Electric Suspension Voltage Limiting During Collision Risk
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electric suspension apparatuses in vehicles face safety challenges due to high voltage components, particularly during collisions, as they lack effective mechanisms to manage and reduce voltage levels to prevent electrical hazards.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle system that includes a collision determination device, a power source device, and a control device to limit high voltage supply to the electric actuator motor, short-circuit it when necessary, and release the limitation once predetermined conditions are met, such as reaching a certain speed or distance, ensuring safety and regulating the actuator's operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If high voltage is supplied to the motor in the electric suspension apparatus, then the motor can generate sufficient power for suspension control, but safety risks increase during vehicle collision
Solution Approach 1:
The collision determination device performs preliminary detection of collision risk before the actual collision occurs. The control device is pre-configured to limit high voltage supply when collision is detected, preventing the harmful effect from manifesting. This advance preparation resolves the contradiction by maintaining power availability during normal operation while preemptively mitigating safety risks when collision is anticipated.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes the voltage parameter supplied to the motor based on collision detection results. During normal operation, high voltage is supplied to maintain sufficient motor power for suspension control. When collision is detected, the voltage parameter is changed to a limited level, reducing electrical safety risks while maintaining basic operational capability.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the high voltage supply is limited during collision, then safety is improved, but the motor cannot generate sufficient power for suspension operation
Solution Approach 1:
During collision, the system applies partial action by limiting rather than completely cutting off high voltage supply to the motor. This partial limitation is sufficient to reduce electrical safety risks to acceptable levels while maintaining just enough power for basic suspension operation during the collision event, resolving the contradiction between safety and power availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The voltage supply to the motor is made dynamic rather than static. The control device continuously adjusts the voltage level based on real-time collision detection data, allowing the system to optimize the balance between safety and power availability throughout the collision event, rather than applying a fixed limitation.
3Loss of energy
If the motor is short-circuited after high voltage limitation, then regenerative power is generated and braking force is provided, but the motor cannot operate normally for suspension control
Solution Approach 1:
The system converts the harmful effect of collision (uncontrolled motor movement, potential damage) into a beneficial outcome by short-circuiting the motor to generate regenerative power and provide braking force. The collision scenario, which would normally be harmful, is transformed into an opportunity for energy recovery and enhanced braking, resolving the contradiction between energy loss and operational control.
Solution Approach 2:
The motor operates in distinct periodic phases: normal suspension control operation, collision detection and high voltage limitation, and short-circuit regenerative braking. This periodic switching between different operational modes allows the system to optimize for suspension control during normal operation and for energy recovery during collision, resolving the contradiction between continuous control and periodic energy recovery.
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 system effectively improves the safety of high voltage components by limiting voltage during potential collisions, generating regenerative power and providing braking forces, while releasing voltage limitations when collision risks are mitigated, thus ensuring efficient operation of the electric suspension apparatus.
Implementation Method 1
a three-phase AC brushless motor
Implementation Method 2
a detection sensor detecting outside of the vehicle
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle includes a collision determination ECU determining whether a possibility of collision is present, based on a detection result of a detection sensor detecting outside of the vehicle, a motor, a boosting circuit and a battery supplying a high voltage to the motor, and an electric suspension control ECU controlling the boosting circuit and the motor, and in a case where the collision determination ECU determines that the possibility of collision is present, the electric suspension control ECU limits the supply of the high voltage to the motor.