Battery Protection Circuit for Safer Vehicle Engine Start
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Summary
Problems
Existing battery protection systems for vehicle engines face challenges in preventing damage from excessive current or depth of discharge, particularly when using normally open or normally closed contactors, which either require external switches or lead to ongoing power consumption that can drain the battery.
Innovation solutions
A current protection circuit incorporating a latching circuit and a capacitor-driven contactor circuit that automatically switches to an open configuration when excessive current or voltage thresholds are met, disconnecting the battery to prevent damage without relying on external switches and minimizing power consumption.
TRIZ Analysis
Specific contradictions:
General conflict description:
Principle concept:
If a normally open contactor is used in the battery power circuit, then the battery is protected from excessive current or excessive depth of discharge, but the complexity of the vehicle design and operation increases due to the necessity of installing and operating an external switch
Why choose this principle:
The battery protection system automatically monitors its own state through the microcontroller that continuously measures voltage and current parameters. The system self-activates protection by triggering the contactor to open when abnormal conditions are detected, eliminating the need for external manual intervention or complex external switching mechanisms.
Principle concept:
If a normally open contactor is used in the battery power circuit, then the battery is protected from excessive current or excessive depth of discharge, but the complexity of the vehicle design and operation increases due to the necessity of installing and operating an external switch
Why choose this principle:
The microcontroller continuously monitors battery parameters (voltage and current) and provides feedback to the contactor control circuit. When the monitored parameters exceed predetermined thresholds indicating excessive current or depth of discharge, the feedback loop automatically triggers the contactor to open, providing continuous closed-loop protection without external switches.
Application Domain
Data Source
AI summary:
A current protection circuit incorporating a latching circuit and a capacitor-driven contactor circuit that automatically switches to an open configuration when excessive current or voltage thresholds are met, disconnecting the battery to prevent damage without relying on external switches and minimizing power consumption.
Abstract
A protection circuit for protecting an energy storage device includes a first circuit region between a first terminal of the energy storage device and a first connector node, a second circuit region between a second terminal of the energy storage device and a second connector node, a latching circuit to electrically couple the first connector node to the first terminal of the energy storage device when the latching circuit is in a closed configuration, and a contactor circuit electrically coupled to an operational switch of the latching circuit, the contactor circuit comprising a capacitor to store charge and a microcontroller to monitor an electrical property of the energy storage device to determine if a short circuit occurs and, if a short circuit does occur, cause the capacitor to discharge to the operational switch of the latching circuit to cause the latching circuit to transition to the open configuration.