Vehicle Drive Shaft Sensor Diagnostic Device for Short Circuit Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current on-board diagnostic devices for vehicle sensors cannot accurately determine the location of short circuits or current leakage between wired communication links, leading to undetectable faults that may cause sensor malfunctions.
Innovation Solution
A diagnostic device that measures voltage differences between two wired communication links and uses a reference voltage to detect short circuits by comparing absolute differences, allowing identification of the affected link and type of fault, enabling precise fault location and notification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the diagnostic device measures average voltage to detect short circuits, then it can detect large voltage variations (short circuits to supply or ground), but it cannot detect current leakage faults where the average voltage remains within thresholds
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the fault detection process into two independent measurement dimensions: average voltage measurement (for detecting supply/ground short circuits) and voltage differential measurement between the two communication lines (for detecting leakage faults). This segmentation allows the diagnostic device to detect all types of faults without compromising either detection capability or measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a differential voltage measurement as an intermediary parameter to detect faults that the primary average voltage measurement cannot detect. By measuring the voltage difference between the two communication lines, the system can identify leakage faults where the average voltage remains within normal thresholds, thus complementing the existing detection mechanism.
2Device complexity
If the diagnostic device only compares average voltage against thresholds, then the detection method is simple, but it cannot determine which specific connection terminal has the short circuit
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the diagnostic information into two distinct measurement results: average voltage (indicating supply/ground short circuits) and differential voltage (indicating leakage faults and line-specific issues). This segmentation preserves the simplicity of threshold-based detection while recovering the lost fault location information through the additional differential measurement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the measurement parameter from a single average voltage value to two parameters: average voltage and differential voltage. This parameter expansion allows the system to maintain simple threshold comparison logic while gaining the ability to identify specific fault locations and types.
3Reliability
If the diagnostic device uses threshold-based voltage comparison, then it can detect obvious short circuits, but it misses subtle faults where voltage does not exceed thresholds
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by using threshold-based detection only for its intended purpose (detecting supply/ground short circuits) while introducing a complementary differential voltage measurement to detect subtle leakage faults. This avoids the need to lower the sensitivity threshold for average voltage measurements, maintaining reliable short circuit detection while adding sensitivity to subtle faults through a different measurement approach.
Data Source
AI summary
A diagnostic device for a sensor for measuring the position of a motor-vehicle drive shaft. The sensor includes a first wired communication link and a second wired communication link, via which wired communication links the sensor sends the signal, and being characterized by an average reference voltage. The diagnostic device for a sensor being intended to be electrically connected between the first wired communication link and the second wired communication link and being configured to: a) receive a first voltage value corresponding to the average voltage in the first wired communication link and a second voltage value corresponding to the average voltage in the second wired communication link; b) detect a short circuit on the first wired communication link; or c) detect a short circuit on the second wired communication link.