Methods and systems for ensuring communication links between charging robots and vehicles

Abstract

This invention relates to a method and system for ensuring a communication link between a charging robot and a vehicle, comprising: classifying and sensing Bluetooth connection failure scenarios between the vehicle and the charging robot at the physical layer, link layer, and service layer; implementing Bluetooth adaptive reconnection based on a reconnection counter and an exponential backoff algorithm, performing a soft restart of the Bluetooth module before each reconnection; after the Bluetooth connection is established, performing service discovery verification, feature value read / write verification, and bidirectional heartbeat verification, determining the link is truly available and resetting the reconnection counter only when all three verifications pass; if any verification fails, the reconnection is determined to have failed, and the reconnection counter is incremented; when the reconnection counter value reaches a preset maximum reconnection threshold and the charging robot is in the pre-plugging stage, the charging robot establishes a mobile communication link with the vehicle through a mobile communication module and completes the remaining plugging operations through the mobile communication link. This invention possesses scene awareness capabilities, intelligent reconnection strategies, clearly defined failure exit points, and heterogeneous backup capabilities.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of wireless communication technology, specifically to a method and system for ensuring a communication link between a charging robot and a vehicle. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid growth of electric vehicle ownership, charging robots have become key to solving the "last mile" charging problem. Charging robots establish a reliable data link with the target vehicle via Bluetooth to obtain battery status, issue opening commands, negotiate charging protocols, and rely on real-time communication to coordinate the precise insertion and connection actions of the robotic arm.

[0003] The existing technology has the following drawbacks:

[0004] (1) It cannot accurately detect failures such as physical layer disconnection, link layer timeout and "false connection" of service layer, especially lacks the ability to identify hidden faults such as the link is open but data cannot be exchanged;

[0005] (2) The reconnection strategy is not intelligent enough, and it uses a fixed interval to try repeatedly, which results in invalid and frequent retries;

[0006] (3) After a successful reconnection, only the connectivity of the link layer is verified, and the availability of the service layer is not reliably verified. It is easy to mistake a "fake connection" for a successful reconnection.

[0007] (4) After multiple failed reconnections, there is no clear handling path, resulting in endless retries or simple error reporting and exit, and there is a lack of backup communication methods;

[0008] Therefore, there is an urgent need to provide a new method and system for ensuring the communication link between charging robots and vehicles. Summary of the Invention

[0009] The purpose of this invention is to provide a method and system for ensuring the communication link between a charging robot and a vehicle, which has scene perception capabilities, intelligent reconnection strategies, clear failure exits, and heterogeneous backup methods.

[0010] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a method for ensuring a communication link between a charging robot and a vehicle, wherein the charging robot has a built-in mobile communication module for backup communication after Bluetooth communication failure, and the method includes:

[0011] Layered Failure Detection: A three-layer failure classification and detection mechanism is adopted to classify and perceive Bluetooth connection failures between vehicles and charging robots at the physical layer, link layer, and business layer.

[0012] Adaptive reconnection: Bluetooth adaptive reconnection is achieved based on a reconnection counter and an exponential backoff algorithm. Before each reconnection, a soft reboot of the Bluetooth module is performed to clear the deadlock state of the protocol stack and reinitialize the radio frequency parameters.

[0013] Business layer triple verification: After the Bluetooth connection is established, service discovery verification, feature value read / write verification, and two-way heartbeat verification are performed. Only when all three verifications pass is the link deemed real and available, and the reconnection counter is reset; if any verification fails, the reconnection is deemed to have failed, and the reconnection counter is incremented.

[0014] Heterogeneous network switching mechanism: When the reconnection counter value reaches the preset maximum reconnection threshold and is in the pre-plugging stage, the mobile communication module is woken up. The charging robot establishes a mobile communication link with the vehicle through the mobile communication module and completes the remaining plugging operation through the mobile communication link. The maximum reconnection threshold is the default reconnection threshold.

[0015] In the above technical solution, this invention, through three-layer failure classification detection, can accurately distinguish different failure scenarios such as physical layer disconnection, link layer timeout, and service layer false connection, solving the problem that existing technologies cannot accurately identify various Bluetooth failures, especially covert false connection faults. This invention, through triple verification at the service layer, confirms the link's availability from three dimensions—service, feature value, and heartbeat—after connection establishment, avoiding misjudging "false connections" that are only link-layer connected but service-layer unusable as valid connections, and addressing the deficiency of only verifying connectivity and service reliability after reconnection. This invention, through a combination of adaptive reconnection and a reconnection counter, achieves intelligent retry control, avoiding frequent invalid retries at fixed intervals, and improving reconnection efficiency and system stability. This invention, through a heterogeneous network switching mechanism, automatically wakes up the mobile communication module as a backup link after multiple Bluetooth reconnection failures, providing a clear failover path and solving the problem of no backup communication means after multiple reconnection failures, easily falling into infinite retries or abnormal exits.

[0016] One possible implementation also includes post-plugging link management: if Bluetooth failure is detected after the plugging action is detected, the reconnection process is not initiated, the mobile communication module is not woken up, and only the wireless link status log is recorded.

[0017] In the above technical solution, after the plug-in is completed, if Bluetooth fails, no reconnection is performed or the backup communication module is woken up. Only a log is recorded, which solves the problem of unnecessary reconnection after successful plug-in, which wastes system resources.

