Vehicle Power Network Disconnect Control for Fault Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing energy supply systems in motor vehicles face issues with reduced availability due to voltage dips caused by short circuits in one subsystem, leading to incomplete tripping of safety fuses and disruption of energy supply to fault-free consumers.
Innovation Solution
A disconnecting device with a switching element and regulation unit that regulates state variables to selectively couple and decouple energy subsystems, using semiconductor switches and inductive components to manage energy flow and prevent permanent disconnection, ensuring continued energy supply to fault-free consumers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a switching element permanently disconnects the two subsystems from one another in the event of a fault, then the faulty subsystem is isolated and protected, but the availability of the energy supply system is reduced due to voltage dips affecting fault-free consumers
Solution Approach 1:
The disconnecting device dynamically adjusts the switching element's state based on fault detection. Instead of permanent disconnection, the system uses a regulation unit to control the switching element, allowing it to remain closed for energy transfer during faults while enabling selective disconnection of only the faulty consumer through the fuse device, thus maintaining system availability while ensuring protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the faulty consumer from the subsystem using a fuse device that selectively disconnects only the problematic component. This allows the rest of the subsystem and the other subsystem to remain operational and continue receiving energy, preventing the need to disconnect the entire system while still isolating the fault source.
2Reliability
If the switching element blocks energy flow between subsystems during a fault, then the faulty subsystem is protected, but voltage dips prevent fuse devices from tripping within a short time
Solution Approach 1:
The regulation unit maintains continuous energy flow from the fault-free subsystem to the faulty subsystem through the switching element during fault conditions. This ensures that the fuse device receives sufficient energy to trip quickly and reliably, preventing time loss while the faulty consumer is being isolated, without requiring permanent disconnection of the subsystems.
3Reliability
If the subsystems are permanently disconnected in the event of a fault, then line protection is ensured, but fault-free consumers may no longer be supplied with enough energy
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts only the faulty consumer from the energy supply path using a fuse device, while maintaining the connection between the two subsystems. This allows the fault-free consumers in both subsystems to continue receiving adequate energy from their respective subsystems and from energy transfer between subsystems, ensuring line protection without sacrificing energy supply to healthy components.
Solution Approach 2:
The regulation unit ensures continuous energy transfer between the two subsystems through the switching element even during fault conditions. This maintains sufficient energy supply to fault-free consumers in both subsystems, preventing the energy shortage that would result from permanent disconnection while still providing protection against the faulty consumer.
Data Source
AI summary
A disconnecting device for a power supply network of a motor vehicle is provided. The power supply network has a first sub-network and a second sub-network. The disconnecting device includes a switching element for switchably coupling the first sub-network to the second sub-network. The disconnecting device also includes a control unit, which is configured to control at least one state variable of the power supply network by actuating the switching element.