Bistable Valve Pneumatic Brake for Utility Vehicles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pneumatic brake devices for utility vehicles face challenges in maintaining operational stability and safety, particularly during power outages and when trailers become detached, as existing systems lack robust mechanisms to prevent pressure drops and ensure safe parking without electricity.
Innovation Solution
A pneumatic brake device incorporating bistable valve units and a tractor protection valve, which allows for independent aeriation/deaeration of spring stores in both tractor and trailer vehicles, and includes an emergency braking function that activates the trailer's parking brake upon pressure threshold drops, ensuring stable operation in both driving and parked states.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a pneumatic brake device uses conventional valve units for parking brake control, then the system can operate during normal conditions, but the system loses stability and safety during power outages or trailer detachment events
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional valve operation logic by using bistable valve units that maintain their state without power, rather than requiring continuous power to maintain state. The valve only changes state when explicitly triggered, providing inherent stability during power outages while simplifying the control system's power requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The tractor protection valve provides beforehand cushioning by pre-configuring a pressure barrier that automatically activates when trailer pressure drops. This preventive mechanism ensures the tractor brake system remains stable before a failure occurs, rather than reacting after the failure.
2Device complexity
If the system uses a single integrated parking brake control mechanism, then the device complexity is reduced, but the ability to independently control tractor and trailer brakes is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the parking brake control system into separate bistable valve units for the tractor and trailer, each with independent control capability. This segmentation allows each unit to be optimized for its specific function while maintaining overall system simplicity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The bistable valve units serve multiple functions: they control parking brake application, maintain system state during power outages, and enable independent tractor/trailer brake control. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate control mechanisms for each function.
3Ease of operation
If the parking brake system relies on continuous electrical power supply, then precise control is maintained, but operational stability during power outages deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the electrical power-dependent valve control system with a pneumatic bistable valve system that maintains its state through pneumatic pressure alone. This substitution eliminates the single point of failure associated with electrical power dependency while maintaining precise control through pneumatic actuation.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the system allows compressed air to escape from both service brake and parking brake lines, then flexibility in brake operation is maintained, but safety is reduced when trailers detach
Solution Approach 1:
The tractor protection valve acts as an intermediary between the tractor and trailer air systems, monitoring trailer air pressure and automatically activating the tractor parking brake when trailer pressure drops below a threshold. This intermediary function provides safety against detachment while maintaining normal flexible operation when the trailer is properly connected.
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
The solution provides a simple, safe, and robust design that maintains the current brake state without electricity, preventing pressure drops and ensuring operational stability by using bistable valve units to manage air pressure and activate emergency braking functions, thus enhancing safety and reliability.
Implementation Method 1
provides a functionality in a pneumatic brake device for a utility vehicle so that the current condition of the brake device, that is to say driving or parking, is maintained even without electricity owing to the use of bistable valve units
Implementation Method 2
the spring stores of the utility vehicle (tractor vehicle) and also of the trailer to be able to be aerated or deaerated by means of these two bistable valve units
Implementation Method 3
The tractor protection valve prevents a drop in the output air pressure for the service brake of the tractor vehicle in the event of a drop in pressure in the service brake of the trailer vehicle
Implementation Method 4
includes an emergency braking function that activates the trailer's parking brake upon pressure threshold drops
Data Source
AI summary
A pneumatic braking device for a utility vehicle includes at least one pneumatically controllable spring accumulator for a parking brake of the utility vehicle with an electronic parking brake device. The electronic parking brake device has at least one electronic control unit, at least one first bistable valve unit, at least one second bistable valve unit, at least one valve device which can be connected in such a way that when there is a decrease in the system pressure for supplying the parking brake of the trailer of the traction vehicle, the parking brake of the trailer can be activated, and a traction vehicle protection valve.