Shared Backup Battery Switching for Vehicle Electrical Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle electrical system configurations require separate backup batteries for primary and secondary systems, leading to increased weight, cost, and space requirements due to redundancy needs in automated driving systems.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle electrical system arrangement where a single backup battery is shared between a primary and a secondary system via a switching apparatus, with monitoring to switch support between systems in case of malfunction, reducing the need for a second backup battery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a second backup battery is provided for the secondary vehicle electrical system, then redundancy is improved, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines two separate backup batteries (one for primary system, one for secondary system) into a single shared backup battery that serves both vehicle electrical systems. The backup battery is connected to both the primary and secondary vehicle electrical systems through a switching apparatus, allowing one battery to support both systems during failures, thereby reducing total weight while maintaining redundancy.
Solution Approach 2:
The single backup battery is designed to perform multiple functions: it serves as the backup power source for the primary vehicle electrical system during normal operation, and can be switched to serve the secondary vehicle electrical system when needed. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for dedicated backup batteries for each system, reducing overall weight while preserving reliability.
2Reliability
If a second backup battery is provided for the secondary vehicle electrical system, then redundancy is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the backup power provision for two separate electrical systems into a single backup battery unit. This consolidation reduces component count and assembly complexity, leading to lower manufacturing costs while maintaining the same level of redundancy protection for both primary and secondary systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The single backup battery is designed with universal applicability to both primary and secondary vehicle electrical systems through the switching apparatus. This multi-functional design reduces the total bill of materials and simplifies manufacturing processes, thereby reducing cost while ensuring redundancy for both systems.
3Reliability
If a second backup battery is provided for the secondary vehicle electrical system, then redundancy is improved, but space requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the physical presence of two separate backup batteries into a single shared backup battery unit. This consolidation reduces the total volume occupied by backup power components in the vehicle, while the switching apparatus enables the single battery to provide backup support to both primary and secondary electrical systems, maintaining redundancy with reduced space requirements.
4Reliability
If separate backup batteries are provided for primary and secondary systems, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the backup power architecture for two separate electrical systems into a unified system with a single backup battery and switching apparatus. This consolidation reduces the number of independent backup power subsystems from two to one, simplifying the overall device architecture while maintaining redundancy protection for both primary and secondary systems through the switching mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle electrical system arrangement for a motor vehicle, having a battery apparatus to which a primary vehicle electrical system and at least one secondary vehicle electrical system are electrically conductively connected, wherein the primary vehicle electrical system has a primary set of loads and the secondary vehicle electrical system has a secondary set of loads, wherein further a backup battery is connected to the primary vehicle electrical system and to the secondary vehicle electrical system via a switching apparatus, and the switching apparatus has at least one primary switching position for an electrically conductive connection to the primary vehicle electrical system and a secondary switching position for an electrically conductive connection to the secondary vehicle electrical system.