A power management method and system, vehicle and storage medium

Abstract

The application provides a power management method and system, a vehicle and a storage medium, the power management method divides vehicle ECUs into multiple unit groups, each unit group includes a first level unit and a second level unit; each ECU is integrated with a battery; in each unit group, the battery of the first level unit is connected to a charging power supply, and the battery of the second level unit is connected to the battery of the first level unit; the power management method comprises the following steps: when the battery of the first level unit is in power shortage, the battery of the second level unit is controlled to charge the battery of the first level unit. The power management method and system, the vehicle and the storage medium provided by the application can improve the utilization rate and safety of the battery, greatly reduce the number of wire harness loop circuits, reduce the production process requirements of the wire harness, and improve the production efficiency by distributing the vehicle ECUs for processing and providing each ECU with a battery and a battery management system.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of automotive power supply technology, specifically to a power management method and system, a vehicle, and a storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] Current power supply solutions for low-voltage electrical systems in vehicles typically rely on a single main battery or a backup power supply to power all electrical components. However, as automotive intelligence and autonomous driving capabilities increase, the demands on battery capacity and safety rise, requiring larger power supplies and more robust power architectures, leading to lower battery utilization. Furthermore, the increasing number of automotive electrical components and the growing complexity of wiring harnesses result in higher overall vehicle cost and weight, more redundant power systems and wiring harnesses, lower production efficiency, and higher production costs, ultimately wasting resources. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This application provides a power management method and system, a vehicle, and a storage medium to alleviate the problems of low utilization and security of the vehicle's power system.

[0004] In one aspect, this application provides a power management method, specifically, dividing the vehicle ECU into multiple unit groups, each unit group including a first-level unit and a second-level unit; each ECU integrates a battery;

[0005] In each cell cluster, the battery of the first-level cell is connected to a charging power source, and the battery of the second-level cell is connected to the battery of the first-level cell.

[0006] The power management method includes:

[0007] When the battery of the first level unit is depleted, the battery of the second level unit is controlled to charge the battery of the first level unit.

[0008] Optionally, the power management method further includes: when the battery of the second level unit is low on power, controlling the battery of the first level unit to charge the battery of the second level unit.

[0009] Optionally, the cell group in the power management method further includes a third-level cell, the battery of which is connected to the battery of the second-level cell, and the importance level of the third-level cell is lower than that of the second-level cell.

[0010] The power management method further includes:

[0011] When the battery of the second-level unit is depleted, the battery of the third-level unit is controlled to charge the battery of the second-level unit.

[0012] Optionally, the power management method further includes: when the battery of the third-level unit is low on power, controlling the battery of the second-level unit to charge the battery of the third-level unit.

[0013] On the other hand, this application also provides a power management system, specifically, the vehicle ECU is divided into multiple unit groups, each unit group includes a first-level unit and a second-level unit; each ECU integrates a battery;

[0014] In each cell cluster, the battery of the first-level cell is connected to a charging power source, and the battery of the second-level cell is connected to the battery of the first-level cell.

[0015] The power management system further includes a management module, which is connected to the first-level unit and the second-level unit respectively. The power management system is used for:

[0016] When the battery of the first level unit is depleted, the battery of the second level unit is controlled to charge the battery of the first level unit.

[0017] Optionally, the charging power source in the power management system is selected from a generator and / or a vehicle inverter.

[0018] Optionally, different levels of ECUs in the power management system integrate batteries of different capacities.

[0019] Optionally, the batteries of at least two second-level units in the power management system are interconnected.

[0020] On the other hand, this application provides a vehicle, specifically, including the power management system described above.

[0021] On the other hand, this application provides a storage medium, specifically, the storage medium stores a computer program, which, when executed by a computer, implements the power management method as described above.

[0022] As described above, the power management method and system, vehicle, and storage medium provided in this application, by distributing the processing of the vehicle ECU and equipping each ECU with a battery and a battery management system, not only improve battery utilization and safety, but also greatly reduce the number of wiring harness loops, lower the requirements for wiring harness manufacturing processes, and improve production efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0023] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this application. To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without any creative effort.

[0024] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of a power management method according to an embodiment of this application.

[0025] Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of a power management system according to an embodiment of this application.

[0026] Figure 3 This is a structural diagram of a power management system in a vehicle according to an embodiment of this application.

[0027] The realization of the objectives, functional features, and advantages of this application will be further explained in conjunction with the embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings have illustrated specific embodiments of this application, which will be described in more detail below. These drawings and textual descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the concept in any way, but rather to illustrate the concepts of this application to those skilled in the art through reference to specific embodiments. Detailed Implementation

[0028] Exemplary embodiments will now be described in detail, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description relates to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings denote the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with this application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with some aspects of this application as detailed in the appended claims.

[0029] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes that element. Furthermore, components, features, and elements with the same names in different embodiments of this application may have the same meaning or different meanings, the specific meaning of which must be determined by its interpretation in that specific embodiment or further in conjunction with the context of that specific embodiment.

[0030] It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of this application and are not intended to limit this application.

