Brake Module Redundancy for Hydraulic-Pneumatic Trailer Coupling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing brake modules for hydraulically braked towing vehicles coupled with pneumatically braked trailers face delays and poor response due to hysteresis in mechanical trailer control valves, and existing electro-pneumatic solutions suffer from reliability issues during electronic component failures.
Innovation Solution
A brake module with an electro-pneumatic pressure control module that receives direct electronic control signals from the brake pedal, independent of a hydraulic-pneumatic trailer brake valve, and includes a redundancy valve arrangement that supplies pneumatic brake pressure directly in case of electro-pneumatic module failure, ensuring continuous trailer braking functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a mechanical trailer control valve is used to convert hydraulic brake pressure to pneumatic pressure, then the design is robust and relatively failure-resistant, but the brake pressure is supplied to the trailer vehicle with delay due to hysteresis, resulting in limited dosing and poor response
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the purely mechanical trailer control valve with an electro-pneumatic pressure control module that receives electronic control signals directly from the brake pedal. This substitution eliminates the hysteresis inherent in mechanical valves, enabling fast response times and precise dosing of brake pressure to the trailer vehicle while maintaining system reliability through redundant valve arrangements.
2Loss of time
If an electro-pneumatic pressure control module is used to eliminate hysteresis and improve response time, then switching times are very fast, but the system becomes susceptible to electronic component failures, reducing reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a redundancy valve arrangement with solenoid valves that are positioned to provide automatic fallback capability. When electronic components fail, the redundant valves automatically activate to maintain brake pressure supply to the trailer vehicle. This beforehand cushioning ensures that the fast switching benefits of electro-pneumatic control are retained during normal operation while protecting against reliability losses from electronic failures.
3Reliability
If a redundancy valve arrangement is added to provide fallback capability in case of electronic failure, then reliability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the electro-pneumatic pressure control module with the redundancy valve arrangement into an integrated system. The solenoid valves of the redundancy arrangement are positioned to be controllable by the electronic control unit, allowing unified control logic that manages both the primary electro-pneumatic path and the redundant fallback path. This merging reduces overall system complexity compared to having completely separate systems while maintaining the reliability benefits of redundancy.
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
This configuration eliminates delays and ensures reliable trailer braking by providing a fallback mechanism that operates independently of the electro-pneumatic module, maintaining braking functionality even in cases of electronic failure or ignition shutdown.
Implementation Method 1
an electro-pneumatic pressure control module (3) which receives direct electronic control signals from the brake pedal
Implementation Method 2
a redundancy valve arrangement (5) which supplies the pneumatic brake pressure directly in the event of failure of the electro-pneumatic pressure control module (3)
Implementation Method 3
hydraulic control pressure is converted into a pneumatic output pressure
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 3
AI summary
Brake module (1) for a hydraulically braked towing vehicle (34; 35) which can be coupled to a pneumatically braked trailer (22), wherein the brake module (1) has an electropneumatic pressure control module (3) with an electronic control unit (4) which converts control pulses for electromagnetic control valves (28, 29), wherein the brake module (1) has a redundant valve arrangement (5) which is connected via a hydraulic control input (H41) to a hydraulic pressure line (H1;H2) and is connected to the compressed air reservoir (15) via a pneumatic inlet (P1), wherein in the event of a failure of at least one electrical or electronic component relevant to the operation of the brake module (1), the pneumatic output (P2) of the redundancy valve arrangement (5) is connected to the control pressure coupling head (23), and wherein the electropneumatic pressure control module (3) and the redundancy valve arrangement (5) are pneumatically connected in parallel to each other, and the pneumatic output (P2) of the redundancy valve arrangement (5) can be connected exclusively to the control pressure coupling head (23).