Master Disconnect Switch Contact Weld Breaker
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional master disconnect switches in vehicles often suffer from contact welds that prevent the switch from opening, and lack feedback to confirm the switch's status, leading to potential electrical connections remaining active despite being turned off.
Innovation Solution
A switch design featuring a rotatable and longitudinally movable shaft with wings that contact engagement and disengagement ramps to ensure contact separation, providing positive feedback on the switch's status through axial and longitudinal movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional switches are used to disconnect power, then the switch can open the contacts, but contact welds prevent the contacts from opening reliably
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary anti-action by designing a mechanism that anticipates and counteracts contact weld before it prevents contact opening. The spring-loaded contact assembly pre-stores mechanical energy that can be rapidly released to break welds, and the rotational mechanism is designed to automatically apply sufficient force to separate welded contacts during the switching action.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamics by transitioning from a static contact system to a dynamic one where the contact assembly rotates and is spring-loaded. This dynamic mechanism allows the contacts to be forcefully separated through rotational motion and spring energy release, enabling reliable breaking of contact welds that would prevent opening in static systems.
2Loss of information
If conventional switches are used, then the switch can be turned off, but there is no feedback to confirm the contacts are actually open
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback through a rotational mechanism that provides tactile and visual confirmation of switch status. When the actuator is rotated to the OFF position, the mechanism's physical movement and positioning provide direct feedback to the operator that the contacts have opened, eliminating uncertainty about the actual switch state.
3Reliability
If the shaft is designed to be both rotatable and longitudinally movable, then contact welds can be broken and status feedback provided, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies merging by combining multiple functions into the single shaft mechanism. The shaft simultaneously performs rotation for switching action, longitudinal movement for contact separation and feedback, and integrates the spring-loaded contact assembly. This consolidation achieves reliable contact separation and status feedback while minimizing the number of separate components.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 1C
Figure 1D
AI summary
A switch is described. The switch may have first and second terminals to connect a source of power to a load, a shaft rotatable about a central axis and moveable longitudinally along the central axis, the shaft having a wing extending out orthogonally from the central axis, a contact plate to physically and electrically connect the first and second terminals when the shaft is moved longitudinally along the central axis, and a disengagement ramp to contact the wing when the shaft is rotated about the central axis, the disengagement ramp to force the shaft to move longitudinally along the central axis as the shaft is rotated to move the contact plate away from the first and second terminals.