Automotive Battery Management System for Low Charge Alarm
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automotive vehicle batteries, especially in hybrid vehicles, face depletion and potential damage due to self-discharge during extended periods of inactivity, leading to maintenance costs and operational issues, as existing systems only postpone damage without preventing it.
Innovation Solution
A method for controlling the power supply system that activates a communication device to send an alarm when a battery approaches a critical state of charge, allowing for remote notification and potential recharging by transferring energy between high and low voltage batteries via a DC/DC converter, enabling timely maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of stationary object
If the vehicle is left unused for an extended period, then the battery undergoes self-discharge and draws current from electronic devices, but the battery becomes depleted and may be damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary monitoring of the battery state of charge during the off state and sends out alarm signals before the battery reaches a critically depleted state. This allows maintenance actions to be taken in advance, preventing battery damage while the vehicle is still in an inactive state.
Solution Approach 2:
The battery managing unit continuously monitors the state of charge and provides feedback through alarm signals when the battery approaches a critical threshold. This feedback mechanism enables timely intervention to recharge or replace the battery before damage occurs, resolving the contradiction between extended inactivity and battery reliability.
2Reliability
If a DC/DC converter is used to recharge the low voltage battery from the high voltage battery, then the low voltage battery can be recharged, but the system only postpones damage without preventing it
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements preliminary monitoring and alarm signaling before the low voltage battery reaches a critically depleted state. By detecting the state of charge in advance and alerting the user or remote system, the invention enables proactive maintenance actions rather than merely postponing damage through automatic recharging.
Solution Approach 2:
The battery managing unit autonomously monitors the state of charge and triggers alarm signals without requiring external intervention. This self-service capability allows the system to detect and communicate battery issues early, enabling timely maintenance decisions that prevent damage rather than just delaying it.
3Measurement precision
If the battery state of charge is monitored continuously during off state, then early detection of critical levels is possible, but energy is consumed from the battery during inactivity
Solution Approach 1:
The battery managing unit performs periodic monitoring of the state of charge during the off state rather than continuous monitoring. This periodic measurement approach provides sufficient detection accuracy to identify critical charge levels while minimizing energy consumption from the battery during extended inactivity periods.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Prevents battery damage by alerting owners or maintenance systems to critical state of charge levels, allowing for proactive recharging and reducing maintenance costs by prioritizing the replacement of easier and cheaper batteries.
Implementation Method 1
recharge the low voltage battery by transferring electric power from the high voltage battery, thanks to a direct current/direct current (DC/DC) converter
Data Source
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AI summary
This method is for controlling a power supply system (P) of an automotive vehicle (V), comprising at least one battery (10, 50) and at least one associated battery managing unit (101, 501) adapted to monitor the state of charge of said battery, wherein it comprises the following steps: a) during an off state of the vehicle, monitoring of the state of charge level of the or each battery (10, 50) by the battery managing unit (101, 501), b) if the state of charge monitored at step a) reaches a low state of charge threshold, activation of an on-board communication device (30) adapted to emit a critical state of charge level alarm (Ac10, Ac50) to be received by an off-board reception device (100). The power supply system (P) comprises a battery managing unit (101, 501) per battery (10, 50) and means (30) to emit a critical state of charge level alarm (Ac10, Ac50).