FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present disclosure relates to electronic starting relay for a self-start vehicle.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Self-start vehicles are well known in the art. A self-start vehicle has starting system which automatically starts the vehicle upon pressing of a start switch. Some of the existing starting systems are shown in figs. 1 and 2. As shown in figs. 1 and 2, the existing starting systems are electromechanical in nature and may comprise of various electromechanical components. As shown in fig. 2, the conventional starting system may include various electromechanical components such as a moving contact, a M. S. plate, a core, coil, spring etc. The use of electromechanical components in the starting system has various disadvantages. For example, the conventional starting systems are heavy and bulky in size. The existing starting systems have great power losses due to many electromechanical contacts. The existing starting systems are not reliable and have limited switching cycles of less than 500k. The existing starting systems do not fulfill the latest requirements of more than 1 million Start-Stop i.e. 1 million times of repetitive start and stop operation of vehicle. The existing starting systems do not provide over temperature protection.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a starting system which overcomes the above-mentioned problems. The present disclosure is directed to provide solution to the above and other problems existing in the prior art.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present disclosure is to provide an electronic starter relay for a self-start vehicle.

Another object of the present disclosure is to provide an electronic starting system for a self-start vehicle.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a method for operating the electronic starting system for a self-start vehicle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In an embodiment, the present disclosure relates to a starter relay for a vehicle comprising a cover having a top end and a bottom end, the top end being an open end and a PCB secured inside the top end of the cover. The PCB assembly is configured to receive an input signal from a start switch and provide a current path from a battery to a motor. The relay may further comprise a base having legs, wherein space between the legs accommodates the PCB assembly and the legs of the base are securely engaged into the top end of the cover. The relay may also comprise battery terminals configured for connection to the battery and secured in the base and motor terminals configured for connection to the motor and secured in the base.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the PCB assembly comprises: a MOSFET driver, and a transistor situated between the battery and the motor.
In yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, the transistor is connected to the MOSFET driver, the battery and the motor at its gate terminal, drain terminal and source terminal, respectively.
In still another embodiment of the present disclosure, the transistor provides a current path from the battery to the motor.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the bottom end of the cover is provided with heat sink fins.

In yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, the battery terminals are secured at one side of the base through fastener.
In still another embodiment of the present disclosure, the motor terminals are secured at other side of the base through the fastener.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the battery terminals comprise a first terminal and a second terminal, the first and second terminals are secured at first and second cavity of the PCB assembly through first and second slot of the base.
In yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, the motor terminal is secured at third cavity of the PCB assembly through third slot of the base.
In still another embodiment, the present disclosure relates to an electronic start system for a vehicle comprising a battery, a starter switch connected to the battery, a motor, and a PCB assembly connected to the battery, the starter switch and the motor. The PCB assembly is configured to receive an input signal from the starter switch and provide a current path from the battery to the motor.
In another embodiment, the present disclosure relates to a method of self-starting a vehicle comprising starting a starter switch, providing an input signal from the starter switch to a PCB assembly, connecting a motor to a battery by the PCB assembly, and starting the motor.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures for carrying out the several purposes of the invention. It is important therefore that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions as do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The following paragraphs are provided in order to describe the best mode of working the invention and nothing in this section should be taken as a limitation of the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
Further aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will be readily understood from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, where like reference numerals refer to identical or similar or functionally similar elements. The figures together with the detailed description below, are incorporated in and form part of the specification, and serve to further illustrate the aspects/embodiments and explain various principles and advantages, in accordance with the present disclosure wherein:
Figure 1 illustrate a cross-sectional view of conventional starting system;
Figure 2 illustrate a conventional starting system;
Figure 3 illustrates electronic starter relay according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 4 illustrate a block diagram of the PCB assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 5 illustrate a block diagram of an electronic starting system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 6 illustrate prospective view of the electronic starter relay according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 7 illustrate flow chart of operating the electronic starting system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Figure 8(a) illustrate front section view of the electronic starting system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 8(b) illustrate right side section view of the electronic starting system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 8(c) illustrate left side section view of the electronic starting system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the drawings may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of the aspects of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Various embodiments and aspects of the invention will now be described here in detail with reference to the accompanying figures. The terminology and phraseology used herein is solely for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as limiting in scope. Language such as "including", "comprising", "having", "containing" or "involving", and variations thereof, is intended to be broad and encompass the subj ect matter listed thereafter, equivalents, and additional subject matter not recited.
The below has broadly outlined the features and technical advantages of the present disclosure in order that the detailed description of the disclosure that follows may be better understood. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the

conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the disclosure, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present disclosure.
Fig. 3 illustrates an electronic starter relay (100) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 3, the electronic starter relay of the present disclosure may include a cover (101), a PCB assembly (103), a base (105) battery terminals (107a, 107b) and motor terminal (109). The starter relay (100) may also comprise heat sink fins (111). The cover (101) has a top end (101a) and a bottom end (101b). The top end (012) of the cover (101) is an open end to secure the PCB assembly (104). As shown in fig. 3, the PCB assembly (104) is securely placed inside the cover (101) at its top end (101a). The PCB assembly (104) may also comprise first cavity (113a), second cavity (113b) and third cavity (113c) to secure the battery terminals (107a, 107b) and motor terminal (109). The PCB assembly (103) is accommodated within space between the legs (105c, 105d) of the base (105). The said space may also be referred as epoxy cutout area (115) and after accommodating the PCB assembly (103) in the base (105), said area is filled with epoxy for water prevention and non-absorption of heat. The legs (105c, 105d) are securely engaged at the top end (101a) of the cover (101) by a snap lock (117). The base (105) further comprise a first slot (105a), second slot (105b) and third slot (105c) to connect the battery terminals (107a, 107b) and motor terminal (109) to the PCB assembly. As shown in fig. 3, the battery terminals (107a, 107b) may include a first terminal (107a) and a second terminals (107b). The first terminal (107a) and the second terminal (107b) are connected to the PCB assembly (103) at the first cavity (103a) and second cavity (103b), respectively. The first terminal
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(107a) and the second terminal (107b) are connected to the PCB assembly (103) through first slot (105a) and second slot (105b) of the base (105), respectively. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first terminal (107a) is a positive battery terminal and the second terminal (107a) is a negative battery terminal. The battery terminals (107a, 107b) are configured for connection to a battery (not shown). The motor terminal (109) is connected to the PCB assembly (103) at the third cavity (103c) through third slot (105c) of the base (105). The motor terminal (109) is configured for connection to a motor (not shown). The battery terminals (107a, 107b) and motor terminal (109) may be securely connected to the base (105) using fastener (113). In an embodiment, the fastener (113) may be square nuts, as shown in fig. 4. It should be apparent to a person skilled in the art that any other means may be used to securely connect the battery terminals (107a, 107b) and motor terminal (109) to the base (105). Further, as can be seen in fig. 4, the heat sink fins (111) are placed at the bottom end (101b) of the cover (101).
Fig. 4 illustrate a block diagram of the PCB assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 4, the PCB assembly (103) may consists of a MOSFET DRIVER (201) and a MOSFET (203). The gate terminal of the MOSFET (203) is connected to the MOSFET DRIVER (201) through a gate resistance Rgate. The drain terminal of the MOSFET (203) is connected to the positive (+ve) terminal of the battery (205). It should be noted that in an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, that the drain terminal of the MOSFET (203) can be connected to the negative (-ve) terminal of the battery (205). The source terminal of the MOSFET (203) is connected to the motor (207). MOSFET DRIVER (201) receives the input signal from the starter switch (209) through an input resistance Rin. MOSFET DRIVER (201) is connected to the positive (+ve) terminal of the battery (205) through resistance Rvds. It should be noted that in an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, that the MOSFET DRIVER (201) can be connected to the negative (-ve) terminal of the battery (205). The MOSFET DRIVER (201) may include PIN In/Dg for Diagnosis purpose. The Diagnosis pin is activated during fault indication (Short circuit and Under voltage) and protect the
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PCB by entering into sleep mode when diagnosis pin is activated. The MOSFET DRIVER (201) may also include PIN Cboot for bootstrap feature. The bootstrap capacitor provides the necessary current to the driver in order to charge the gate MOSFET capacitor to the right voltage level. The MOSFET DRIVER integrates a bootstrap regulator to maintain a fixed voltage (Vboot=6V) on the bootstrap capacitor for any battery voltage. The regulator is off during the sleep mode to reduce the current consumption. In an alternative embodiment, the PCB assembly (103) can be replaced by a single chip including all the external protections.
The MOSFET DRIVER (201) receives the input signal from the starter switch (209) and provides a high signal at the gate terminal of the MOSFET (203) through resistance Rgate. The MOSFET (203) receives the high signal from the MOSFET DRIVER (201) and gets turned ON. The MOSFET (203) then provides a current path between the motor (207) to the battery (203). The motor (209) receives the battery voltage from the battery (203), which turns ON the motor (209).
The MOSFET DRIVER (201) provides various protections to the starting system. For example, the MOSFET DRIVER (201) is equipped with a Positive temperature coefficient (PTC) sensor to provide over temperature protection. The MOSFET DRIVER (201) may include a PTC resistance which is connected to the positive (+ve) terminal of the battery (205). The PTC sensor is connected to the tab or the drain of the MOSFET depending on the mounting. The value of PTC resistance will increase with increase in the temperature and the value of the PTC resistance sensor will decrease with decrease in the temperature. The PTC protection will be activated, when the value of the PTC resistance is above a threshold value, for example 5kQ (typical value).
The MOSFET DRIVER (201) also provides short circuit protection. In order to detect the short circuit condition, the MOSFET DRIVER (201) has a counter. The value of counter increases with every 'under voltage' detection. When the value of

