Battery lock control method

Abstract

The application discloses a battery lock control method. The battery lock is suitable for battery replacement of an electric vehicle. The control method comprises the following steps: when receiving a safety message sent by an external device, the battery lock unlocks the battery, and the battery is electrically connected with the electric vehicle.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the Chinese patent application No. 201810817900.3, with the title of "Battery lock and control method thereof", filed on July 23, 2018. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The application belongs to the technical field of battery replacement of electric vehicles, and particularly relates to a battery lock control method. BACKGROUND

[0003] Currently, battery replacement vehicles are operated in two forms, one of which is replaced at a battery replacement station, and the other of which is operated by self-charging. With the increase of operating time, the performance of the battery is declining. In order to maintain the operating capacity, the battery replacement station will supplement new batteries at any time. That is, the performance and quality of the battery replaced from the battery replacement station will be maintained at a high level.

[0004] Driven by interests, the part of vehicles operated by self-charging will privately use poor quality batteries to replace the high performance and quality batteries installed at the battery replacement station. At present, due to the lack of detection and control of the battery replacement behavior of electric vehicles, it is impossible to determine whether the battery replacement behavior of electric vehicles conforms to the operation specification, so it is impossible to effectively avoid the wrong replacement and theft of batteries. The replacement of poor quality batteries has a security risk for the operation of the vehicle, and causes losses to the battery replacement station. SUMMARY

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by the application is to overcome the defects in the prior art that the battery replacement behavior of electric vehicles is not supervised, and the theft and wrong replacement of batteries cannot be avoided, and to provide a battery lock control method.

[0006] The application solves the above technical problems by the following technical scheme:

[0007] A battery lock suitable for battery replacement of an electric vehicle.

[0008] The battery lock is used to unlock the battery when receiving a security message sent by an external device, so that the battery is electrically connected with the electric vehicle.

[0009] Preferably, the battery lock comprises a sending unit.

[0010] The sending unit is used to send the obtained battery locking signal to the external device to generate the security message.

[0011] The battery locking signal is used to represent that the battery is installed on the electric vehicle.

[0012] Preferably, the battery lock further comprises a storage unit.

[0013] The storage unit is used to store the security message.

[0014] Preferably, the battery lock further comprises a receiving unit and a locking unit;

[0015] The receiving unit is configured to invoke the locking unit when receiving a battery unlocking signal;

[0016] The locking unit is configured to lock the battery, so that the battery is disconnected from the electric vehicle;

[0017] The battery unlocking signal is configured to represent that the battery is removed from the electric vehicle.

[0018] Preferably, after locking the battery, the locking unit is further configured to invoke the sending unit;

[0019] The sending unit is further configured to send the security message to the external device.

[0020] Preferably, the battery lock is arranged in the electric vehicle;

[0021] And / or, the external device is a battery replacement device or a battery replacement station.

[0022] A control method of a battery lock, the battery lock is suitable for battery replacement of an electric vehicle;

[0023] The control method comprises:

[0024] The battery lock is unlocked when receiving a security message sent by an external device, so that the battery is connected to the electric vehicle.

[0025] Preferably, before the step of receiving the security message sent by the external device, the control method further comprises:

[0026] The battery lock sends a battery locking signal obtained to the external device to generate the security message;

[0027] The battery locking signal is configured to represent that the battery is installed on the electric vehicle.

[0028] Preferably, after the step of unlocking the battery, the control method further comprises:

[0029] The battery lock stores the security message.

[0030] Preferably, before the step of receiving the security message sent by the external device, the control method further comprises:

[0031] The battery lock is locked when receiving a battery unlocking signal, so that the battery is disconnected from the electric vehicle;

[0032] The battery unlock signal is used to indicate that the battery has been removed from the electric vehicle.

[0033] Preferably, after the step of locking the battery, the method further includes:

[0034] The battery lock sends the security message to the external device.

[0035] The positive and progressive effects of this invention are as follows: This invention enables effective supervision of battery replacement for electric vehicles, thereby ensuring that the batteries of the battery swapping station (battery swapping operator) circulate within its own system, preventing batteries from being stolen or swapped incorrectly, and improving the safety of vehicle operation. Attached Figure Description

[0036] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the battery lock module according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0037] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of the battery lock control method according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0038] The present invention will be further illustrated by way of embodiments below, but the present invention is not limited to the scope of the embodiments described herein.

[0039] Example 1

[0040] This embodiment provides a battery lock suitable for battery replacement in electric vehicles. The battery lock is installed in the electric vehicle. In this embodiment, the battery lock unlocks the battery upon receiving a security message from an external device, thus electrically connecting the battery to the electric vehicle. The external device can be a battery swapping device or a battery swapping station.

[0041] In this embodiment, the battery lock only unlocks the battery and establishes an electrical connection between the battery and the electric vehicle upon receiving a security message. If the user replaces the battery without authorization, the battery lock cannot receive the security message and therefore cannot unlock the battery installed on the electric vehicle, rendering the vehicle unable to operate. This achieves effective battery monitoring and prevents theft or incorrect battery replacement.

[0042] Specifically, such as Figure 1 As shown, the battery lock in this embodiment includes: a receiving unit 1, a locking unit 2, a transmitting unit 3, an unlocking unit 4, and a storage unit 5. The receiving unit 1 is electrically connected to the locking unit 2, the unlocking unit 4, and the storage unit 5, respectively, and the transmitting unit 3 is electrically connected to the locking unit 2 and the storage unit 5, respectively.