[0018] One possible implementation of the three-layer failure classification and detection mechanism is as follows:

[0019] Physical layer failure detection: This is achieved by listening to disconnection events reported by the Bluetooth protocol stack, corresponding to scenarios such as Bluetooth communication distance exceeding the effective range or abnormal power failure of the vehicle's Bluetooth module.

[0020] Link layer failure detection: This is achieved by monitoring connection request timeouts or connection timeout error codes returned by the Bluetooth protocol stack. The corresponding scenarios are when the Bluetooth signal is overwhelmed by a sudden strong interference or when the vehicle's Bluetooth module is in a busy state.

[0021] Business layer failure detection: This is achieved by monitoring the application layer heartbeat failure or the lack of callback confirmation when key feature values ​​are written a preset number of times. The corresponding scenarios are vehicle Bluetooth protocol stack crashing but not disconnecting, and extremely poor Bluetooth signal causing all application layer data packets to be lost.

[0022] The above technical solution covers all scenarios and fine-grained fault classification and perception, including over-distance faults, power outages, signal interference, module busy faults, protocol stack crashes, and false connections caused by extremely poor signals. It fundamentally solves the defects of existing technologies in inaccurate failure detection and inability to identify hidden false connections.

[0023] One possible implementation is that the adaptive reconnection specifically involves:

[0024] Set a reconnection counter and assign an initial baseline value. The reconnection counter value is incremented by 1 after each Bluetooth reconnection failure. When the reconnection is successful or the plug-in is completed, the reconnection counter is reset to the initial baseline value. When the reconnection counter value reaches the preset maximum reconnection threshold, the reconnection operation is stopped and the system diagnostic log is reported.

[0025] The reconnection wait time is calculated using the exponential backoff algorithm, with the formula Ti = 0.5 × 2. (C-1) The unit is seconds, where Ti is the waiting time for the corresponding number of reconnections, and C is the current value of the reconnection counter.

[0026] In the above technical solution, a combined control method of reconnection counter and maximum reconnection threshold is adopted to avoid unlimited retries and solve the problems of fixed, frequent, invalid reconnections and insufficient intelligence. An exponential backoff algorithm is used, with the reconnection interval adaptively extended according to the number of failures, reducing channel conflicts and system overhead, and further improving the intelligence and stability of the reconnection strategy.

[0027] One possible implementation method is as follows: The specific process of the business layer triple verification is as follows:

[0028] Service discovery verification: After successful Bluetooth reconnection, initiate a GATT service discovery request to verify whether the service list can be successfully enumerated and whether it includes the predefined charging control service. If the charging control service cannot be discovered, the reconnection is deemed to have failed.

[0029] Feature value read / write verification: Perform read / write operations on preset test feature values, including writing test feature values ​​to confirm successful write callback, and reading test feature values ​​to confirm that the returned data meets expectations. If any operation times out or returns an error, the reconnection is deemed to have failed.

[0030] Two-way heartbeat verification: The complete heartbeat handshake process of the robot sending a Ping command and the vehicle returning a Pong command verifies that the command can be sent normally, the vehicle responds within a preset time and the response content conforms to the protocol format. If there is no response after timeout or the response is incorrect, the reconnection is deemed to have failed.

[0031] In the above technical solution, the triple service verification of GATT service discovery, feature value reading and writing, and bidirectional heartbeat confirms the real service availability of the link step by step from service existence, data interactivity, and real-time communication, which completely solves the technical problem of only verifying link connectivity and misjudging false connections, and greatly improves communication reliability.

[0032] One possible implementation is that the pre-plugging phase is defined as the period from the initial Bluetooth connection to the completion of the plugging action. In the pre-plugging phase, layered failure detection, adaptive reconnection, service layer triple verification, and heterogeneous network switching mechanisms are enabled.

[0033] The post-plugging phase is defined as the period from plugging in the gun to the end of charging. During the post-plugging phase, if a Bluetooth failure is detected, all reconnection steps are skipped. If a mobile communication link is currently in use, the connection is actively released, and a wireless link status log is recorded.

[0034] In the above technical solution, a complete protection mechanism is activated before plugging in the connector to ensure that the plugging action is safe and reliable; after plugging in the connector, reconnection is stopped and backup links are released, which not only ensures high availability of communication during the plugging in stage, but also avoids waste of resources after plugging in the connector, thus balancing reliability and economy.

[0035] One possible implementation, after establishing the backup communication link, further includes:

[0036] Environmental adaptive adjustment process: The system records that the current charging station is a station with poor Bluetooth environment. When the charging task is triggered at this station in the future, the low Bluetooth priority mode will be automatically enabled. That is, the maximum reconnection threshold will be dynamically lowered to a low reconnection threshold that is lower than the default reconnection threshold. Only a few Bluetooth connections will be attempted. After failure, the system will directly switch to the mobile communication link.

[0037] In the above technical solution, environmental adaptive optimization is achieved for historical weak signal or strong interference workstations, reducing invalid Bluetooth attempts and quickly switching to mobile communication backup links, further improving the overall communication robustness and charging efficiency in complex environments.

[0038] Secondly, the present invention provides a communication link protection system for a charging robot during the charging gun insertion process, wherein the charging robot has a built-in mobile communication module, and the system further includes:

[0039] The layered failure detection module is used to classify and detect Bluetooth connection failures at the physical layer, link layer, and service layer using a three-layer failure classification and detection mechanism.

