Patent 7978452 was granted and assigned to Lear Corporation on July, 2011 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Overcurrent is prevented in an automotive vehicle based on sensing at least one operating condition. An overcurrent threshold is determined based on characteristics of the load and on the sensed condition. If the sensed flow of current exceeds the determined overcurrent threshold, the flow of current to the load is interrupted. The sensed condition may be, for example, ambient temperature.