Electromechanical Brake Redundancy With Shared Motor Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Purely electromechanical brake systems, such as 'brake-by-wire' systems, lack mechanical redundancy for emergency braking, posing safety concerns in case of component failure.
Innovation Solution
The system employs a redundant design where each bike brake device is actuated by both a primary and a secondary electric motor, with control units assigned to multiple wheel brake devices to ensure continued braking performance even if one control unit or motor fails.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If redundant components are installed to ensure braking performance in case of failure, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the control functions for multiple wheel brake devices into a single control unit. Specifically, one control unit controls two primary electric motors and two secondary electric motors of four wheel brake devices, thereby reducing the total number of control units from eight to two while maintaining full redundancy capability for all brake devices
Solution Approach 2:
The control units are designed with universal functionality to control multiple different electric motors. Each control unit can control any combination of primary and secondary electric motors across different wheel brake devices, making the control units multi-functional and adaptable to various failure scenarios without requiring dedicated control units for each motor
2Reliability
If more control units are installed to control each electric motor independently, then reliability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines control functions into fewer control units. Instead of having separate control units for each electric motor (which would require 8 control units for 4 wheel brake devices with 2 motors each), the system uses only 2 control units that each manage multiple motors, thereby reducing complexity while maintaining reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The control units are designed with dynamic reconfiguration capability. In the event of a failure, the control units can dynamically adjust which motors they control, allowing any control unit to take over control of failed motors or redistribute control responsibilities to maintain system functionality
3Reliability
If secondary electric motors are designed with full output capability, then reliability is improved, but installation space increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different performance levels to different motors based on their role. Primary electric motors are designed with full output capability for normal operation, while secondary electric motors (the redundant components) are designed with reduced output capability since they only need to provide minimum legally required deceleration, thereby reducing their size and installation space requirements
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 redundancy ensures that the braking system maintains full performance in case of component failure, reducing the risk of safety delays while also minimizing complexity and cost by reducing the number of control units required.
Implementation Method 1
Each of these wheel brake devices is actuated by an associated electric motor to decelerate the motor vehicle
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to an electromechanical brake system (1) for a motor vehicle, comprising four wheel braking devices (2), four primary electric motors (3), four secondary electric motors (4) and two control devices (5). The claimed braking system (1) is characterised in that the control units (5) are designed to detect and/or evaluate sensor data from sensors (6) associated with the wheel braking devices (2) and/or the motor vehicle, in that each of the wheel braking devices (2) is associated with one of the primary electric motors (3) and one of the secondary electric motors (4) respectively for actuating the respective wheel braking devices (2), and in that each of the control devices (5) is associated with two of the primary electric motors (3) of two of the wheel brake devices (2) and two of the secondary electric motors (4) of two other of the wheel brake devices (2), respectively, for actuating the electric motors (3, 4).