[0040] The adaptive reconnection module is used to implement Bluetooth adaptive reconnection based on a reconnection counter and an exponential backoff algorithm. Before each reconnection, the Bluetooth module is soft-rebooted to clear the protocol stack deadlock state and reinitialize the radio frequency parameters. The reconnection counter is used to record the number of Bluetooth connections and reconnection failures. It is reset to zero when the reconnection is successful or the plug is inserted. When the number of failures reaches the maximum reconnection threshold, the reconnection is stopped and the system diagnostic log is reported.

[0041] The business layer verification module is used to perform service discovery verification, feature value read / write verification, and two-way heartbeat verification after the Bluetooth connection is established. Only when all three verifications pass can the link be determined to be real and usable and the reconnection counter be reset. If any verification fails, the reconnection is determined to have failed and the reconnection counter is incremented.

[0042] The heterogeneous network switching module is used to wake up the mobile communication module when the reconnection counter value reaches the preset maximum reconnection threshold and the charging robot is in the pre-plugging stage. The charging robot establishes a mobile communication link with the vehicle through the mobile communication module and completes the remaining plugging operation through the mobile communication link. The maximum reconnection threshold is the default reconnection threshold.

[0043] In the above technical solutions, the present invention provides layered and accurate failure detection, which solves the problems of false connection and inaccurate fault identification; the present invention also provides intelligent adaptive reconnection to avoid invalid and frequent retries; at the same time, it provides triple verification at the business layer to eliminate false connection misjudgment; and it provides heterogeneous backup communication switching to solve the problems of no backup link and no fallback mechanism.

[0044] One possible implementation also includes:

[0045] The link management module is used to enter a resource freeze state after detecting that the gun insertion action has been completed. If Bluetooth failure is detected thereafter, the reconnection process will not be initiated, the mobile communication module will not be woken up, and only the wireless link status log will be recorded.

[0046] In the above technical solution, the present invention solves the problem of redundant reconnection and waste of system resources after the gun is inserted.

[0047] One possible implementation also includes:

[0048] The environment adaptive adjustment module is used to record the current charging station as a Bluetooth environment poor station after the heterogeneous network switching module starts the mobile communication module. When the charging task is triggered at this station in the future, the low Bluetooth priority mode will be automatically enabled, that is, the maximum reconnection threshold will be dynamically lowered to a low reconnection threshold that is less than the default reconnection threshold, and only a few Bluetooth connections will be attempted. After failure, the connection will be directly switched to the mobile communication link.

[0049] In the above technical solution, the present invention uses an environment adaptive adjustment module to dynamically optimize the strategy for Bluetooth-enabled workstations in harsh environments, reduce invalid retries, and improve the overall robustness and operational efficiency of the system in complex scenarios. Attached Figure Description

[0050] Figure 1 This is one of the flowcharts for the communication link protection method between the charging robot and the vehicle in the embodiments of this application;

[0051] Figure 2 This is the second flowchart of the communication link protection method between the charging robot and the vehicle in the embodiments of this application;

[0052] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating the physical layer failure detection method in an embodiment of this application.

[0053] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating the link layer failure in an embodiment of this application;

[0054] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating the failure of the service layer in this application embodiment;

[0055] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating the service discovery verification process in this application embodiment;

[0056] Figure 7 This is a flowchart illustrating the feature value read / write verification process in the embodiments of this application.

[0057] Figure 8 This is a flowchart of the bidirectional heartbeat verification process in the embodiments of this application;

[0058] Figure 9 One of the block diagrams of the communication link guarantee system between the charging robot and the vehicle in this application embodiment;

[0059] Figure 10 This is the second block diagram of the communication link guarantee system between the charging robot and the vehicle in the embodiments of this application;

[0060] Figure 11 This is the third block diagram of the communication link guarantee system between the charging robot and the vehicle in the embodiments of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0061] The embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and preferred embodiments. Those skilled in the art can understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. The present invention can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and various details in this specification can also be modified or changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It should be understood that the preferred embodiments are only for illustrating the present invention and not for limiting the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0062] like Figure 1 As shown, a method for ensuring a communication link between a charging robot and a vehicle is provided. The charging robot has a built-in mobile communication module for backup communication in case of Bluetooth communication failure. The method includes:

[0063] Layered Failure Detection: A three-layer failure classification and detection mechanism is adopted to classify and perceive Bluetooth connection failures between vehicles and charging robots at the physical layer, link layer, and business layer.

[0064] Adaptive reconnection: Bluetooth adaptive reconnection is implemented based on a reconnection counter and an exponential backoff algorithm. Before each reconnection, a soft reboot of the Bluetooth module is performed to clear the deadlock state of the protocol stack and reinitialize the radio frequency parameters.

[0065] Business layer triple verification: After the Bluetooth connection is established, service discovery verification, feature value read / write verification and two-way heartbeat verification are performed. Only when all three verifications pass is the link deemed real and available and the reconnection counter is reset; if any verification fails, the reconnection is deemed to have failed and the reconnection counter is incremented.

