Autonomous Vehicle Trailer Fire Detection and Safe-Position Suppression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles lack effective systems to detect and suppress trailer fires, posing safety risks due to unsafe continuation of operation and potential hazards to the vehicle and surrounding traffic.
Innovation Solution
A fire detection system with sensors and a fire suppression system integrated into the autonomous vehicle, including a suppression unit, dispensing assembly, and processing system to autonomously identify fire conditions and release fire-extinguishing substances based on sensor data, controlling vehicle movement to a safe position for suppression.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If autonomous vehicle continues operation after detecting trailer fire condition, then productivity is maintained, but safety and reliability deteriorate due to fire hazard
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of fire conditions using sensors before the fire can spread and cause serious hazards. By detecting smoke, heat, or flame indicators early, the system can alert the operator and prepare suppression measures in advance, maintaining safety while allowing operation to continue if the fire is minor and controllable.
Solution Approach 2:
The fire detection system continuously monitors trailer conditions and provides feedback to the operator through alerts and warnings. This feedback loop allows the operator to make informed decisions about whether to continue operation or stop for fire suppression, balancing safety requirements with productivity needs.
2Reliability
If fire suppression system is deployed, then safety is improved by suppressing fire, but device complexity increases due to additional suppression components
Solution Approach 1:
The fire suppression system is integrated with the existing autonomous vehicle platform, combining fire detection sensors, suppression agents, and control mechanisms into a unified system. This merging approach improves safety while minimizing the increase in overall system complexity by leveraging existing vehicle infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The fire suppression system is designed to operate automatically upon detection of fire conditions, without requiring manual intervention. The system self-activates by releasing suppression agents when sensors detect fire indicators, improving safety response time while reducing the complexity of manual control systems.
3Measurement precision
If multiple sensors are positioned within trailer, then measurement precision is improved for fire detection, but device complexity increases due to multiple sensor components
Solution Approach 1:
The fire detection system divides the trailer monitoring function into multiple specialized sensors positioned at different locations. Each sensor type (smoke detectors, heat sensors, flame detectors) focuses on specific fire indicators, improving overall detection precision while organizing complexity into manageable segmented components with distinct functions.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for detecting and suppressing fires in a trailer of an autonomous vehicle. The method includes receiving, from a plurality of sensors, at least one sensor signal representing one or more fire-related conditions within the trailer of the autonomous vehicle; identifying one or more fire-indicative conditions within the trailer of the autonomous vehicle based on the one or more fire-related conditions; controlling a drive system to move the autonomous vehicle into a fire-suppression position; releasing one or more fire-extinguishing substances from one or more of a plurality of tanks of a suppression unit to be conveyed through a connection assembly to a dispensing assembly, wherein the one or more fire-extinguishing substances are selectively released based on the one or more fire-related conditions; and discharging the one or more fire-extinguishing substances from the dispensing assembly into the trailer of the autonomous vehicle.