Hella: LIN sensors for commercial vehicles

Besides the battery sensors, the German supplier offers rain/light sensors with LIN for commercial vehicles.

In the special applications segment comprising commercial trucks as well as off-road vehicles, Hella provides lighting and electronics products, which also can be used for the marine sector. The company is now set to continue expanding its electronics expertise in this segment. To this end, the company strengthens its global sales network.

Battery sensor

"Intelligent battery sensors, accelerator pedal sensors, rain/light sensors, actuators or turning angle sensors - we offer our customers every kind of product that makes vehicles safer, more efficient and more comfortable," said Daniel Quick from Hella. "The products cannot be taken over one-to-one from the automotive business because special vehicles have different technical requirements." In addition, the products are exposed to stronger mechanical vibrations and temperature fluctuations during use.

Therefore, the developers reconfigure the products accordingly and further develop them. One such example is the LIN battery sensors, which monitor the battery status and energy flow in the vehicle. It ensures precise measurement of the battery characteristics of voltage, current and temperature. The product can be attached directly to the negative pole of the battery via the pole terminal. Along with the terminal, the mechanical part of the battery sensor is comprised of the shunt and ground pin. The shunt is attached to the vehicle's load path and is used as a measuring resistor to measure the current indirectly. On the ground pin, the existing ground cable can be conveniently attached, for example, to the optionally available battery pole adapter.

The electronics are located in a molded housing with a connector as an interface for energy management. Via the LIN interface the sensor can be integrated in in-vehicle networks. The supply voltage, which is simultaneously used as reference voltage for the voltage measurement, is provided to the battery through the connection to the positive pole.

Rain/light sensor

The rain/light sensor for windshields also features LIN connectivity. The automatic wiper switch relieves the driver of the need to operate the relevant levers and the integrated light sensor controls the switching on and off of the low beam when confronted by different lighting conditions or during tunnel driving.

hz