low potential, the motor M4 is driven in the forward direction. When the terminal M4a is at a low potential and the terminal M4b is at a high potential, the motor M4 is driven in the reverse direction.

Therefore, the electric devices that control the four motors M1 to M4 are required to control energization of the motors M1 to M4 in the forward direction and the reverse direction, respectively. Since the mechanisms connected to the motors M1 to M4 are independent of each other, separate control of on and off and the direction of energization is required on each mechanism.

In the configuration shown in fig. 1, a single H-bridge circuit BC and three half-bridge circuits B2, B3, and B4 are provided as switches to control energization of the four motors M1 to M4.

The structure of the H-bridge circuit BC is similar to that of a general H-bridge circuit. The H-bridge circuit BC includes four switching devices QC1, QC2, Q13 and Q14 connected to form an H-bridge. The high-side switching devices QC1 and Q13 are p-channel MOS Field Effect Transistors (FETs). The low-potential-side switching devices QC2 and Q14 are n-channel MOS FETs.

The switching devices QC1, QC2 form a series circuit. The high potential side (drain terminal of QC 1) of the series circuit is connected to the power supply line 31, and the low potential side (source terminal of QC 2) is connected to the ground line 32. The switching devices Q13 and Q14 form a series circuit. The high potential side (drain terminal of Q13) of the series circuit is connected to the power supply line 31, and the low potential side (source terminal of Q14) is connected to the ground line 32.

The connection portion between the source terminal of the switch device QC1 and the drain terminal of the switch device QC2 is connected to the common output terminal Oc of the H-bridge circuit BC. A connection portion between the source terminal of the switching device Q13 and the drain terminal of the switching device Q14 is connected to the output terminal O1 of the H-bridge circuit BC. Here, a plurality of loads can be commonly connected to the common output terminal Oc of the H-bridge circuit BC.

The respective configurations of the half-bridge circuits B2, B3, and B4 are similar to those of a general half-bridge circuit. The half-bridge circuit B2 includes two switching devices Q23, Q24 connected in series. The high-side switching device Q23 is a p-channel MOS FET, and the low-side switching device Q24 is an n-channel MOS FET. The drain terminal of the switching device Q23 is connected to the power supply line 31, and the source terminal of the switching device Q24 is connected to the ground line 32.

Similarly, the half-bridge circuit B3 includes switching devices Q33, Q34 connected in series, the drain terminal of the switching device Q33 being connected to the power supply line 31, and the source terminal of the switching device Q34 being connected to the ground line 32. In addition, the half-bridge circuit B4 includes switching devices Q43 and Q44 connected in series, a drain terminal of the switching device Q43 is connected to the power supply line 31, and a source terminal of the switching device Q44 is connected to the ground line 32.

One terminal M1a of the motor M1 is connected to an output terminal O2 of the half bridge circuit B2 via a separate output line LO2, and the other terminal M1B is connected to a common output terminal Oc of the H bridge circuit BC via a common output line LOC.

One terminal M2a of the motor M2 is connected to the output terminal O1 of the H bridge circuit BC via a separate output line LO1, and the other terminal M2b is connected to the common output terminal Oc of the H bridge circuit BC via a common output line LOC.

One terminal M3a of the motor M3 is connected to an output terminal O3 of the half bridge circuit B3 via a separate output line LO3, and the other terminal M3B is connected to a common output terminal Oc of the H bridge circuit BC via a common output line LOC. Similarly, one terminal M4a of the motor M4 is connected to the output terminal O4 of the half bridge circuit B4 via a separate output line LO4, and the other terminal M4B is connected to the common output terminal Oc of the H bridge circuit BC via a common output line LOC.

That is, four motors M1 to M4 as loads are connected respectively in a state of sharing the common output terminal Oc of the single H-bridge circuit BC. Thus, on and off and switching of the energization direction of the respective motors M1 to M4 can be controlled without increasing the number of H-bridge circuits BC. That is, since the number of switching devices built in each of the half-bridge circuits B2 to B4 is only two and is half of the number of H-bridge circuits BC, the number of components of the entire system can be reduced.

Here, since the four motors M1 to M4 as loads share the single common output terminal Oc, there is a limitation that only one of the four motors M1 to M4 can be driven at any point of time. Due to this limitation, exclusive control is performed. That is, if any one of the four motors M1 to M4 has been driven (turned on), the other motor is controlled not to be driven (turned off).

The in-vehicle control system shown in fig. 1 includes, in addition to the above-described components, an instruction detection unit 10 and a driver control unit 20. The instruction detection unit 10 inputs various instructions generated for the respective mechanisms as a signal SGA in accordance with a switching operation of a user or the like, and outputs a signal SGB to control the driver control unit 20.

