Passenger Safety Cell for Alternative Powertrains
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Solution Overview
Problem
Passenger cars with alternative powertrains lack integrated safety solutions that protect both passengers and energy sources during accidents, as existing safety cells are designed primarily for combustion engines and do not account for the unique risks of battery electric, hybrid electric, and fuel cell vehicles, particularly in non-longitudinal impacts and side collisions.
Innovation Solution
A passive safety cell designed as a combined spring system, using high-strength metallic materials like stainless steels, with a safety cell area that functions like a block spring and surrounding areas acting as compression springs to absorb energy, protecting passengers and energy sources in all directions, including the integration of energy storage systems and drive technology within the safety cell or outside if non-critical, ensuring compliance with safety standards and preventing high-voltage component exposure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the safety cell is designed with high-strength materials to protect passengers and energy sources, then the protection level improves, but the vehicle weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by using high-strength materials specifically in the safety cell area where protection is critical, while surrounding non-critical areas use conventional materials. This localized application of high-strength materials provides enhanced protection for passengers and energy sources without increasing the weight of the entire vehicle.
Solution Approach 2:
The vehicle structure is segmented into a safety cell area with high-strength materials and surrounding areas with conventional materials. This segmentation allows the high-strength protection to be concentrated where it is most needed (passenger and energy source protection) while avoiding unnecessary weight increase in other vehicle sections.
2Strength
If the safety cell uses a block spring design with high stiffness, then the protection against impact forces improves, but the energy absorption capability worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The safety cell is segmented into a rigid block spring core for impact resistance and surrounding compression spring elements for energy absorption. This segmentation allows the system to simultaneously achieve high impact resistance from the block spring and effective energy absorption from the compression springs that deform during collision.
Solution Approach 2:
The safety cell employs a composite spring system combining block spring characteristics (high stiffness) with compression spring characteristics (energy absorption). This composite approach integrates two different spring mechanisms to achieve both impact resistance and energy absorption capabilities in a single safety cell structure.
3Strength
If the energy sources are integrated into the safety cell, then the protection level improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the energy sources with the safety cell structure, integrating them into the same protected space. This combining approach provides unified protection for both passengers and energy sources while simplifying the overall vehicle architecture compared to separate protection systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The safety cell serves multiple functions: it protects passengers, protects energy sources, and provides structural integrity during collisions. By making the safety cell multi-functional, the patent avoids the complexity of separate protection systems for different components.
4Device complexity
If the safety cell is designed for longitudinal impacts only, then the design simplicity improves, but the adaptability to various impact directions worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The safety cell employs a dynamic spring system that can respond to impact forces from any direction. The combination of block spring and compression spring mechanisms creates a flexible protection system that adapts to different impact vectors, maintaining relatively simple design while achieving multi-directional protection capability.
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
Enhances passenger and energy source protection by distributing impact forces and reducing accelerations, preventing damage to energy storage systems and ensuring safety in various impact scenarios, including side and rollover situations, while maintaining a cost-efficient and adaptable design suitable for various vehicle classes and types.
Implementation Method 1
a safety cell area which functions like a block spring
Implementation Method 2
The safety cell area works like a spring on the block
Implementation Method 3
surrounding areas which work like a compression spring to absorb energy
Implementation Method 4
The surrounding area is for its part subdivided into different yield strength areas again. Preferably the yield strength decreases towards the ends of the vehicle
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a passive safety cell (2) for passenger cars with alternative powertrains which is shared for the passengers (3) as well as for the energy source (4) with its main components, to protect both units in one cell.