Dual-Switch Electrical Control for Fail-Safe Functional Disconnection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical systems for controlling functional organs lack adequate security measures to ensure complete disconnection from the power source in case of failures, particularly with the first controllable switch.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a second controllable switch between the functional member and the other electrical supply terminal, with a control device capable of detecting failures and deactivating the functional member by opening this switch, even if the first switch fails.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single controllable switch is used to control the functional element, then the device complexity is reduced, but the reliability is insufficient because the functional element cannot be disconnected from the electrical source in case of switch failure
Solution Approach 1:
The single switch control path is segmented into two separate controllable switches (first controllable switch and second controllable switch) positioned at different locations in the circuit. This segmentation ensures that if one switch fails, the other can still disconnect the functional element from the electrical source, thereby improving disconnection reliability while maintaining manageable device complexity through modular switch design
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates a backup disconnection mechanism by providing two controllable switches instead of relying on a single switch. This beforehand cushioning approach ensures that if the primary switch fails, the secondary switch can still perform the disconnection function, providing advance protection against switch failure and enhancing overall system reliability
2Reliability
If a second controllable switch is added to the electrical system, then the reliability is improved through redundant disconnection capability, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control functions of two separate controllable switches are merged into a single control device that can manage both switches. This merging approach allows the system to achieve redundant disconnection capability and improved reliability while avoiding the complexity of having two independent control systems, as the single control device coordinates both switches to provide fail-safe operation
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to an electrical system (112, 128) which comprises: - an electrical device (112) comprising two electrical power supply terminals (114, 116) intended for being connected to a positive terminal and a negative terminal, respectively, of an electricity source (108), a functional member (118) intended for being powered by the electricity source (108) and a first controllable switch (120) placed between the functional member (118) and one of the electrical power supply terminals (114, 116); - a control device (128) designed to control the first controllable switch (120) in order to control the functional member (118). The electrical system (112, 128) also comprises a second controllable switch (122) placed between the functional member (118) and one of the electrical power supply terminals (114, 116) and the control device (128) is furthermore designed to detect a fault of the electrical device (112) and, in the case of detecting a fault, to open the second controllable switch (122) in order to disable the functional member (118).