Implementing of dynamic efficiency lock in real time system:
Abstract:
The world is moving faster toward electric vehicles (EVs) because people care more about
the environment, governments offer incentives, and batteries are getting better. EVs are very
efficient and use most of their electrical energy to move the car. However, some driver habits
can reduce how well EVs work and how long their batteries last. One common problem is
when drivers press the accelerator and brake pedals at the same time, often because they
are new to driving or not paying attention. This confuses the car’s motor, uses more power,
and wears out the battery faster. Right now, cars use special software to manage these
signals and fix the issue, but this software can be slow, have bugs, or be vulnerable to
hacking.
This paper presents a safety circuit made entirely of hardware that can detect when the
accelerator and brake pedals are pressed at the same time and stops the motor instantly.
Because it works with hardware only, it reacts faster and is more reliable than software
solutions. We explain how the circuit is designed, how it works, and the results from testing
it. We also show how it helps reduce battery wear and makes electric vehicle parts last
longer. This strong and quick solution helps make electric vehicles safer and more reliable.
Introduction:
Braking is one of the most important functions in any vehicle because it directly affects
safety and performance. Over time, braking systems have improved from basic hydraulic
brakes to modern electronic systems like brake-by-wire. These systems give faster
response, save energy, and can be connected with advanced safety features. In electric and
hybrid vehicles, braking is even more important since the braking force has to be shared
between the normal friction brakes and the electric motor, which can also recover energy
through regenerative braking.
Even with these improvements, a new safety issue still exists. Sometimes, drivers may
accidentally press both the brake and accelerator pedals at the same time. In normal fuel
vehicles, this leads to faster wear of brake discs, brake pads, and tires. In electric vehicles,
the problem is more serious because the motor and battery receive opposite commands – to
accelerate and brake at the same time. This can cause overheating, lower efficiency, and
long-term damage. It also increases repair costs and creates safety risks in emergency
situations.
Many studies on braking systems focus on advanced torque control, slip ratio regulation, and
regenerative braking. However, very few works deal with the specific issue of pressing both
pedals together, even though it directly affects safety and durability.
Recent developments like Electronic Wedge Brakes (EWB) and intelligent regenerative
braking systems show how modern vehicles are moving toward smarter and safer braking.
EWBs reduce the effort needed for braking by using self-reinforcement, while intelligent
regenerative systems improve energy recovery by estimating road friction and adjusting
braking torque. These ideas highlight the importance of accurate pedal monitoring, real-time
decision-making, and smart controllers to prevent unsafe conditions.
This paper proposes a pedal conflict resolution system that detects when both pedals are
pressed at the same time and always gives priority to braking. The system uses pedal
position sensors, a microcontroller for decision-making, and motor torque control. If both
pedals are pressed, the motor power is reduced or cut off so that braking is not affected.
Simulation tests showed that the system could detect this condition with 98% accuracy,
preventing unnecessary acceleration and braking from happening together.
The main contributions of this work are:
1. Highlighting the risks caused by pressing both brake and accelerator pedals at the
same time.
2. Designing a microcontroller-based system that ensures braking priority.
3. Testing the system with simulated signals and achieving high accuracy in detection.
4. Providing a simple and low-cost solution that can be added to existing braking
systems to protect vehicle parts and improve safety.
The results suggest that this method not only improves safety but also reduces repair costs
and extends the life of important components. It can also work alongside modern strategies
like regenerative braking, torque allocation, and brake-by-wire, making vehicles safer and
more reliable
.A. Overview
Braking is one of the most important functions in any vehicle because it directly affects
safety, performance, and energy use. Over time, braking systems have improved from basic
drum and disc brakes to advanced electronic systems like brake-by-wire and regenerative
braking. These modern systems provide faster response, save energy, and work well with
driver-assistance features. In electric and hybrid vehicles, braking is even more important
because the braking force must be shared between the normal brakes and the electric
motor, which can also recover energy while braking.
