Patent ID: 8716884

Claim:
A vehicle controller comprising: a plurality of functional modules arranged in linear direction; and signal lines and power lines connected with the functional modules, wherein one of the sides of each of the plurality of functional modules is an interface side provided with external signal-line terminals to which the signal lines are connected and external power-line terminals to which the power lines are connected, wherein each of the interface sides is divided into a first interface region where external signal-line terminals to which the signal lines are connected are disposed and a second interface region where external power-line terminals to which the power lines are connected are disposed, wherein the plurality of functional modules are arranged in such a way that the respective interface sides thereof are adjacent to one another, parallel to said linear direction; and the first interface regions are disposed in the vicinity of one and the same end and the second interface regions are disposed in the vicinity of the other and the same end, wherein both the signal lines and the power lines can be attached or detached from one common side of the linear arrangement of the functional modules, wherein the plurality of functional modules includes at least a functional module having a monitoring circuit that monitors a voltage and a current, a functional module having an overvoltage protection circuit, and a functional module having an inverter that converts a DC voltage into an AC voltage, and wherein the functional module having a monitoring circuit connects in a relaying manner the other functional modules with an overhead line, and further comprising at least one functional module, as a control circuit, having an interface side that has the first interface region but no second interface region, wherein the first interface region in the interface side of said functional module is situated in the vicinity of one end the same as that in the vicinity of which the first interface regions in the interface sides of the other functional modules are situated.