[0066] Heterogeneous network switching mechanism: When the reconnection counter value reaches the preset maximum reconnection threshold and is in the pre-plugging stage, the mobile communication module is woken up. The charging robot establishes a mobile communication link with the vehicle through the mobile communication module and completes the remaining plugging operation through the mobile communication link. The maximum reconnection threshold is the default reconnection threshold.

[0067] This application employs a three-layer failure classification detection system to accurately distinguish between different failure scenarios, such as physical layer disconnection, link layer timeout, and service layer false connection, solving the problem that existing technologies cannot accurately identify various Bluetooth failures, especially covert false connection faults. This invention uses triple verification at the service layer to confirm the link's availability from three dimensions—service, feature value, and heartbeat—after connection establishment, avoiding misjudging "false connections" that are only functional at the link layer but not at the service layer as valid connections, and addressing the deficiency of only verifying connectivity and service reliability after reconnection. This invention achieves intelligent retry control through a combination of adaptive reconnection and a reconnection counter, avoiding frequent invalid retries at fixed intervals and improving reconnection efficiency and system stability. This invention uses a heterogeneous network switching mechanism to automatically wake up the mobile communication module as a backup link after multiple Bluetooth reconnection failures, providing a clear failover path and solving the problem of no backup communication means after multiple reconnection failures, easily leading to infinite retries or abnormal exits.

[0068] This application constructs a four-layer progressive technical architecture through layered failure detection, adaptive reconnection, triple verification at the service layer, and heterogeneous network switching mechanism to ensure reliable communication between the charging robot and the vehicle in complex environments.

[0069] like Figure 2 As shown in the embodiment of this application, a method for ensuring the communication link between a charging robot and a vehicle is described in the following steps:

[0070] 1. Establishing a Bluetooth connection: The car owner completes the vehicle binding through the mobile APP. The mobile APP uploads the vehicle's Bluetooth MAC address (such as AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF) to the cloud. The cloud synchronizes the MAC address to the charging robot's local whitelist database to complete the communication authentication preprocessing. After the vehicle enters the charging station, the charging robot starts Bluetooth scanning. When the scanned vehicle MAC address matches the local whitelist, it initiates the first Bluetooth connection attempt.

[0071] II. Bluetooth Connection Failure Detection: To address Bluetooth failure issues, failure scenarios are categorized into three levels: physical layer, link layer, and service layer, with corresponding detection procedures designed. Only when all three layers are functioning correctly can the Bluetooth connection be established, and the reconnection mechanism exit. If any one of these layers fails, adaptive reconnection is initiated.

[0072] Physical layer failure detection is performed by listening to disconnection events reported by the protocol stack. Typical scenarios include distance exceeding the effective range or abnormal power loss of the vehicle's Bluetooth module.

[0073] like Figure 3 As shown, the specific process for physical layer failure detection is as follows:

[0074] S11: Register the protocol stack event callback function.

[0075] S12: Protocol stack event wait.

[0076] S13: Determine if the protocol stack has reported a complete disconnection event type; if not, wait for the next event; if yes, read the disconnection reason code and determine if the physical layer has failed.

[0077] Link layer failure detection is performed by checking for connection request timeouts or connection timeout error codes returned by the protocol stack. Typical scenarios include when the signal is overwhelmed by sudden strong interference or when the vehicle's Bluetooth is busy.

[0078] like Figure 4 The diagram shows the link layer failure detection process, specifically:

[0079] This process monitors two dimensions in parallel:

[0080] Dimension 1: Monitoring connection requests

[0081] Start the first timer and wait for a connection success event. If the first timer expires and no connection success event is received, it is determined that the link layer has failed. If a connection success event is received, return to the waiting state and continue to monitor the next connection request.

[0082] Dimension Two: Monitoring Connected Links

[0083] Monitor error events reported by the protocol stack. If a protocol stack error event is received, determine that the link layer has failed; if no error event is received, continue monitoring.

[0084] Business layer failure detection is performed by detecting application layer heartbeat failures or key feature value writes without callback confirmation after a preset number of consecutive times (e.g., 3 times). Typical scenarios include hidden faults such as vehicle Bluetooth protocol stack crashing but not disconnecting, and extremely poor signal causing all application layer data packets to be lost.

[0085] like Figure 5 The diagram shows the process for failure detection at the business layer, specifically:

[0086] 1. Start two monitoring branches in parallel: one for monitoring heartbeat requests and the other for monitoring feature value operations.

[0087] 2. Branch 1: Monitor heartbeat requests

[0088] Perform a monitoring heartbeat request operation; send a heartbeat request to the peer; start the first response waiting timer to start timing and wait for the peer's response; determine whether a response has been received. If a response is received, clear the first counter and record the response time; if no response is received, increment the first counter by 1; determine whether the first counter is greater than or equal to the first preset threshold (e.g., 3 times). If it is greater than or equal to the first preset threshold, it is determined that the business layer has failed and the process terminates. If it is less than the first preset threshold, the next round of heartbeat detection is initiated.

[0089] 3. Branch 2: Monitoring Feature Value Operations

[0090] Perform monitoring feature value operation; write key feature values ​​to the business system; determine whether the write operation is complete; if the write operation is complete, receive the write callback value, the current detection ends, and wait for the next feature value operation; if the feature value write fails, increment the second counter by 1; determine whether the second counter is greater than or equal to the second preset threshold (e.g., 3 times); if it is greater than the second preset threshold, determine that the business layer has failed and the process terminates; if it is less than the second preset threshold, retry the write operation.