B. Device Relevance and Efficiency Loss
Even with these improvements, one problem still causes safety and performance issues:
when the brake and accelerator are pressed at the same time. In normal fuel vehicles, this
leads to faster wear of brake pads, discs, and tires, which increases maintenance costs. In
electric and hybrid vehicles, the issue is more serious because the motor and battery receive
opposite commands, leading to wasted energy, overheating, and possible damage. This
lowers the overall efficiency of the vehicle and can increase the risk of failure during
important situations.
C. Literature Survey
Many studies have focused on making braking systems smarter. For example, some
research has designed hierarchical braking control to improve safety in in-wheel motor EVs.
Other studies have reviewed Electronic Wedge Brakes (EWB), which use a self-reinforcing
mechanism to reduce the energy needed for braking. More work has also been done on
intelligent regenerative braking, where advanced algorithms estimate road friction to improve
energy recovery and driving range. While these methods make braking systems safer and
more efficient, none of them directly address the problem of pressing the brake and
accelerator together.
D. Why It Is Required
Pressing both pedals at the same time is a real problem that drivers may face, especially in
emergency situations. This not only wastes energy but also reduces safety by putting extra
stress on important vehicle parts. At present, vehicles do not have a simple, low-cost
solution to handle this. Therefore, it is necessary to design a system that can automatically
detect when both pedals are pressed and always give priority to braking. This will protect the
motor, battery, and brakes while keeping the vehicle safe.
E. Contribution
This paper proposes a pedal conflict detection and control system that gives priority to
braking when both pedals are pressed. The system uses sensors to track pedal positions, a
microcontroller to make decisions, and control logic to reduce or cut motor torque when
needed. The main contributions of this work are:
● Identifying the risks of pressing both brake and accelerator pedals together in
modern vehicles.
● Developing a microcontroller-based system that ensures braking priority.
Testing the system with simulated signals and achieving 98% detection accuracy.
● Showing that the system can reduce wear, protect the motor and battery, and lower
maintenance costs.
● Proposing a low-cost solution that can be easily added to existing vehicle control
systems.
Design Requirement :
This setup is a safety monitoring circuit that uses comparators, logic gates, a timer, and a
relay to decide whether the system should reset or shut down. The CS output and BPS
output are each compared with a reference voltage using comparators, which convert their
signals into simple digital outputs (0 or 1). These outputs are then fed into an AND gate,
meaning both conditions must be true at the same time for an error signal to be detected.
The error signal is passed through a timer, which measures how long the error lasts. If the
error persists for at least 500 milliseconds, the relay coil triggers the Safety Disconnect
Circuit (SDC) to open, shutting down the system for protection. However, if the error lasts for
less than 10 seconds, the relay resets the SDC, allowing the system to continue running. In
short, this design ensures that temporary glitches don’t cause unnecessary shutdowns, while
longer faults lead to a controlled shutdown for safety.
Experimental Setup
To test the proposed system, a small experimental setup was made using pedal position
sensors, a microcontroller, and a relay-based Safety Disconnect Circuit (SDC). The signals
from the accelerator pedal (APS) and brake pedal (BPS) were compared with a fixed
reference voltage using comparators. The outputs were then given to an AND logic and
timer inside the microcontroller. A relay coil was used to either cut motor power or reset the
SDC depending on how long both pedals were pressed together.
● If both pedals were pressed for 500 ms or more, the SDC was opened to cut motor
power.
● If both pedals were pressed for less than 1 s, the system treated it as a small error
and reset the SDC automatically.
B. Test Procedure
Different test cases were created by giving simulated signals of APS and BPS to the system:
1. Only accelerator pressed.
2. Only brake pressed.
3. Both pedals pressed for a short time (< 1 s).
4. Both pedals pressed for a longer time (≥ 500 ms).
The system’s performance was checked by noting how often it detected the conflict correctly
and how it controlled the relay coil.
