Wheel Hub Motor Impact Detection for Damage Warning
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Undetected damage to electric wheel hub motors in motor vehicles can lead to mechanical and electrical malfunctions, resulting in accidents such as vehicle fires and injuries to occupants.
Innovation Solution
Utilizing existing acceleration sensors in motor vehicles to detect lateral impacts on wheel hub motors by capturing and evaluating acceleration values, combined with additional sensors like ultrasonic, camera, and radar/lidar to verify the impact, and output a warning message if the acceleration exceeds a predefined threshold.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If direct measurement of wheel hub motor properties (drive power, drive torque) is used to detect damage, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses acceleration sensors as an intermediary to indirectly detect wheel hub motor damage. Instead of directly measuring motor properties, the system measures the acceleration of the wheel hub assembly and infers damage from abnormal acceleration patterns. This intermediary approach reduces device complexity while maintaining adequate detection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces direct mechanical/electrical measurement systems with an acceleration-based detection system. By substituting complex motor property measurements with simpler acceleration measurements, the system reduces device complexity and cost while still achieving damage detection through analysis of impact characteristics.
2Reliability
If additional sensors (ultrasonic, camera, radar/lidar) are added to verify impact, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs sensors that serve multiple functions: acceleration sensors detect both normal driving vibrations and impact events, while optional ultrasonic/camera/radar sensors serve both as obstacle detection systems and as verification tools for impact events. This multi-functionality increases reliability without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary detection using acceleration sensors, then only activates additional verification sensors when an impact event is suspected. This staged approach ensures high reliability through verification while minimizing the average device complexity by not continuously operating all sensors.
3Measurement precision
If acceleration threshold is set low for sensitive detection, then measurement precision is improved, but false alerts increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback from multiple sensor sources to adjust detection decisions. Acceleration data is cross-verified with ultrasonic, camera, or radar sensor data, allowing the system to maintain low acceleration thresholds for sensitive detection while using feedback from verification sensors to filter out false alerts caused by non-impact events.
Solution Approach 2:
The detection threshold is not fixed but dynamically adjusted based on driving conditions and verification sensor input. The system can lower thresholds during conditions favorable for impact detection while raising them or requiring verification when conditions suggest false alerts, optimizing both sensitivity and false alert reduction.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for detecting damage to a wheel hub motor of a motor vehicle driving a wheel, wherein acceleration values acting on the motor vehicle at least in a transverse direction of the motor vehicle are captured by way of at least one acceleration sensor of the motor vehicle during travel and are evaluated by way of a control device of the motor vehicle, wherein the damage to the wheel hub motor is detected if the acceleration values captured in the transverse direction represent an acceleration of a lateral impact of the wheel against an obstacle above a predeterminable load threshold; and motor vehicle having a wheel hub motor.