Vehicle Power Network Isolation for Redundant Fault-Tolerant Supply
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle electrical systems for highly automated or autonomous driving lack operational reliability and cost-effectiveness, particularly in ensuring safe and reliable energy supply to safety-relevant and less safety-relevant consumers, with potential short-term failures leading to safety threats.
Innovation Solution
An on-board electrical system with multiple network areas, each with a rechargeable DC voltage source and consumers, utilizing a circuit breaker arrangement with isolating switches that switch to diode state upon exceeding current or voltage thresholds to prevent voltage drops and ensure redundant energy supply, decoupling network areas to prevent excessive current flow and maintaining safety during faults.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If network areas are coupled together to enable redundant energy supply, then reliability is improved, but harmful current flow between network areas during faults increases
Solution Approach 1:
Circuit breaker arrangements with isolating switches are introduced as intermediary devices between network areas. These isolating switches act as mediators that can selectively connect or disconnect network areas based on fault conditions, allowing normal current flow during operation while preventing harmful current flow during faults.
Solution Approach 2:
The circuit breaker arrangements dynamically change their state based on operating conditions. During normal operation, the isolating switches remain closed to allow redundant energy supply. During fault conditions, the isolating switches open to prevent excessive current flow, thus adapting the system configuration in real-time.
2Reliability
If circuit breaker arrangements with isolating switches are used to prevent excessive current flow, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The circuit breaker arrangements serve multiple functions: they protect against excessive current flow, enable redundant energy supply, and provide isolating capability. By combining these functions into a single device, the patent avoids the need for separate protection devices, thus limiting the increase in complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The isolating switch is merged with the circuit breaker arrangement, combining the isolation function with the protection function. This integration reduces the number of separate components needed and simplifies the overall system architecture while maintaining safety capabilities.
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
The system ensures high operational reliability and safety by preventing voltage drops and ensuring redundant energy supply, even during faults, while maintaining efficient energy management and reducing the load on circuit breakers, thus enhancing overall vehicle safety and operational efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
each circuit breaker of the first circuit breaker and the second circuit breaker, in a conductive state, allows current to flow between its input terminal and its output terminal in both directions and, in a diode state, allows current to flow only from the input terminal to the output terminal
Data Source
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AI summary
An electrical system for a vehicle comprises: - a first network section (12) with a rechargeable first DC voltage source (18) and a first group (G1) of electrical energy consumers (20), - a second network section (14) with a rechargeable second DC voltage source (22) and a second group (G2) of electrical energy consumers (24), - a disconnector arrangement (30) connected between the first network section (12) and the second network section (14) with a first disconnector (32) and a second disconnector (34), wherein each disconnector (32, 34) of the first disconnector (32) and second disconnector (34) allows current flow in both directions between its input terminal (E1, E2) and its output terminal (A1, A2) in a conductor state and allows current flow only from the input terminal (E1, E2) to the output terminal (A1, A2) in a diode state,wherein the output terminal (A1) of the first disconnect switch (32) is connected to the first network area (12), the input terminal (E1) of the first disconnect switch (32) is connected to the input terminal (E2) of the second disconnect switch (34), and the output terminal (A2) of the second disconnect switch (34) is connected to the second network area (16), - a third network area (16) with a third DC voltage source (26) and a third group (G3) of electrical energy consumers (28), wherein the input terminal (E1) of the first disconnect switch (32) and the input terminal (E2) of the second disconnect switch (34) are connected to the third network area (16).