The driver control unit 20 generates control signals SGC1, SGC2, SG13, SG14, SG23, SG24, SG33, SG34, SG43, and SG44 according to the signal SGB input from the indication detection unit 10.

For example, when the motor M1 is driven in the forward direction, the driver control unit 20 controls the control signals as follows.

SGC 1: off level (QC1 drain to source non-conductive)

SGC 2: on level (QC2 with drain and source conductive)

SG 13: off level (Q13 non-conductive drain and source)

SG 14: off level (Q14 non-conductive drain and source)

SG 23: on level (conduction between drain and source of Q23)

SG 24: off level (Q24 non-conductive between drain and source)

SG 33: off level (Q33 non-conductive between drain and source)

SG 34: off level (Q34 non-conductive between drain and source)

SG 43: off level (Q43 non-conductive between drain and source)

SG 44: off level (Q44 non-conductive between drain and source)

In the above state, a current flows from the power supply line 31 to the ground line 32 through the switching device Q23 in the half-bridge circuit B2, through the output terminal O2, the individual output line LO2, the terminal M1a, the motor M1, the terminal M1B, the common output line LOC, and the common output terminal Oc, and through the switching device QC2 in the H-bridge circuit BC. Therefore, a current flows in the coil of the motor M1 in the forward direction, and the motor M1 is driven to rotate in the forward direction.

On the other hand, when the motor M1 is driven in the reverse direction, the driver control unit 20 controls the control signals as follows.

SGC 1: on level (QC1 with drain and source conductive)

SGC 2: off level (QC2 drain to source non-conductive)

SG 13: off level (Q13 non-conductive drain and source)

SG 14: off level (Q14 non-conductive drain and source)

SG 23: off level (Q23 non-conductive drain and source)

SG 24: on level (Q24 with its drain and source conducting)

SG 33: off level (Q33 non-conductive between drain and source)

SG 34: off level (Q34 non-conductive between drain and source)

SG 43: off level (Q43 non-conductive between drain and source)

SG 44: off level (Q44 non-conductive between drain and source)

In the above state, a current flows from the power supply line 31 to the ground line 32 through the switching device QC1 in the H-bridge circuit BC, through the common output terminal Oc, the common output line LOC, the terminal M1B, the motor M1, the terminal M1a, the individual output line LO2, and the output terminal O2, and through the switching device Q24 in the half-bridge circuit B2. Therefore, a current flows in the coil of the motor M1 in the reverse direction, and the motor M1 is driven to rotate in the reverse direction.

For the respective motors M2, M3, and M4 other than the motor M1, on and off and driving directions can be controlled by switching control signals SGC1, SGC2, SG13, SG14, SG23, SG24, SG33, SG34, SG43, SG 44. Due to the need of exclusive control, the instruction detecting unit 10 or the driver control unit 20 cannot simultaneously drive the plurality of motors M1 to M4.

(concrete example of Main control)

Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing a specific example of the main control applied to the in-vehicle control system shown in fig. 1. For example, the instruction detection unit 10 or the driver control unit 20 shown in fig. 1 performs the control shown in fig. 2. The control shown in fig. 2 is assumed to be realized by executing a predetermined program with a microcomputer or by dedicated hardware using an appropriate logic circuit.

The control shown in fig. 2 includes a process of exclusively controlling the four motors M1 to M4 as loads, and a process of appropriately controlling the motors M1 to M4 by managing the priorities of the motors M1 to M4.

In the present embodiment, the priority is specified in advance as follows.

Priority 1 (highest): motor M2 (door locking and unlocking control)

Priority 2: motor M1 (door mirror storage and unfolding control)

Priority 3: motors M3, M4 (mirror direction up-down and left-right adjustment)

For example, the signal SGA is input to the instruction detecting unit 10 via a communication network on the vehicle. The instruction detecting unit 10 continuously monitors the input condition of the signal SGA and identifies whether a new drive instruction has been generated in S11.

The signal SGA input to the indication detection unit 10 includes the categories of the motors M1 to M4 as driving objects, on and off indications, driving direction indications, and the like.

When the generation of a new driving instruction is detected in S11, the instruction detecting unit 10 identifies the content of the signal SGA (S12). That is, the category of the instructed motors M1 to M4 as the driving objects, the category of on (driving start) and off (driving stop), and the category of the driving directions (forward and reverse) are identified.

Next, the instruction detecting unit 10 identifies whether the new instruction detected in S11 is a drive start instruction (S13). When the drive start instruction is detected, the process proceeds from S13 to S14. When any other instruction is detected, the process proceeds to S17.

