Vehicle High Voltage Discharge Notification via Horn
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Solution Overview
Problem
In electrified vehicles, technicians face challenges in determining if the high voltage system has been powered down and components discharged during maintenance, as existing systems lack clear indicators for voltage levels across all controllers, leading to potential safety risks and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle system with main contactors powered by a low voltage bus and a controller that activates the horn or flashes exterior lights if all detected voltages are below a threshold, providing visual and audible notifications to confirm the high voltage system is powered down and components are discharged.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If technicians manually check voltage levels across all controllers to determine if the high voltage system is powered down, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of time increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-diagnosis by automatically monitoring its own voltage levels across all controllers and generating notifications, eliminating the need for technicians to manually check each controller's voltage status
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides real-time feedback to technicians through visual and audible notifications about the high voltage system status, allowing immediate confirmation of whether the system is powered down without manual measurement
2Ease of operation
If the system provides clear visual and audible notifications of high voltage system status, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The notification system uses existing vehicle components (horn, exterior lights, display screens) for multiple purposes, including safety notifications and status indications, avoiding the need for dedicated notification hardware
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the vehicle's existing communication network and controller infrastructure as an intermediary to transmit and display status information, rather than requiring direct hardware connections between all controllers
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle includes main contactors powered via a low voltage bus and disposed electrically between a traction battery and a high voltage bus, and a controller. The controller, responsive to the contactors remaining open following activation of the low voltage bus and reported voltage values associated with the high voltage bus being less than a threshold, operates a horn of the vehicle.