Vehicle Power Supply Interruption Control Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle power supply systems fail to promptly interrupt power when a software malfunction occurs or when the power storage device has an abnormality, leading to potential operational issues during limp-home operations.
Innovation Solution
A control device for vehicles that includes a state of charge detecting unit and a power supply interrupting unit, utilizing a relay to switch the electric power supply line between conducting and interrupted states, ensuring power interruption even if the software control unit malfunctions, by detecting abnormalities in the power storage device and initiating power supply interruption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If power supply interruption control is implemented through software in the vehicle control unit, then the control system can achieve flexible and integrated management of power supply operations, but the response time may be delayed due to software processing time and potential malfunctions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a dedicated power supply interruption control unit as an intermediary component between the vehicle control unit and the relay. This separate hardware unit receives abnormality signals from the vehicle control unit and directly controls the relay to interrupt power supply, bypassing software processing delays. The intermediary unit ensures rapid response while the main control unit maintains flexible software-based control logic.
2Device complexity
If a single control unit handles both vehicle control and power supply interruption, then the device complexity is reduced, but the reliability decreases when software malfunctions occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the control functions by separating the vehicle control unit from the power supply interruption control unit. The vehicle control unit handles general vehicle operations through software, while the power supply interruption control unit is a dedicated hardware component responsible solely for rapid power cutoff. This segmentation ensures that software malfunctions in the main control unit cannot prevent the relay from interrupting power supply when abnormalities are detected.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a backup control mechanism where the power supply interruption control unit serves as a safety cushion against software failures. This dedicated unit is pre-configured to receive abnormality signals and trigger power interruption independently of the main control software, providing a fail-safe mechanism that cushions against potential software malfunctions in the vehicle control unit.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the vehicle control unit processes all control operations including power supply interruption, then the system integration is improved, but the response time for power interruption may be delayed due to processing priorities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a dedicated power supply interruption control unit as an intermediary that receives abnormality notifications from the vehicle control unit and directly actuates the relay. This intermediary architecture maintains system integration benefits while ensuring that power interruption operations bypass software processing priorities and execute immediately upon receiving abnormality signals, eliminating time loss associated with main control unit processing queues.
Data Source
AI summary
A control device for a vehicle includes a system control unit for putting the state of an electric power supply line into an interrupted state when a first condition on the state of the vehicle is satisfied, a battery ECU for, in parallel with the operation of the system control unit, detecting a state of charge of a battery for traveling and transmitting the detected state of charge to the system control unit and for putting the state of the electric power supply line into the interrupted state when a second condition on the state of the battery for traveling is satisfied, and a power supply interrupting unit for putting the state of the electric power supply line into the interrupted state with an SMR in response to a request from at least either one of the system control unit and the battery ECU.