When the drive start instruction is detected, the instruction detecting unit 10 recognizes whether the motors other than the drive object instructed this time have been energized (S14). If the motor other than the driving object has been energized, the process proceeds to S15, and if the motor is not energized, the process proceeds to S16.

The instruction detecting unit 10 identifies the level of priority of the motor Mx currently being energized and the motor My as the driving object instructed this time (S15).

For example, if all the motors M1 to M4 are in the non-energized state, the command detecting unit 10 starts energizing the motor My as the driving object in S16 in accordance with the instruction. When there is the motor Mx that has been energized and the priority of the motor Mx is lower than the priority of the motor My, the energization of the motor My as the driving object is started after the driving of the motor Mx having a low priority is suspended or switched to the standby state (non-energization) in S16. When there is the motor Mx that has been energized and the priority of the motor Mx is higher than the priority of the motor My, in S16, the detection unit 10 is instructed to continue driving the motor Mx having the high priority and the storage motor My is in the drive standby state.

For example, when the motor M1 is driven in the forward rotation direction, the instruction detection unit 10 outputs a signal SGB to control the driver control unit 20 so that the control signals SGC1, SGC2, SG13, SG14, SG23, SG24, SG33, SG34, SG43, SG44 output from the driver control unit 20 are determined to be in the following states.

SGC 1: a disconnect level; SGC 2: switching on the electrical level; SG13 off level; SG 14: a disconnect level; SG 23: switching on the electrical level; SG 24: a disconnect level; SG 33: a disconnect level; SG 34: a disconnect level; SG 43: a disconnect level; SG 44: the off level.

On the other hand, when the "drive stop instruction" is detected, the process proceeds from S17 to S18, and the instruction detection unit 10 stops the energization of the motor My instructed this time.

In S19, the instruction detecting unit 10 identifies whether there is a standby motor Mz waiting for the start of energization, and when there is a standby motor Mz, the process proceeds to S20.

In S20, the detection unit 10 is instructed to start or continue driving the standby motor Mz. When there are a plurality of standby motors Mz, in S20, the driving of only one motor Mz having the highest priority among the plurality of standby motors Mz is started or continued.

On the other hand, when the "driving direction switching instruction" is detected, the process proceeds from S21 to S22, and the instruction detecting unit 10 switches the energization direction of the motor My instructed this time to the opposite direction.

(description of operation examples)

Fig. 3 is a timing chart showing an operation example of the in-vehicle control system shown in fig. 1. Similarly to the above example, also in the operation example shown in fig. 3, the motor M2 is assumed to have a higher priority than the priority of the motors M3, M4.

In the example shown in fig. 3, the following cases (1) to (4) are assumed.

(1) At time t11, a drive start instruction for the motor M3 or M4 is generated.

(2) At time t12, a drive start instruction for the motor M2 is generated.

(3) At time t13, a drive stop instruction for the motor M2 is generated.

(4) At time t14, a drive stop instruction for the motor M3 or M4 is generated.

In this case, the in-vehicle control system operates as follows.

(operation at time t 11): in accordance with the instruction generated at time t11, the detection unit 10 is instructed to start energization to the motor M3 or M4.

(operation at time t 12): since the motor M2 has a higher priority than the motors M3, M4, after stopping the energization of the motor M3 or M4 having a low priority, the specification detecting unit 10 starts the energization of the motor M2 having a high priority in accordance with the instruction generated at time t 12.

(operation at time t 13): according to the instruction generated at time t13, after the energization to the motor M2 is stopped, the instruction detection unit 10 restarts the energization to the motor M3 or M4 in the standby state.

(operation at time t 14): in accordance with the instruction generated at time t14, the detection unit 10 is instructed to stop energization to the motor M3 or M4.

That is, the instruction detecting unit 10 performs exclusive control so that the plurality of motors M1 to M4 are not driven simultaneously. Therefore, even if a plurality of motors share the common output terminal Oc of the single H-bridge circuit BC, no malfunction occurs. As in the operation at time t12 in the example shown in fig. 3, even if the other motor M3 or M4 has been energized, when the drive start instruction of the motor M2 having a high priority is generated, the energization of the motor M2 can be started without delay. As with the operation at time t13 in the example shown in fig. 3, when the energization of the motor M2 having a high priority is completed, the energization of the motor M3 or M4 in the standby state can be automatically restarted.

(modification example)

Fig. 4 is a circuit diagram showing a modification of the in-vehicle control system. In the vehicle-mounted control system shown in fig. 4, a motor M4 for mirror surface left-right adjustment, a motor M3 for mirror surface up-down adjustment, a motor M2 for door locking, and a motor M1 for mirror housing are connected to output terminals O2, O1, O3, and O4, respectively. Since the connection positions of the motors M1 to M4 are different, the operation of the driver control unit 20B is changed. The others are similar to the on-board control system shown in fig. 1.