[0091] 4. Failure determination

[0092] If any monitoring branch triggers a threshold condition, it is determined that the business layer has failed.

[0093] 3. Adaptive Reconnection: After detecting a Bluetooth connection failure, determine whether it occurred before the Bluetooth adapter was plugged in. If it occurred after the adapter was plugged in, log the process and no further action is required. If it occurred before the adapter was plugged in, execute the adaptive reconnection process.

[0094] For example, if the initial connection encounters a physical layer failure (such as no device being detected within 5 seconds), the system initiates a reconnection process.

[0095] The adaptive reconnection mechanism works as follows: A reconnection counter is set and assigned an initial baseline value (e.g., 0). The counter increments by 1 after each failed Bluetooth reconnection. Upon successful reconnection or successful plug-in, the counter resets to the initial baseline value. When the reconnection counter reaches a preset maximum reconnection threshold (e.g., 3), the reconnection operation stops and a system diagnostic log is reported. The reconnection wait time is calculated using an exponential backoff algorithm, with the formula Ti = 0.5 × 2. (C-1) The unit is seconds, where Ti is the waiting time for the corresponding number of reconnections, and C is the current value of the reconnection counter.

[0096] For example, the number of consecutive failures is first recorded by a reconnection counter: C=1 when the first failure occurs, and C is incremented by 1 after each reconnection failure (e.g., business layer verification failure). The count is reset to zero when the reconnection is successful or the insertion is completed. When C reaches the maximum reconnection threshold (the maximum reconnection threshold is a calibrated value, which is greater than 1), the reconnection is stopped and the system diagnostic log is reported to avoid invalid reconnections.

[0097] The reconnection wait time uses an exponential backoff algorithm, calculated as Ti = 0.5 × 2 (C-1) The timeout values ​​are 0.5 seconds, 1 second, 2 seconds, and 4 seconds for the first to fourth reconnection attempts, respectively, achieving an adaptive effect of short wait times for short-term interference and long wait times for continuous interference. Simultaneously, a soft reboot of the Bluetooth module is performed before each reconnection to clear any deadlock states in the protocol stack and reinitialize RF parameters, effectively improving the reconnection success rate. For example: the first reconnection attempt waits T1 = 0.5 seconds and fails again due to scan timeout, so C increases to 2. The second reconnection attempt waits T2 = 1 second and finds a device, but the connection request times out (link layer failure), so C increases to 3. The third reconnection attempt waits T3 = 2 seconds and successfully connects, but the service discovery verification in the business layer's triple verification fails (e.g., incomplete GATT service), indicating a business layer failure, so C increases to 4. At this point, C > the maximum reconnection threshold (e.g., 3), triggering seamless switching between heterogeneous networks.

[0098] Triple verification at the business layer: During the initial connection or a reconnection, if the Bluetooth connection is successfully established (ideal Bluetooth scenario), the system sequentially performs triple verification at the business layer, including service discovery verification (e.g., is the GATT service complete), feature value read / write verification (e.g., is the read / write callback normal), and two-way heartbeat verification (e.g., is the Ping-Pong response normal). Once all three verifications pass (i.e., the GATT service is complete, the read / write callback is normal, and the Ping-Pong response is normal), the connection is determined to be genuine and usable, and C is reset to zero. The charging robot interacts with the vehicle via the Bluetooth link, sequentially issuing commands to open the cover, adjust the posture, and insert the charging gun, and receiving vehicle status feedback to complete the robotic arm's insertion action. The charging pile establishes CAN bus communication with the vehicle via physical cables and begins normal charging.

[0099] In this embodiment of the application, the service discovery verification is as follows: after the Bluetooth reconnection is successful, a GATT service discovery request is initiated to verify whether the service list can be successfully enumerated and whether it contains a predefined charging control service (such as 0xFFE0). If the charging control service cannot be discovered, the reconnection is determined to have failed.

[0100] like Figure 6 As shown, the specific process for service discovery verification is as follows:

[0101] Initiate a GATT service discovery request; wait for a service discovery response; check if the waiting time has expired. If it has expired, the verification fails. If it has not expired, the service list is received. Traverse the service list, search for the charging control service, and check if the charging control service is found. If it is found, the verification is successful.

[0102] In this embodiment of the application, the feature value read / write verification is as follows: read / write operations are performed on the preset test feature value, including writing the test feature value to confirm that the write callback is successful, reading the test feature value to confirm that the returned data meets expectations, and if any operation times out or returns an error, the reconnection is determined to fail.

[0103] like Figure 7 As shown, feature value read / write verification includes write verification and read verification, and the specific process is as follows:

[0104] Write verification: Write the test value, start the second timer, and determine whether the data writing is complete. If the writing fails, the third counter remains unchanged; if the writing is successful, the third counter increments by 1.

[0105] Read verification: Read the test value, start the third timer, and determine whether the data reading is complete. If the reading fails, the fourth counter remains unchanged; if the reading is successful, the fourth counter increments by 1.

[0106] If the initial values ​​of the third and fourth counters are 0, determine whether the values ​​of the third and fourth counters are greater than or equal to 2. If yes, it means that the feature value read / write was successful; otherwise, it means that the feature value read / write failed.

