Tetherless Operator Separation Detection for Powersport Vehicles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Powersport vehicles lack an efficient and convenient method to prevent propulsion during emergency conditions, such as operator-vehicle separation, relying on physical tethers that can be cumbersome and prone to false detections.
Innovation Solution
A tetherless system using multiple sensors to detect operator-vehicle separation conditions, including absence of hands on handgrips, weight changes, and vehicle orientation, to prevent propulsion by controlling the electric motor, reducing the need for physical tethers and minimizing false positives.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a tether cord or lanyard is used to detect operator-vehicle separation, then the emergency shutoff function is achieved, but the system becomes cumbersome and inconvenient for the operator
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the physical tether cord from the system and extracts only the essential detection function. Instead of requiring a physical connection between operator and vehicle, the system uses sensors (handgrip sensors, weight sensors, orientation sensors) to detect operator presence and separation conditions, eliminating the cumbersome tether while maintaining the emergency shutoff capability
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical tether cord system is replaced with an electronic sensing system. The patent uses electrical sensors including handgrip sensors that detect hand presence, weight sensors that monitor operator weight on the vehicle, and orientation sensors that detect vehicle positioning, substituting mechanical connection with electronic detection methods
2Ease of operation
If a single tetherless criterion is used to detect operator-vehicle separation, then operator convenience is improved, but false detections increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple independent detection criteria into a unified emergency shutoff system. It merges handgrip sensor detection, weight sensor detection, and orientation sensor detection into a single control system that evaluates all criteria together, using logical operations to determine when to activate the emergency shutoff function
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors multiple parameters (hand presence, weight, orientation) and uses feedback from these sensors to dynamically adjust the emergency shutoff decision. The control system processes ongoing sensor data and adjusts the shutoff activation based on the combined feedback from all detection criteria, reducing false positives while maintaining safety
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for operating powersport vehicles during an operator-vehicle separation condition are provided. One method includes detecting the operator-vehicle separation condition using a first tetherless criterion and a second tetherless criterion. In response to detecting the operator-vehicle separation condition using both the first tetherless criterion and the second tetherless criterion, the method includes preventing propulsion of the powersport vehicle.