The number of the motors M1 to M4 connected as loads to the vehicle-mounted control system can be increased or decreased as needed. For example, if one half-bridge circuit is added, the number of motors to be connected can be increased by one. Loads other than motors may be connected to the outputs of the on-board control system shown in fig. 1 and 4. The indication detection unit 10 and the driver control unit 20 may also be integrated. The switching devices constituting the H-bridge circuit BC and the half-bridge circuits B2 to B4 are not limited to MOSFETs, and general transistors such as relays or mechanical switches can be employed.

When controlling energization of the four motors M1 to M4 in two directions, four H-bridge circuits are generally required, so that the number of switching devices required is (4 × 4 ═ 16). However, since the number of switching devices required in the configuration shown in fig. 1 and 4 is reduced to ten, the component cost and the like can be reduced.

Although the specific embodiments have been described above, the aspects of the present invention are not limited to the embodiments, and may be modified, improved, and the like as appropriate.

Features related to the above-described load control device, load control system, and on-vehicle control system are briefly summarized and listed in [1] to [5] below.

[1] A load control device is configured to control three or more independent loads (motors M1 to M4) that can be reversely driven by switching an energization direction and allow an alternative operation.

The load control device includes:

an H-Bridge Circuit (BC);

a plurality of half-bridge circuits (B2-B4);

a common connection circuit (common output line LOC) that connects one terminal (M1b, M2b, M3b, M4b) of each of a plurality of the loads in common to one output terminal (common output terminal Oc) of the H-bridge circuit;

separate connection circuits (separate output lines LO1 to LO4) each connecting another terminal (M1a, M2a, M3a, M4a) of each of the plurality of loads to another output terminal (O1) of the H-bridge circuit or any one of output terminals (O2 to O4) of the plurality of half-bridge circuits; and

an exclusive control unit (instruction detecting unit 10; S14; S16) that generates signals to be supplied to the H-bridge circuit and the plurality of half-bridge circuits, respectively, to exclusively control the plurality of loads.

[2] The load control device according to [1],

when it is detected that a simultaneous driving instruction for each of a plurality of the loads is input, the exclusive control unit drives only a load having the highest priority among the plurality of the loads for which the driving instruction has been generated, in accordance with the priorities assigned to the plurality of the loads (S14 to S16, S20).

[3] A load control system comprising:

three or more independent loads (motors M1 to M4) that can be reversely driven by switching the energization direction and that allow an operation of one;

an H-Bridge Circuit (BC);

a plurality of half-bridge circuits (B2-B4);

a common connection circuit (common output line LOC) that connects one terminal of each of a plurality of the loads in common to one output terminal of the H-bridge circuit;

separate connection circuits (separate output lines LO1 to LO4) each connecting the other terminal of each of the plurality of loads to the other output terminal of the H-bridge circuit or any one of the output terminals of the plurality of half-bridge circuits;

an exclusive control unit (instruction detecting unit 10; S14; S16) that generates signals to be supplied to the H-bridge circuit and the plurality of half-bridge circuits, respectively, to exclusively control the plurality of loads; and

a drive instruction generating unit (instruction detecting unit 10; S11 to S13) that supplies a drive instruction for each of the plurality of loads to the exclusive control unit.

[4] The load control system according to [3],

when the driving instruction for each of the plurality of the loads is input from the driving instruction generating unit, the exclusive control unit drives only the load having the highest priority among the plurality of the loads for which the driving instruction has been generated, in accordance with the priorities assigned to the plurality of the loads (S14 to S16).

[5] An onboard control system comprising:

three or more independent loads (motors M1 to M4) that are mounted on the vehicle, that can be reversely driven by switching the energization direction, and that allow an alternative operation;

an H-Bridge Circuit (BC);

a plurality of half-bridge circuits (B2-B4);

a common connection circuit (common output line LOC) that connects one terminal of each of a plurality of the loads in common to one output terminal of the H-bridge circuit;

separate connection circuits (separate output lines LO1 to LO4) each connecting the other terminal of each of the plurality of loads to the other output terminal of the H-bridge circuit or any one of the output terminals of the plurality of half-bridge circuits;

an exclusive control unit (instruction detecting unit 10; S14; S16) that generates signals to be supplied to the H-bridge circuit and the plurality of half-bridge circuits, respectively, to exclusively control the plurality of loads; and

a drive instruction generating unit (instruction detecting unit 10; S11 to S13) that supplies a drive instruction for each of the plurality of loads to the exclusive control unit.