counter is above a threshold value, for example 4, the fault diagnostic is activated. The MOSFET DRIVER (201) also provides reverse battery protection.
Figure 5 represents a block diagram of the electronic starting system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 5, the electronic starting system (300) may include a battery (301), a starter switch (303), a PCB assembly (305) and a motor (307). In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the battery (301) may consist of two terminals i.e. first terminal (TERMINAL 1) and second terminal (TERMINAL 2). TERMINAL 1 can be a positive (+ve) terminal and TERMINAL 2 can be a negative (-ve) terminal in an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, TERMINAL 1 can be a negative (-ve) terminal and TERMINAL 2 can be a positive (+ve) terminal. The starter switch (303) is connected to the negative (-ve) terminal of the battery (301). It should be noted that in an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, the starter switch (303) can be connected to the positive (+ve) terminal of the battery (301). The PCB assembly (305) is connected to the positive (+ve) terminal of the battery (301). It should be noted that in an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, the PCB assembly (305) can be connected to the negative(-ve) terminal of the battery (301). The positive (+ve) terminal of the battery (301) is also connected to the motor (307). It should be noted that in an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, negative (-ve) terminal of the battery (301) can be connected to the motor (307). The PCB assembly (305) is connected to the motor (307) as a positive (+ve) terminal. It should be noted that in an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, the PCB assembly (305) can be connected to the motor (307) as a negative (-ve) terminal. In operation, when the starter switch (303) is pressed (i.e. ON), the PCB assembly (305) receives an input signal from the starter switch (303). The PCB assembly then provides a current path between the motor (307) to the battery (301), as explained above in reference to fig. 4. Thus, the motor (307) gets the required voltage and gets turned ON.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, for higher current and for more reliability, we can use multiple MOSFETs and the multiple MOSFETs may be connected in parallel.
Fig. 6 represents the prospective view of the electronic starter relay according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 6, the electronic starter relay of the present disclosure may include a cover (401), heat sink fins (403), a base (405), epoxy filling (407), negative (-ve) battery terminal (409), positive (+ve) battery terminal (411), motor output terminal (413) and snap lock (415). The positive (+ve) battery terminal (411) is connected to the PCB assembly and the negative (-ve) battery terminal (409) is connected to the starter switch and the motor as explained in reference to fig. 5.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for operating the electronic starting system for a self-start vehicle is provided in fig. 7. As shown in fig. 9, at step 501, starter switch is pressed i.e. is turned ON. At step 503, an input signal is provided to a PCB assembly by the starter switch, as explained in reference to fig. 4. At step 505, the PCB assembly provides a current path between a motor and a battery, thereby connecting the motor to the battery as explained in reference to fig. 4. At step 507, the motor is started i.e. turned ON.
Figs. 8(a), 8(b) and 8(c) represent the various sectional views of the electronic starter relay according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
It is to be understood that although the embodiments above are explained for a self-start vehicle, the various embodiments can be used for other type of vehicles also.
Advantages:
The present disclosure provides following advantages:

