Safety First...

The first controller is a safety controller. It is a 48 pin MotoTron controller that has only a speed sensor input and a high pressure input. It will monitor those two parameters in the system and if either the speed or the pressure reach critically high levels, the safety controller will apply the brakes, set the displacement to zero, and shut down the vehicle. We have set up this controller to do this because the accumulator can hold very high pressures, and if those pressures reach levels that are too high, it can be a large safety hazard for any one operating, in, or around the vehicle. The fly wheel can also only spin at certain speeds and if it begins spinning too fast that can cause a safety hazard for the steel material its self as well as cause the vehicle to reach uncontrollable speeds.

This controller will not simply monitor the high pressures, but it will also monitor the low pressures. The displacement pump will be pulling fluid form the reservoir to the accumulator and visa versa. If the pump is attempting to pull fluid from one of these and there is no more fluid to pull, then there is a risk of long term damage to the parts or collapsing the accumulator bladder. Thus if the pressure reaches critically low levels, the vehicle will go into shutdown mode in order not to damage anything.

This safety controller is the most important part of this system because it monitors everything to make sure that everything is performing within the normal ranges. We chose to have a separate controller for this in order to eliminate system crashes. The 128 pin controller that is used for the displacement is capable of controlling the safety system as well, however if it crashed there would be no backup. By using two separate controllers, we are eliminating the single point of failure and thus have a more reliable and safe system.


More information about the displacement controller