Traction Battery Separation Box for 5 ms HV Disconnection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing safety devices for electrically powered vehicles do not adequately address the risk of uncontrolled electrical energy release from high-voltage traction batteries, posing a danger to passengers, drivers, and mechanics due to complex component coordination and proprietary interfaces.
Innovation Solution
A safety device with a separation box directly connected to the traction battery, featuring a computing unit and communication bus, which prevents direct contact with battery poles and safely disconnects high-voltage lines in case of faults, using contactors, circuit breakers, or MOS-FETs, and communicates through a CAN bus for reliable energy transmission and monitoring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a separation box with complex control units and proprietary interfaces is used to manage high-voltage lines, then the vehicle's electrical system can be controlled, but safety risks increase due to coordination complexity and potential failure points
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the safety-critical disconnection function from the complex control units and creates a separate, dedicated safety device with its own control unit. This safety device independently monitors conditions and can disconnect high-voltage lines without relying on the coordination of multiple control units, thereby eliminating safety risks associated with complex system coordination while maintaining operational control.
2Reliability
If disconnection of high-voltage lines is delayed to allow for complex safety checks and coordination between control units, then thorough safety verification is achieved, but response time increases exposing passengers and drivers to danger
Solution Approach 1:
The safety device continuously monitors system conditions and pre-pretes for emergency disconnection by maintaining readiness to act independently. The control unit within the safety device is pre-configured with safety logic and can immediately initiate disconnection without waiting for coordination responses from other control units, thus performing preliminary safety preparation that enables rapid response when faults occur.
3Adaptability or versatility
If proprietary interfaces and complex component coordination are used in existing safety devices, then system functionality is achieved, but the risk of coordination failures and safety incidents increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the safety function from the overall vehicle control system by implementing a dedicated safety device with its own control unit that directly interfaces with the high-voltage lines. This segmented architecture allows the safety device to independently perform safety checks and disconnections without requiring complex coordination between multiple control units, thereby reducing coordination complexity while maintaining full safety functionality.
Data Source
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AI summary
Electrically powered motor vehicles 3 become safer if they have a separation box 25 ("BDU") as an integrated component of the traction battery 21 of the motor vehicle 3, wherein the separation box 25 can be designed as the location for measuring parameters of the traction battery 3 and as the location for measuring the electrical power available for the drive or the drive train 5, while the other control units 31 can be designed for more complex evaluations of the measurement parameters and the measured values.