1. The electronic starter relay of present disclosure provides noise free operation.
2. The electronic starter relay of present disclosure provides slow ampere switching.
3. The electronic starter relay of present disclosure has more reliable and accurate switch.
4. The electronic starter relay of present disclosure is light weighted.
5. The electronic starter relay of present disclosure is more efficient.
6. The electronic starter relay of present disclosure does not have any current leakage.
7. The electronic starter relay of present disclosure has a compact design.
8. The electronic starter relay of present disclosure provides over temperature protection.
9. The electronic starter relay of present disclosure provides switching cycles of greater than 1000k life cycle.
10. The electronic starter relay of present disclosure provides fast switching.
The disclosed invention is thus attained in an economical, practical, and facile manner. It is to be understood that various further modifications and additional configurations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is intended that the specific embodiments, configurations and calculations herein disclosed are illustrative and should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the invention.

We Claim:
1. A starter relay for a vehicle, comprising:
a cover having a top end and a bottom end, the top end being an open end;
a PCB secured inside the top end of the cover, the PCB assembly is configured to:
receive an input signal from a start switch; and
provide a current path from a battery to a motor; a base having legs, wherein space between the legs accommodates the PCB assembly, the legs of the base are securely engaged into the top end of the cover;
battery terminals configured for connection to the battery and secured in the base; and motor terminals configured for connection to the motor and secured in the base.
2. The starter relay as claimed in claim 1, wherein the PCB assembly comprises:
a MOSFET driver; and
a transistor situated between the battery and the motor.
3. The starter relay as claimed in claim 2, wherein the transistor is connected to the
MOSFET driver, the battery and the motor at its gate terminal, drain terminal and source
terminal, respectively.
4. The starter relay as claimed in claim 2-4, wherein the transistor provides a current path
from the battery to the motor.
7. The starter relay as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bottom end of the cover is provided with heat sink fins.
8. The starter relay as claimed in claim 1, wherein the battery terminals are secured at one side of the base through fastener.
9. The starter relay as claimed in claim 1, wherein the motor terminals are secured at other side of the base through the fastener.

10. The starter relay as claimed in claim 1, wherein the battery terminals comprise a first terminal and a second terminal, the first and second terminals are secured at first and second cavity of the PCB assembly through first and second slot of the base.
11. The starter relay as claimed in claim 1, wherein the motor terminal is secured at third cavity of the PCB assembly through third slot of the base.
12. An electronic start system for a vehicle, comprising:
a battery;
a starter switch connected to the battery; a motor; and
a PCB assembly connected to the battery, the starter switch and the motor, the PCB assembly is configured to:
receive an input signal from the starter switch; and
providing a current path from the battery to the motor.
13. A method of self-starting a vehicle comprising:
starting a starter switch;
providing an input signal from the starter switch to a PCB assembly; connecting a motor to a battery by the PCB assembly; and starting the motor.