Hydrogen Refueling Safety Plug for Remote Shutdown Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Emergency services face challenges in determining if a hydrogen vehicle is turned off after an accident, as the vehicle's automatic safety features may not be clearly indicated, potentially leading to unsafe situations when approaching a damaged vehicle.
Innovation Solution
A safety plug attachment for hydrogen refueling ports, featuring a magnetic element, locking device, gas pressure circuit, and communication capabilities, which provides visual and auditory feedback upon correct coupling and detects hydrogen presence, ensuring the vehicle is secured against accidental movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If emergency services enter the vehicle cabin to verify vehicle status, then they can directly check if the vehicle is turned off, but they expose themselves to safety risks from potential hydrogen leakage and accidental vehicle movement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a safety plug as an intermediary device that connects to the hydrogen refueling port and provides remote verification capabilities. This mediator allows emergency services to check vehicle status without entering the cabin, transmitting information about vehicle shutdown state and hydrogen pressure levels remotely, thus eliminating direct exposure to harmful factors while maintaining reliable verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical approach of physically entering the cabin with an electronic/communication-based system. The safety plug incorporates sensors, communication modules, and visual indicators that transmit vehicle status information remotely, substituting direct mechanical inspection with electronic information gathering and visual feedback mechanisms.
2Reliability
If the vehicle uses automatic safety features to protect against self-ignition, then hydrogen vehicle safety is improved, but it becomes unclear to emergency services whether the vehicle is definitely turned off
Solution Approach 1:
The safety plug incorporates feedback mechanisms including visual indicators (LED lights showing green for safe, red for dangerous states) and communication modules that transmit real-time information about vehicle shutdown status and hydrogen pressure levels. This feedback system makes the automatic safety features visible and interpretable by emergency services, resolving the information loss problem.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses color changes in visual indicators to communicate vehicle status clearly. The safety plug includes LED lights that display different colors (green for safe/turned off, red for dangerous/not turned off) to provide immediate, unambiguous visual feedback about whether the vehicle is safely shut down, making the invisible automatic safety features visible and interpretable.
3Ease of operation
If the driver is emotional or injured after an accident, then the driver may forget to turn off the vehicle, but this creates safety hazards from potential vehicle movement
Solution Approach 1:
The safety plug enables the vehicle system to self-verify its shutdown status and communicate this information remotely. The system automatically detects whether it is connected to a refueling gun, activates brakes, puts the vehicle in park/neutral, and turns off the engine, then uses the safety plug to verify and communicate this self-performed safety action to emergency services without requiring driver intervention.
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
Enables safe verification of the vehicle's status from a distance, preventing unintended movement and ensuring emergency responders' safety by providing clear visual and auditory cues about the attachment's locking state and hydrogen presence.
Implementation Method 1
The attachment preferably comprises at least one of the following features: i) a magnetic element;
Data Source
AI summary
An attachment for a hydrogen refueling port of a vehicle, the port designed according to the known SAE J2799 international vehicle standard. The attachment is designed to be incompatible with the supply of hydrogen to said vehicle. The attachment includes a nozzle for being connectable to the refueling port and a protruding handle, and at least one of the following features: i) a magnetic element; and ii) a locking device for reversibly locking onto a portion of the refueling port.