Contact arrangement for safe disconnection of a power supply in a vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9472800-B2
Application number	US-201313939756-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 11, 2013
Priority date	Jul 12, 2012
Publication date	Oct 18, 2016
Grant date	Oct 18, 2016

Abstract

A contact arrangement is described for connecting a power supply to electrical components in a vehicle. The contact arrangement may include a first mechanical contact for connecting a first lead of the power supply to an electrical component, and a second mechanical contact for connecting a second lead of a power supply to the electrical component. The first and second mechanical contacts are configured to disconnect the power supply in the event of a collision. The first mechanical contact is configured to be arranged substantially perpendicular to the second mechanical contact in relation to a transverse plane of the vehicle.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A contact arrangement for connecting a power supply to electrical components in a vehicle, the contact arrangement comprising:
a first mechanical contact for selectively connecting a first lead of the power supply to an electrical component; and
a second mechanical contact for selectively connecting a second lead of the power supply to the electrical component, the first and second mechanical contacts configured to disconnect the power supply in the event of a collision;
wherein the first mechanical contact is arranged substantially perpendicular to the second mechanical contact in relation to a transverse plane of the vehicle, the substantially perpendicular arrangement preventing reconnection of at least one of the first and second mechanical contacts as a result of a secondary collision after the collision.

2. The contact arrangement according to claim 1 , configured to disconnect the power supply by moving a switch element of the first mechanical contact in a first direction in the transverse plane of the vehicle, and by moving a switch element of the second mechanical contact in a second direction in relation to the transverse plane of the vehicle substantially perpendicular to the first direction.

3. The contact arrangement according to claim 2 , further comprising a control unit for controlling the disconnection of the first contact and the second contact.

4. The contact arrangement according to claim 3 , wherein the control unit is configured to disconnect the first contact and the second contact if a collision is detected.

5. A vehicle comprising:
an electrical machine;
a power supply providing power to the electrical machine; and
a contact arrangement according to claim 2 arranged between the power supply and the electrical machine.

6. The vehicle according to claim 5 , wherein the vehicle is a hybrid vehicle or an electrical vehicle.

7. The contact arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein each mechanical contact is an electromechanical relay.

8. The contact arrangement according to claim 1 , further comprising a collision detector configured to detect a collision of the vehicle.

9. The contact arrangement according to claim 8 , wherein the collision detector is an accelerometer.

10. The contact arrangement according to claim 8 , wherein the first contact and second contact are configured to disconnect the power supply if a collision is detected by the collision detector.

11. A vehicle comprising:
an electrical machine;
a power supply providing power to the electrical machine; and
a contact arrangement according to claim 1 arranged between the power supply and the electrical machine.

12. The vehicle according to claim 11 , wherein the vehicle is a hybrid vehicle or an electrical vehicle.

13. A power supply arrangement for a vehicle comprising:
a power supply;
a first mechanical contact for selectively connecting a first lead of the power supply to an electrical component; and
a second mechanical contact for selectively connecting a second lead of a power supply to an electrical component, the first and second mechanical contacts configured to disconnect the power supply from an electrical component in the event of a collision;
wherein the first mechanical contact is arranged substantially perpendicular to the second mechanical contact in relation to a transverse plane of the vehicle, the substantially perpendicular arrangement preventing reconnection of at least one of the first and second mechanical contacts as a result of a secondary collision after the collision.

14. The power supply arrangement according to claim 13 , configured to disconnect the power supply by moving a switch element of the first mechanical contact in a first direction in the transverse plane of the vehicle, and by moving a switch element of the second mechanical contact in a second direction in relation to the transverse plane of the vehicle substantially perpendicular to the first direction.

15. The contact arrangement according to claim 14 , further comprising a control unit for controlling the disconnection of the first contact and the second contact.

16. The contact arrangement according to claim 15 , wherein the control unit is configured to disconnect the first contact and the second contact if a collision is detected.

17. The power supply arrangement according to claim 13 , wherein the power supply is an energy storage.

18. The power supply arrangement according to claim 13 , wherein the power supply is a battery.

19. The power supply arrangement according to claim 13 , wherein the power supply is a fuel cell.

20. The contact arrangement according to claim 13 , further comprising a collision detector configured to detect a collision of the vehicle.

Assignees

• Volvo Car Corp

Inventors

• Spjuth Orjan
• Larsson Patrik

Classifications

• B60L3/04 Primary

  Cutting off the power supply under fault conditions (protective devices and circuit arrangements in general H01H; H02H) · CPC title

• H02J7/663

  using battery or load disconnect circuits (H02J9/002 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01M50/574

  Devices or arrangements for the interruption of current · CPC title

• B60L3/0007 Primary

  Measures or means for preventing or attenuating collisions · CPC title

• B60R16/02

  electric {constitutive elements} · CPC title