[0031] First Embodiment

[0032] This application provides a power management method. Figure 1 This is a flowchart of a power management method according to an embodiment of this application.

[0033] In one embodiment, the vehicle ECU is divided into multiple unit groups, each unit group including at least one first-level unit and at least one second-level unit according to their importance, wherein the first-level unit is of greater importance than the second-level unit. Each ECU integrates a battery.

[0034] For example, each cell family connects to different on-board devices, and different levels of ECUs can integrate different battery capacities according to different power requirements. Optionally, the battery capacity of a higher-level cell is greater than that of a lower-level cell, and the battery capacity integrated by a first-level cell is greater than that integrated by a second-level cell.

[0035] In each unit cluster, the battery of the first-level unit is connected to a charging power source, and the battery of the second-level unit is connected to the battery of the first-level unit. For example, the vehicle's alternator or vehicle inverter is connected to the battery of the first-level unit via a main power line, and the battery of the first-level unit is then connected to the batteries of multiple second-level units or nearby electrical appliances via several main power lines. The vehicle's alternator or vehicle inverter supplies power to the batteries of the first-level units, and the batteries of the first-level units supply power to the batteries of multiple second-level units or nearby electrical appliances.

[0036] Please see Figure 1 Power management methods include:

[0037] S10: When the battery of the first-level unit is low on power, control the battery of the second-level unit to charge the battery of the first-level unit.

[0038] For example, when the battery of the first-level unit is depleted, the battery of the second-level unit can work together with the charging power supply to supply power to the battery of the first-level unit.

[0039] In this embodiment, when the battery of the first-level unit, which has a high safety and importance level, is depleted, not only can the vehicle inverter or generator charge the battery of the first-level unit, but it can also control the batteries of other lower-level second-level units to charge the battery of the first-level unit. This power management method can not only monitor battery level, lifespan, and user power consumption habits in real time to reduce battery wear, but also adjust the battery capacity of each ECU to extend battery life and reduce overall vehicle power consumption.

[0040] Please continue reading. Figure 1 In one embodiment, the power management method further includes:

[0041] S20: When the battery of the second-level unit is low on power, control the battery of the first-level unit to charge the battery of the second-level unit.

[0042] For example, the vehicle inverter or generator can charge the battery of the first-level unit. Therefore, when the battery of the second-level unit is depleted and the battery of the first-level unit has sufficient power, the battery of the first-level unit supplies power to the battery of the second-level unit.

[0043] In one embodiment, the cell family in the power management method further includes a third-level cell whose battery is connected to the battery of a second-level cell. The third-level cell has a lower importance level than the second-level cell. Exemplarily, the cell family includes at least one third-level cell, and the battery of the second-level cell is connected to the third-level cell or a nearby electrical appliance.

[0044] Power management methods also include:

[0045] S30: When the battery of the second-level unit is low on power, control the battery of the third-level unit to charge the battery of the second-level unit.

[0046] For example, when the battery of the second-level unit is low on power, if the battery of the third-level unit has sufficient power, the battery of the third-level unit can work together with the battery of the first-level unit to supply power to the battery of the second-level unit.

[0047] In one embodiment, the power management method further includes:

[0048] S40: When the battery of the third level unit is low on power, control the battery of the second level unit to charge the battery of the third level unit.

[0049] For example, when the battery of the third level unit is depleted and the battery of the second level unit has sufficient power, the battery of the second level unit supplies power to the battery of the third level unit.

[0050] In this embodiment, the power management method reduces the safety impact of vehicle ECU failures by separating the vehicle ECU, avoids redundant design, improves the utilization rate of the vehicle ECU, reduces wiring harness requirements, reduces vehicle weight, reduces vehicle cost, and improves vehicle quality and safety.

[0051] In another embodiment, the cell group in the power management method may further include fourth-level cells, fifth-level cells, ..., Nth-level cells, where N is an integer greater than or equal to four. The importance of each level cell decreases sequentially. When a high-level cell with high safety and importance is depleted, the battery management method manages other low-level cells and the vehicle inverter or generator to charge the high-level cell.

[0052] Second Embodiment

[0053] This application provides a power management system. Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of a power management system according to an embodiment of this application.

[0054] Please see Figure 2 In one embodiment, the vehicle ECU is divided into multiple unit groups, each unit group including at least one first-level unit A and at least one second-level unit B according to their importance, wherein the importance level of the first-level unit A is greater than that of the second-level unit B. Each ECU integrates a battery.

[0055] It should be noted that this application does not limit the number of first-level unit A and second-level unit B, and the number can be set according to the number of electrical appliances. Figure 2 Only one first-level unit A and three second-level units B are shown.

[0056] In each unit cluster, the battery of first-level unit A is connected to the charging power supply 10, and the battery of second-level unit B is connected to the battery of first-level unit A. For example, the vehicle's charging power supply 10 is connected to the battery of first-level unit A via a main power line, and the battery of first-level unit A is then connected to multiple batteries of second-level units B or nearby electrical appliances via several main power lines. The vehicle's charging power supply 10 supplies power to the battery of first-level unit A, and the battery of first-level unit A supplies power to the batteries of multiple second-level units B or nearby electrical appliances.