[0043] When an electric vehicle swaps its battery at a battery swapping station, the swapping equipment removes the battery from the vehicle. The battery unlocking mechanism generates a battery unlocking signal and sends it to the battery lock. This battery unlocking signal indicates that the battery has been removed from the electric vehicle.

[0044] The receiving unit 1 of the battery lock, upon receiving the battery unlocking signal, calls the locking unit 2 to lock the battery, so that the battery is disconnected from the electric vehicle, and the electric vehicle cannot operate normally.

[0045] After the battery is removed from the electric vehicle by the battery swap device, the locking unit 2 further calls the sending unit 3 to send a security message stored in the storage unit 5 to the battery swap device (the external device is taken as an example). The security message is sent by the battery swap device when the electric vehicle is charged at the battery swap station last time.

[0046] The battery swap device verifies the security message to determine whether the battery is legal. If the verification is passed, the battery swap device installs the fully charged battery to the electric vehicle. When it is confirmed that the battery has been installed on the electric vehicle, the locking mechanism of the battery generates a battery locking signal and sends it to the battery lock. The battery locking signal is used to represent that the battery is installed on the electric vehicle.

[0047] The sending unit 3 of the battery lock sends the obtained battery locking signal to the battery swap device, and the battery swap device generates a new security message and sends it to the battery lock.

[0048] The receiving unit 1 of the battery lock, upon receiving the new security message, calls the unlocking unit 4 to unlock the battery, so that the battery is connected to the electric vehicle, and the electric vehicle can operate normally.

[0049] In this embodiment, the receiving unit 1 also sends the new security message to the storage unit 5 to store the new security message after receiving the new security message. When the electric vehicle is charged at the battery swap station again, the battery lock provides the new security message to the battery swap device to verify the legality of the battery. Thus, the battery swap of the electric vehicle is completed.

[0050] Embodiment 2

[0051] The embodiment provides a control method of a battery lock, which is suitable for battery replacement of an electric vehicle. The control method comprises: unlocking the battery by the battery lock upon receiving a security message sent by an external device, so that the battery is connected to the electric vehicle. The external device can be a battery swap device or a battery swap station.

[0052] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the control method specifically comprises the following steps: Figure 2

[0053] Step 101, locking the battery by the battery lock upon receiving a battery unlocking signal.

[0054] The battery unlocking signal is used to represent that the battery is removed from the electric vehicle. When the electric vehicle is charged at the battery swap station, the battery swap device of the battery swap station removes the battery from the electric vehicle, and the unlocking mechanism of the battery generates a battery unlocking signal and sends it to the battery lock.​

[0055] Step 102, the battery lock sends the security message to the battery swap device.

[0056] In this embodiment, the external device is taken as the battery swap device. The battery lock sends the security message to the battery swap device for the battery swap device to verify the legality of the battery. The security message is sent by the battery swap device when the last time the electric vehicle is charged at the battery swap station.

[0057] When the verification is passed, the battery swap device installs the fully charged battery to the electric vehicle. When it is confirmed that the battery has been installed on the electric vehicle, the locking mechanism of the battery generates a battery locking signal and sends it to the battery lock. The battery locking signal is used to represent that the battery is installed on the electric vehicle.

[0058] Step 103, the battery lock sends the obtained battery locking signal to the battery swap device.

[0059] The battery lock sends the battery locking signal to the battery swap device for it to generate a new security message. The battery swap device sends the generated new security message to the battery lock.

[0060] Step 104, the battery lock unlocks the battery when receiving the new security message sent by the battery swap device.

[0061] After the battery lock unlocks the battery, the battery is electrically connected with the electric vehicle, and at this time the electric vehicle can run normally.

[0062] Step 105, the battery lock stores the new security message.

[0063] When the electric vehicle is changed at the battery swap station again, the battery lock provides the new security message to the battery swap device to verify the legality of the battery. Thus, the battery swap of the electric vehicle is completed.

[0064] The battery swap encryption system of this embodiment realizes effective supervision of the battery replacement of the electric vehicle, thereby ensuring that the battery of the battery swap station (battery swap operator) circulates within its own system, avoiding the battery from being stolen and replaced, improving the safety of the operation of the vehicle.

[0065] Although the specific embodiments of the present application are described above, those skilled in the art should understand that this is only an example, the protection scope of the present application is defined by the appended claims. Those skilled in the art can make various changes or modifications to these embodiments without departing from the principles and essence of the present application, and these changes and modifications all fall within the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a battery lock, characterized in that, The battery lock is suitable for battery replacement in electric vehicles; The control method includes: The battery lock unlocks the battery upon receiving a security message from an external device, thus electrically connecting the battery to the electric vehicle. Before the step of the battery lock receiving a security message sent by an external device, the method further includes: The battery lock sends the acquired battery lock signal to the external device to generate the security message; The battery lock signal is used to indicate that the battery is installed on the electric vehicle; After the step of unlocking the battery by the battery lock, the method further includes: The battery lock stores the security message; The external equipment is either a battery swapping device or a battery swapping station.

2. The control method for the battery lock as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Before the step of the battery lock receiving a security message sent by an external device, the method further includes: When the battery lock receives a battery unlocking signal, it locks the battery, disconnecting the battery from the electric vehicle. The battery unlock signal is used to indicate that the battery has been removed from the electric vehicle.

3. The battery lock control method as described in claim 2, characterized in that, Following the step of locking the battery, the method further includes: The battery lock sends the security message to the external device.

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