Vehicle Emergency Battery Switch for Collision Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle systems face challenges in electrically disconnecting specific batteries within a fuel cell stack during a collision to prioritize the availability of less damaged batteries for continued operation.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle design featuring a first battery and a second battery, where the second battery is positioned closer to the vehicle's center, with a switch that disconnects both batteries from the electric load upon collision detection, ensuring the second battery, which is less likely to be damaged, can power essential systems safely.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the first battery is positioned closer to the front of the vehicle, then the second battery (centered) is protected from collision damage, but the first battery is more likely to be damaged during collision
Solution Approach 1:
The battery system is segmented into two distinct batteries with different functional roles: the first battery (front-positioned) serves as a sacrificial component for impact absorption, while the second battery (center-positioned) serves as the protected emergency power source. This segmentation allows the system to tolerate damage to one component while maintaining critical functions through the other.
Solution Approach 2:
The first battery acts as an intermediary protective element between the external collision force and the second battery. By positioning the first battery in the impact path, it mediates the collision energy, absorbing damage that would otherwise be transmitted to the more critical second battery located at the vehicle center.
2Reliability
If a switch is installed to disconnect batteries from the electric load, then the first battery can be isolated upon collision detection, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The switch is pre-configured and positioned within the housing to enable rapid disconnection of the first battery from the electric load upon collision detection. This preliminary arrangement of the switching mechanism ensures that no additional complex assembly or routing is required during the emergency disconnection event, reducing the operational complexity despite the added component.
3Volume of moving object
If the first and second batteries are housed inside a single housing, then the structure is compact, but the first battery may damage the second battery during collision
Solution Approach 1:
The housing structure incorporates localized quality variations: the first battery is positioned in a region designed to accommodate and absorb impact forces, while the second battery occupies a centrally-located region with enhanced protection characteristics. The housing geometry and internal structure are optimized locally at each battery position to provide appropriate protection levels matching each battery's functional role.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle includes an electric load, a first battery electrically connected to the electric load, a second battery electrically connected to the electric load in parallel with the first battery, the second battery being closer to a center of the vehicle than the first battery in a top view of the vehicle, a switch configured to electrically disconnect solely the first battery of the first battery and the second battery from the electric load, and a controller configured to open the switch based on detection of a collision of the vehicle or detection of an abnormality of the first battery.