RFID-Enabled Electrical Connectors for Wireless HVIL Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current automotive electrical connector systems, particularly in high-voltage environments, lack reliable methods to ensure proper installation and recording of connector seating, leading to faults and increased warranty costs due to mis-seated connections and lack of contemporaneous verification.
Innovation Solution
A wireless high-voltage interlocking loop using RFID-enabled electrical connectors with conductive materials that shield RFID tags until properly seated, allowing verification through RFID readers when correctly installed, ensuring accurate connection validation and preventing power flow until all components are correctly connected.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If barcodes are used with CPA features to record installation, then connector assembly can be tracked, but the method is expensive requiring employee intervention and is incomplete when no open area exists around the CPA
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical barcode reading system with an RFID electromagnetic field-based system. The RFID tag embedded in the connector housing communicates wirelessly with the reader, eliminating the need for physical line-of-sight access and manual scanning operations, thereby reducing system complexity while maintaining verification reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an RFID tag as an intermediary component embedded within the connector housing itself, rather than using external barcodes. This intermediary enables automatic identification and tracking without requiring external scanning infrastructure or employee intervention, simplifying the overall system while improving reliability
2Reliability
If conductive material is used to shield RFID tag until properly seated, then improper connections can be detected, but the connector design becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the RFID shielding function with the existing connector housing structure by integrating conductive material directly into the housing. This consolidation eliminates the need for separate shielding components while achieving the same electromagnetic shielding effect, thus improving connection verification without proportionally increasing design complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite materials by incorporating conductive material within the connector housing structure. This allows the housing to simultaneously serve as both structural support and electromagnetic shield, creating a multi-functional component that improves reliability while minimizing additional complexity through material integration
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
This solution provides a cost-effective and reliable method to detect improper connections in high-voltage systems, reducing warranty costs and ensuring safe operation by only allowing power flow when all connectors are correctly seated, thus enhancing the reliability of electrical connections in automotive systems.
Implementation Method 1
At least a portion of the connector housing is fabricated from a conductive material... the RFID tag cannot transmit its signal if the connector is not completely connected
Implementation Method 2
RFID, or radio-frequency identification, uses electromagnetic fields generated by an RFID reader to automatically identify an object with an RFID tag
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is a wireless HVIL system and method using RFID-enabled Electrical Connector with connector position assurance (“CPA”) features. Each RFID-enabled Electrical Connector has an RFID tag that is only readable after the CPA features of the RFID-enabled Electrical Connector have been fully deployed. If a CPA feature has not been fully deployed, electrically conductive material will obscure the RFID tag so that it cannot be read. At least one RFID reader is distributed so that all of the RFID tags are within its effective range. When system power is cycled on, the at least one RFID reader emits a digital pulse and reads all of the non-obscured RFID tags. If the at least one RFID reader detects all of the expected RFID tags, an HVIL processor will shut an HVIL switch, and power will be supplied to all HV devices.