Patent ID: 11899078
Assignee: VOLVO TRUCK CORPORATION
Field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC G  H | IPC G  H

Claim 0:
1. A method for estimating the ageing state of fuse elements provided inside a vehicle fuse box, this method comprising steps that consist to:
a) measure and monitor the current flowing through each fuse element;
b) increment a counter each time the current flowing through the fuse element exceeds fuse rating, said counter corresponding to the number of current peaks supported by the fuse element;
c) extract from a pre-established model a threshold number of current peaks that the fuse element can withstand;
d) determining the ageing state of the fuse element as the quotient between the counter calculated at step b) and the threshold number extracted at step c), the fuse element being considered as worn out when said quotient reaches 100%.