[0107] In this embodiment of the application, the two-way heartbeat verification is as follows: the robot initiates a complete heartbeat handshake process by sending a Ping command and the vehicle returns a Pong command. The verification command can be sent normally, the vehicle responds within a preset time (e.g., 500ms) and the response content conforms to the protocol format. If there is no response after the timeout or the response is incorrect, the reconnection is determined to have failed.

[0108] like Figure 8 As shown, the specific process for two-way heartbeat verification is as follows:

[0109] Construct a heartbeat request Ping packet, send the heartbeat request characteristic value, and start the second response waiting timer;

[0110] Determine if a Pong was received: If no Pong was received, verification failed; if a Pong was received, verify the response format and determine if it is a valid Pong: If it is not a valid Pong, verification failed; if it is a valid Pong, verify the response time and determine if the response time is less than a preset time (e.g., 500ms): If it is within the preset time, verification succeeded; if it is not within the preset time, verification failed.

[0111] The link is deemed truly available and the reconnection counter is reset only when all three verifications pass; if any verification fails, the reconnection is deemed to have failed and the reconnection counter is incremented.

[0112] This application employs a triple service verification mechanism: GATT service discovery, feature value reading / writing, and bidirectional heartbeat. It verifies the actual service availability of the link step-by-step, from service existence and data interactivity to real-time communication capability, completely resolving the technical problem of merely verifying link connectivity and misjudging false connections, thus significantly improving communication reliability. GATT stands for Generic Attribute Profile.

[0113] Heterogeneous network switching mechanism: When the reconnection counter reaches the preset maximum reconnection threshold and the charging robot is in the pre-plugging stage, the mobile communication module (e.g., 4G or 5G) is activated. The charging robot then establishes a mobile communication link with the vehicle through this module. Taking the 4G module as an example, the charging robot sends the vehicle's MAC address and the current charging task ID to the cloud. The cloud then locates the corresponding vehicle's online 4G connection or the owner's app long connection based on the vehicle identifier, establishing a two-way transparent transmission channel between the robot, cloud, and vehicle. The plugging action continues through the 4G communication link, including issuing the opening command, adjusting the posture, and confirming plugging. The charging robot then continues its robotic arm movements, successfully completing the charging task.

[0114] In one possible embodiment, a method for ensuring a communication link between a charging robot and a vehicle further includes post-plugging link management, specifically:

[0115] If Bluetooth failure is detected after the insertion of the charging gun, the reconnection process will not be initiated, the mobile communication module will not be woken up, and only the wireless link status log will be recorded (e.g., "Bluetooth lost after insertion" will be recorded in the log). This prevents unnecessary reconnection and waking up of the backup communication module after successful insertion, thus avoiding the waste of system resources caused by unnecessary reconnection after successful insertion.

[0116] In this embodiment, the pre-plugging stage is defined as the period from the initial Bluetooth connection initiation to the completion of the plugging action. During this stage, layered failure detection, adaptive reconnection, service-layer triple verification, and heterogeneous network switching mechanisms are enabled. The post-plugging stage is defined as the period from plugging to charging completion. During this stage, if a Bluetooth failure is detected, all reconnection steps are skipped; if a mobile communication link is currently in use, the connection is actively released, and a wireless link status log is recorded. Enabling a complete protection mechanism before plugging ensures a safe and reliable plugging operation; stopping reconnection and releasing backup links after plugging guarantees high availability of communication during the plugging stage while avoiding resource waste after plugging, thus balancing reliability and economy.

[0117] In one possible embodiment, a method for ensuring a communication link between a charging robot and a vehicle further includes an environmental adaptive adjustment process after establishing a backup communication link, specifically:

[0118] The system records the current charging station as a poor Bluetooth environment station. When a charging task is subsequently triggered at this station, a low Bluetooth priority mode is automatically activated. This dynamically lowers the maximum reconnection threshold to a low reconnection threshold (e.g., 1), which is less than the default reconnection threshold (e.g., 3). Only a few Bluetooth connection attempts are made, and after failure, the system directly switches to the mobile communication link, shortening the waiting time. By adaptively optimizing for historically weak signal or strong interference stations, invalid Bluetooth attempts are reduced, and a quick switch to the mobile communication backup link is achieved, further improving overall communication robustness and charging efficiency in complex environments.

[0119] like Figure 9 As shown in this embodiment, a communication link assurance system for a charging robot during the charging gun insertion process is provided. The charging robot has a built-in mobile communication module, and the system further includes a hierarchical failure detection module, an adaptive reconnection module, a service layer verification module, and a heterogeneous network switching module. The hierarchical failure detection module uses a three-layer failure classification and detection mechanism to classify and perceive Bluetooth connection failures at the physical layer, link layer, and service layer. The adaptive reconnection module implements Bluetooth adaptive reconnection based on a reconnection counter and an exponential backoff algorithm. Before each reconnection, a soft restart of the Bluetooth module is performed to clear the protocol stack deadlock state and reinitialize the radio frequency parameters. The reconnection counter records the number of Bluetooth connections and reconnection failures, and resets to zero upon successful reconnection or completion of charging gun insertion. When the number of failures reaches the maximum reconnection threshold, reconnection stops and the system diagnostic log is reported. The service layer verification module performs service discovery verification, feature value read / write verification, and two-way heartbeat verification after the Bluetooth connection is established. Only when all three verifications pass is the link deemed truly usable and the reconnection counter reset. If any verification fails, the reconnection is deemed failed, and the reconnection counter is incremented. The heterogeneous network switching module is used to wake up the mobile communication module when the reconnection counter value reaches the preset maximum reconnection threshold and the charging robot is in the pre-plugging stage. The charging robot establishes a mobile communication link with the vehicle through the mobile communication module and completes the remaining plugging operation through the mobile communication link. The maximum reconnection threshold is the default reconnection threshold.