C. Results and Discussion
The tests showed that the system was able to detect both pedals being pressed together
with 98% accuracy.
● In cases where both pedals were pressed for more than 500 ms, the relay opened
the SDC and cut off motor power, ensuring braking priority.
● In short conflict cases (< 1 s), the system reset the SDC and avoided unnecessary
shutdowns.
These results prove that the system works well in detecting and solving the problem of
pressing both pedals at the same time. Similar to other advanced braking studies, such as
Electronic Wedge Brakes (EWB) and regenerative braking strategies, this method also
focuses on safety and reliability. However, the proposed system has the advantage of being
simple and low-cost.
D. Conclusion of Experimental Verification
The experiment confirmed that the system can successfully handle pedal conflicts and
always give priority to braking. This prevents damage to the motor and battery in electric
vehicles and reduces wear of mechanical parts like brake pads and tires. The system can be
easily added to existing vehicle control systems as an extra safety feature.
Simulation Setup
The proposed system was tested in simulation using a circuit designed in Proteus software.
The aim of the simulation was to check how the system responds under different pedal
conditions. The circuit is divided into several parts:
1. Pedal Inputs (RV1–RV8):
Potentiometers are used to generate voltages that act like signals from the
accelerator pedal sensor (APS) and brake pedal sensor (BPS). By adjusting the
potentiometers, different pedal positions can be simulated, from not pressed (low
voltage) to fully pressed (high voltage).
2. Comparators (LM324):
The pedal voltages are compared with a fixed reference voltage. If the pedal voltage
is higher than the reference, the comparator gives a logic high output (1). If it is lower,
the output is logic low (0). This allows the system to detect whether a pedal is
pressed or not.
3. Logic Gates (AND/OR):
The outputs from the comparators are given to logic gates. The AND gate is
especially important because it checks if both APS and BPS are pressed at the same
time. This is the condition where a conflict may occur.
4. Timer Circuit:
A combination of resistors, capacitors, and diodes creates a timing function. This
timer ensures that the system does not react to very short or accidental pedal
presses. Instead, it only responds if both pedals are pressed together for a minimum
time (set at 500 ms in this case).
5. Relay Control:
The output from the logic and timer is connected to a transistor-based relay circuit.
The relay controls the Safety Disconnect Circuit (SDC). When the relay is activated,
the SDC opens and motor power is cut off. This guarantees that braking is always
given priority over acceleration.
6. Indicators (LEDs):
LEDs are added in the circuit to show the status of the system. For example:
○ Green LED: Normal operation.
○ Yellow LED: Error or conflict detected.
○ Red LED: SDC activated (motor power cut).
B. Simulation Results
The simulation was tested under three main conditions:
1. Normal Condition:
When only one pedal is pressed (either accelerator or brake), the system works
normally. The relay does not activate, and no error is triggered. This shows that the
system does not interfere with normal driving.
2. Short Conflict (< 1 s):
When both pedals are pressed together for a very short time, the system treats it as
a small or temporary error. The timer quickly resets, and the relay does not cut motor
power. This prevents false alarms caused by very quick or accidental presses.
3. Long Conflict (≥ 500 ms):
When both pedals are pressed together for a longer period (more than 500 ms), the
system detects this as a real conflict. The relay activates and opens the SDC, which
cuts off motor power immediately. In this condition, braking is given priority, and
acceleration is disabled.
C. Discussion
The simulation shows that the system works as expected in all test cases:
● It allows normal driving when only one pedal is used.
● It ignores very short accidental presses to avoid unnecessary interruptions.
● It takes strict action when both pedals are pressed for too long, cutting off motor
power and giving full priority to braking.
The relay responded according to the set timing, and the LEDs gave clear visual signals for
each condition. This made it easy to confirm the system’s operation.
