Continental – multinational company which manufactures safe, efficient, and performance-oriented tires – is launching two new sensors for electrified vehicles: the Current Sensor Module (CSM) and the Battery Impact Detection (BID) system. Both new solutions focus on protecting the battery and/or on battery parameter retention.
The high-voltage Current Sensor Module (CSM), which will move into production this year, measures the current and simultaneously detects temperature. The Battery Impact Detection (BID) solution is a light-weight alternative to heavy underfloor “armoring” against damage.
Considering that the battery is the single most expensive component in an electric car – says a press release – the CSM was not just developed to protect the battery from overcurrents, but it will also help to retain the battery parameters by limiting aging effects. Integrated either in the battery disconnect unit or in the battery itself, the CSM will provide the two decisive bits of information for battery protection as well as reliable driving range monitoring.
To support strict functional safety requirements, the CSM is available as a two-channel sensor, measuring current independently by integrating shunt technology and hall technology in a compact, single unit.
The BID in combination with a lightweight structure detects underfloor impacts and alerts the driver if a stop at a garage is necessary as a result. This relieves the driver of the challenging decision whether an impact at high speed or a low-speed ground contact may have damaged the battery. In comparison to current metal underfloor protection the BID solution can save up to 50% of weight.
Lithium-Ion batteries store a great amount of energy to provide an attractive driving range. Particularly during charging, high current flows into the battery. Owed to inevitable physical effects, charging (and discharging) a battery will heat it up—especially high-power fast charging or sporty driving. To prevent the car battery from overstress, the current has to be controlled to limit the temperature gradient.
“A lithium-ion battery has an optimum temperature span in which it is very safe and ages very slowly. However, fast charging the battery is a tradeoff between keeping the battery safe and healthy and limiting the duration of charging. This is best done on an exact data basis.”, says Horst Gering, Program Manager in the Passive Safety and Sensorics Segment.