[0120] This application provides layered and accurate failure detection, solving the problems of false connections and inaccurate fault identification; it also provides intelligent adaptive reconnection to avoid invalid and frequent retries; it provides triple verification at the business layer to eliminate false connection misjudgments; and it provides heterogeneous backup communication switching to solve the problems of no backup link and no fallback mechanism.

[0121] like Figure 10As shown, in one possible embodiment, a communication link assurance system for the charging robot during the gun insertion process further includes a link management module. This module, upon detecting the completion of the insertion action, enters a resource freeze state. Subsequently, if a Bluetooth failure is detected, it does not initiate a reconnection process or wake up the mobile communication module; it only records the wireless link status log. This application solves the problem of redundant reconnection and wasted system resources after gun insertion is completed.

[0122] like Figure 11 As shown, in one possible embodiment, a communication link assurance system for the charging robot during the charging gun insertion process further includes an environment adaptive adjustment module. This module records the current charging station as a Bluetooth-critical environment station after the heterogeneous network switching module activates the mobile communication module. Subsequently, when this station triggers a charging task, it automatically enables a low Bluetooth priority mode, dynamically lowering the maximum reconnection threshold to a low reconnection threshold lower than the default reconnection threshold. Only a few Bluetooth connection attempts are made, and after failure, the system directly switches to the mobile communication link. This application, through the environment adaptive adjustment module, achieves dynamic strategy optimization for Bluetooth-critical stations, reducing invalid retries and improving the overall robustness and operational efficiency of the system in complex scenarios.

[0123] In summary, this application effectively solves the problem of gun insertion failure caused by communication interruptions in complex environments by constructing a two-stage progressive guarantee of "Bluetooth hierarchical reconnection + mobile communication heterogeneous backup". Simultaneously, an exponential backoff adaptive reconnection strategy is adopted, allowing the system to dynamically adjust the reconnection timing. Under brief, sudden interference, the average reconnection time is significantly shortened, avoiding fixed waiting delays in gun insertion; under continuous interference, the number of invalid reconnections is greatly reduced, decreasing unnecessary wake-ups and power consumption of the Bluetooth module, achieving a balance between rapid recovery and energy saving. For the "false connection" state (link established but business data unable to be exchanged) that is difficult to identify with existing technologies, a triple verification mechanism at the business layer is introduced to eliminate the potential for robotic arm malfunctions caused by misjudgments of communication status, providing reliable business layer communication guarantees for automated operations. The system only performs communication guarantees before gun insertion, and immediately freezes the reconnection and detection process after insertion. This fundamentally eliminates meaningless resource idleness after charging, significantly reducing the average invalid reconnection time and mobile communication backup link traffic consumption per charging task, maximizing user experience and device resource utilization.

[0124] The above embodiments are preferred embodiments of the present invention, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above embodiments. Any changes, modifications, substitutions, combinations, or simplifications made without departing from the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be considered equivalent substitutions and shall be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for ensuring communication links during the charging robot's charging gun insertion process, characterized in that, The charging robot has a built-in mobile communication module for backup communication in case of Bluetooth communication failure, and the method includes: Layered Failure Detection: A three-layer failure classification and detection mechanism is adopted to classify and perceive Bluetooth connection failures between vehicles and charging robots at the physical layer, link layer, and business layer. Adaptive reconnection: Bluetooth adaptive reconnection is achieved based on a reconnection counter and an exponential backoff algorithm. Before each reconnection, a soft reboot of the Bluetooth module is performed to clear the deadlock state of the protocol stack and reinitialize the radio frequency parameters. Business layer triple verification: After the Bluetooth connection is established, service discovery verification, feature value read / write verification, and two-way heartbeat verification are performed. Only when all three verifications pass is the link deemed real and available, and the reconnection counter is reset; if any verification fails, the reconnection is deemed to have failed, and the reconnection counter is incremented. Heterogeneous network switching mechanism: When the reconnection counter value reaches the preset maximum reconnection threshold and is in the pre-plugging stage, the mobile communication module is woken up. The charging robot establishes a mobile communication link with the vehicle through the mobile communication module and completes the remaining plugging operation through the mobile communication link. The maximum reconnection threshold is the default reconnection threshold.

2. The communication link protection method for the charging robot gun insertion process according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes post-plugging link management: if Bluetooth failure is detected after the plugging action is detected, the reconnection process will not be initiated, the mobile communication module will not be woken up, and only the wireless link status log will be recorded.

3. The communication link protection method for the charging robot gun insertion process according to claim 1, characterized in that, The three-layer failure classification and detection mechanism is as follows: Physical layer failure detection: achieved by listening for disconnection events reported by the Bluetooth protocol stack; Link layer failure detection: This is achieved by monitoring connection request timeouts or connection timeout error codes returned by the Bluetooth protocol stack. Business layer failure detection: This is achieved by monitoring for a preset number of consecutive times when the application layer heartbeat fails to respond or when key feature values ​​are written without callback confirmation.

