Vehicle Hazard Signaling for High-Voltage Emergency Response
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Solution Overview
Problem
Emergency responders face delays in identifying and preparing for emergency situations involving alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs), which can lead to increased property damage, injuries, or fatalities due to the varying configurations of AFVs and the hazards posed by high voltage systems, especially in water-related incidents.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle hazard management system that automatically communicates key information, such as vehicle make, model, and emergency response guide details to responders via a 'black box' device equipped with sensors and wireless communication, allowing for pre-arrival preparation and safe response, and includes features to deactivate high voltage systems or switch to internal combustion power in flooding events.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If emergency responders manually identify vehicle make, model and year using badges or VIN decoding, then they can access the correct emergency response guide, but this process causes significant time delays that increase property damage, injuries or fatalities
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically transmitting vehicle identification information, make, model, year and emergency response guide data to emergency responders before they arrive at the scene. This eliminates the need for manual identification and guide lookup, reducing response time while maintaining safety through accurate vehicle information delivery.
2Ease of operation
If emergency responders manually locate and decode vehicle identifiers on scene, then they can obtain accurate vehicle information, but this manual process increases the complexity and time of the emergency response procedure
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle's own systems (GPS, communication module) are utilized to automatically transmit identification and emergency response information without requiring manual intervention from emergency responders. The vehicle essentially serves itself by providing the necessary data, greatly simplifying the emergency response procedure and eliminating time-consuming manual steps.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If high voltage systems remain active during water immersion events, then the vehicle maintains operational capability, but this creates severe electrical hazards to emergency responders and occupants
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies preliminary anti-action by automatically deactivating high voltage systems when water immersion is detected, before emergency responders or occupants can be exposed to electrical hazards. This preemptive safety measure eliminates the harmful electrical effect while the system monitors for immersion conditions, prioritizing safety over operational capability in hazardous situations.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present disclosure provides A vehicle hazard management system mounted to a vehicle having a high voltage system, comprising: a sensor configured to provide an activation signal in response to at least one of a collision involving the vehicle, a fault of the high voltage system, and at least partial submersion of the vehicle; a controller in communication with the sensor, the controller being configured to receive the activation signal and respond by generating an emergency message including information describing at least one of the make, model and year of the vehicle; and a transmitter coupled to the controller and configured to transmit the emergency message to an emergency communication device.