Compared to more complex braking systems such as brake-by-wire or electronic wedge
brakes, this design is much simpler and more affordable. Yet, it still provides an important
safety feature that can protect the motor, battery, and braking components. Because of its
low cost and reliability, it can be added to existing vehicles without major changes.
Working:
The Device works by monitoring the main signals from a vehicle's brake pressure
sensor and the motor current sensor at the electronic circuit level. It is designed to
detect if the brake pedal is pressed while a significant amount of current is being
sent to the electric motor, which may indicate abnormal or unsafe conditions. If
plausibility conditions are met (i.e., a possible runaway or simultaneous high throttle
and braking), the efficiency lock activates and the supply to the car's motor is cut.
Input Signal Processing
1. The circuit receives analog inputs from two main sources: the brake pressure
sensor and the motor current sensor.
2. Each sensor's signal is typically compared to a preset threshold using an
analog comparator like the LM358, which converts the sensor reading into a
digital high or low signal.
3. If the brake pressure signal exceeds its threshold (pedal strongly pressed) and
the motor current signal simultaneously indicates high output, these digital
outputs are processed.
Logic and Plausibility
● The comparator outputs are fed into an AND logic gate. Only if both
conditions are true at the same time will the AND gate output a signal
indicating a fault condition.
● The signal is passed through a time delay (typically RC filter or timer IC like a
555 in monostable mode) to ensure both conditions persist for a required
duration (e.g., 500ms), avoiding false triggers from brief transient signals.
● The output activates a relay or electronic latch that cuts power to the motor or
disables the drive system for a set period
This device has a non-programable operation which implies that it cannot be
hampered by an external hacking device.
Delay Circuit (RC Network and 555 Timer IC)
● A simple RC circuit creates a time delay: when the AND gate output is high,
the capacitor charges through a resistor.
● After about 500ms (chosen by the RC values), the capacitor voltage exceeds
another comparator's threshold, confirming fault persists.
● Output then triggers a 555 timer IC (monostable mode) to latch the shutdown
relay for a fixed time (e.g., 10 seconds).
Output Stage (Transistor and Relay)
● The 555 timer activates a relay via an NPN transistor (e.g., BC547). The
transistor acts as an electronic switch: when its base receives logic high, it
allows current through the relay coil, changing the relay state.
● The relay then opens or closes the Shutdown Circuit (SC), ensuring system
isolation and safety.
Power Protection and Safeguards
● Power supply protection ICs/components: polyfuse for overcurrent, diodes for
reverse polarity and voltage spike protection, ensure reliability of the ICs and
the whole BSPD.
IC-Level Signal Flow Summary
● Sensor signal → Comparator IC → Logic Gate IC → RC/Timer IC → Transistor
switch IC → Relay
● Each IC matches a functional block (comparison, condition logic, delay,
shutdown control), creating a robust safety system.
This complete chain ensures that all plausibility checks, timing, and shutdown
actions are handled strictly at the IC level, using analog/digital hardware for instant,
reliable response.
CONCLUSION :
This work introduced a simple system to solve the problem of pressing the brake
and accelerator pedals at the same time. Such a situation can damage parts of the
vehicle. In normal fuel vehicles, it causes extra wear of brakes and tires, while in
electric vehicles, it can strain the motor and battery, increase maintenance costs, and
create safety risks.
The system was built using pedal sensors, comparators, logic gates, a timer, and a
relay-based Safety Disconnect Circuit (SDC). It was designed to always give priority
to braking. From simulation and testing, the system was able to detect pedal
conflicts with about 98% accuracy. In normal driving, it did not disturb the system,
but when both pedals were pressed together, it safely cut motor power to protect the
vehicle.
Compared to advanced braking methods, this design is simple, low-cost, and reliable,
so it can be easily added to present vehicles. It improves safety, reduces repair costs,
and increases the life of important vehicle parts.
In summary, the proposed system is a practical and affordable safety feature for
both conventional and electric vehicles and can work alongside modern braking
technologies to make driving safer.