4. The communication link protection method for the charging robot gun insertion process according to claim 1, characterized in that, The adaptive reconnection specifically refers to: Set a reconnection counter and assign an initial baseline value. The reconnection counter value is incremented by 1 after each Bluetooth reconnection failure. When the reconnection is successful or the plug-in is completed, the reconnection counter is reset to the initial baseline value. When the reconnection counter value reaches the preset maximum reconnection threshold, the reconnection operation is stopped and the system diagnostic log is reported. The reconnection wait time is calculated using the exponential backoff algorithm, with the formula Ti = 0.5 × 2. (C-1) The unit is seconds, where Ti is the waiting time for the corresponding number of reconnections, and C is the current value of the reconnection counter.

5. The communication link protection method for the charging robot gun insertion process according to claim 1, characterized in that, The specific process of the business layer triple verification is as follows: Service discovery verification: After successful Bluetooth reconnection, initiate a GATT service discovery request to verify whether the service list can be successfully enumerated and whether it includes the predefined charging control service. If the charging control service cannot be discovered, the reconnection is deemed to have failed. Feature value read / write verification: Perform read / write operations on preset test feature values, including writing test feature values ​​to confirm successful write callback, and reading test feature values ​​to confirm that the returned data meets expectations. If any operation times out or returns an error, the reconnection is deemed to have failed. Two-way heartbeat verification: The complete heartbeat handshake process of the robot sending a Ping command and the vehicle returning a Pong command verifies that the command can be sent normally, the vehicle responds within a preset time and the response content conforms to the protocol format. If there is no response after timeout or the response is incorrect, the reconnection is deemed to have failed.

6. The communication link protection method for the charging robot gun insertion process according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pre-plugging phase is defined as the period from the initial Bluetooth connection to the completion of the plugging action. During the pre-plugging phase, layered failure detection, adaptive reconnection, service layer triple verification, and heterogeneous network switching mechanisms are enabled. The post-plugging phase is defined as the period from plugging in the gun to the end of charging. During the post-plugging phase, if a Bluetooth failure is detected, all reconnection steps are skipped. If a mobile communication link is currently in use, the connection is actively released, and a wireless link status log is recorded.

7. The communication link protection method for the charging robot gun insertion process according to claim 1, characterized in that, After establishing the backup communication link, the following is also included: Environmental adaptive adjustment process: The system records that the current charging station is a station with poor Bluetooth environment. When the charging task is triggered at this station in the future, the low Bluetooth priority mode will be automatically enabled. That is, the maximum reconnection threshold will be dynamically lowered to a low reconnection threshold that is lower than the default reconnection threshold. Only a few Bluetooth connections will be attempted. After failure, the system will directly switch to the mobile communication link.

8. A communication link protection system for the charging robot during the charging gun insertion process, characterized in that, The charging robot has a built-in mobile communication module, and the system also includes: The layered failure detection module is used to classify and detect Bluetooth connection failures at the physical layer, link layer, and service layer using a three-layer failure classification and detection mechanism. The adaptive reconnection module is used to implement Bluetooth adaptive reconnection based on a reconnection counter and an exponential backoff algorithm. Before each reconnection, the Bluetooth module is soft-rebooted to clear the protocol stack deadlock state and reinitialize the radio frequency parameters. The reconnection counter is used to record the number of Bluetooth connections and reconnection failures. It is reset to zero when the reconnection is successful or the plug is inserted. When the number of failures reaches the maximum reconnection threshold, the reconnection is stopped and the system diagnostic log is reported. The business layer verification module is used to perform service discovery verification, feature value read / write verification, and two-way heartbeat verification after the Bluetooth connection is established. Only when all three verifications pass can the link be determined to be real and usable and the reconnection counter be reset. If any verification fails, the reconnection is determined to have failed and the reconnection counter is incremented. The heterogeneous network switching module is used to wake up the mobile communication module when the reconnection counter value reaches the preset maximum reconnection threshold and the charging robot is in the pre-plugging stage. The charging robot establishes a mobile communication link with the vehicle through the mobile communication module and completes the remaining plugging operation through the mobile communication link. The maximum reconnection threshold is the default reconnection threshold.

9. The communication link protection system for the charging robot during the insertion process of the charging gun, as described in claim 8, is characterized in that, Also includes: The link management module is used to enter a resource freeze state after detecting that the gun insertion action has been completed. If Bluetooth failure is detected thereafter, the reconnection process will not be initiated, the mobile communication module will not be woken up, and only the wireless link status log will be recorded.

10. The communication link protection system for the charging robot during the insertion process of the charging gun, as described in claim 8, is characterized in that, Also includes: The environment adaptive adjustment module is used to record the current charging station as a Bluetooth environment poor station after the heterogeneous network switching module starts the mobile communication module. When the charging task is triggered at this station in the future, the low Bluetooth priority mode will be automatically enabled, that is, the maximum reconnection threshold will be dynamically lowered to a low reconnection threshold that is less than the default reconnection threshold, and only a few Bluetooth connections will be attempted. After failure, the connection will be directly switched to the mobile communication link.

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