[0057] Please continue reading. Figure 2 The power management system also includes a management module 20, which is connected to the first-level unit A and the second-level unit B respectively. The power management system is used to: when the battery of the first-level unit A is low on power, control the battery of the second-level unit B to charge the battery of the first-level unit A.

[0058] For example, when the battery of the first level unit A is depleted, the battery co-charging power supply 10 of the second level unit B supplies power to the battery of the first level unit A.

[0059] In this embodiment, when the battery of the first-level unit A, which has a high safety and importance level, is depleted, the power management system controls the batteries of other second-level units B, which have a lower safety and importance level, and the charging power supply 10 to charge the battery of the first-level unit A. This not only allows for real-time monitoring of battery power, lifespan, and user power consumption habits to reduce battery wear, but also adjusts the battery capacity of each ECU to extend battery lifespan and reduce overall vehicle power consumption.

[0060] In one embodiment, the charging power source 10 in the power management system is selected from a generator and / or a vehicle inverter.

[0061] For example, when the first-level unit A is depleted, the first-level unit A can be powered by the vehicle generator and / or the vehicle inverter.

[0062] In one embodiment, different levels of ECUs in the power management system integrate batteries of different capacities.

[0063] For example, each group of units connects to different on-board devices, and different levels of ECUs integrate different battery capacities according to different power requirements. The battery capacity of a higher-level unit can be greater than that of a lower-level unit. Optionally, the battery capacity integrated in the first-level unit A is greater than the battery capacity integrated in the second-level unit B.

[0064] Please continue reading. Figure 2 In one embodiment, at least two batteries of the second-level units B in the power management system are interconnected.

[0065] For example, when there is a battery in the second-level unit B that performs driving safety functions, a power cable is added to connect it to the battery in the nearby second-level unit B, so that the batteries in the two second-level units B can supply power to each other as batteries of the same level, thereby improving the utilization rate of the batteries.

[0066] In this embodiment, the power management system reduces the safety impact of vehicle ECU failures by separating the vehicle ECU, avoids redundant design, improves the utilization rate of the vehicle ECU, reduces wiring harness requirements, reduces vehicle weight, reduces vehicle cost, and improves vehicle quality and safety.

[0067] In another embodiment, the group of units in the power management system also includes third-level units, fourth-level units, and even more levels of units. The importance of each level of unit decreases sequentially. Optionally, when a high-level unit with high safety and importance is depleted, the battery management method manages other low-level units and the vehicle inverter or generator to charge the high-level unit.

[0068] Third Embodiment

[0069] This application provides a vehicle, Figure 3 This is a structural diagram of a power management system in a vehicle according to an embodiment of this application.

[0070] Please see Figure 3 In one embodiment, the power management system in the vehicle, based on the power management system described in the second embodiment, further includes multiple third-level units C and fourth-level units D, wherein the importance level of second-level unit B is higher than that of third-level unit C, and the importance level of third-level unit C is higher than that of fourth-level unit D. The battery of third-level unit C is connected to the battery of second-level unit B or the battery of first-level unit A. The battery of fourth-level unit D is connected to the battery of third-level unit C. The power management system integrates first-level unit A, second-level unit B, third-level unit C, and fourth-level unit D with batteries of different capacities according to different power consumption needs.

[0071] The vehicle's charging power supply 10 is connected to the battery of the first-level unit A via a main power line. The battery of the first-level unit A is then connected to the batteries of each of the second-level units B or nearby electrical appliances via several main power lines. Similarly, the batteries of the second-level units B are connected to the batteries of the third-level unit C or nearby electrical appliances via several power lines. When a battery in a second-level unit B has a driving safety function, it is connected to a nearby battery in another second-level unit B via an additional power line. The batteries of the third-level unit C are then connected to the batteries of the fourth-level unit D or nearby electrical appliances, depending on the specific architecture of the vehicle. For example, the power management system established in the vehicle manages the charging and discharging of each ECU. When the battery of a higher-level unit (higher safety and importance level) is depleted, it manages other lower-level ECUs and the charging power supply 10 to charge the battery of the higher-level unit.

[0072] Fourth embodiment

[0073] This application provides a storage medium, specifically, a computer program stored on the storage medium, which, when executed by a computer, implements the power management method as described in the first embodiment.

[0074] As described above, the power management method and system, vehicle, and storage medium provided in this application improve the utilization rate and safety of the vehicle battery by establishing a new power distribution architecture system, greatly reduce the number of wiring harness loops, reduce wiring harness manufacturing process requirements, improve production efficiency, reduce vehicle weight, reduce vehicle cost, and improve vehicle quality and safety.

[0075] It should be noted that step designations such as S10 and S20 are used in this document for the purpose of more clearly and concisely describing the corresponding content, and do not constitute a substantial limitation on the order. In specific implementation, those skilled in the art may execute S20 first and then S10, etc., but these should all be within the protection scope of this application.

[0076] The above are merely preferred embodiments of this application and do not limit the patent scope of this application. Any equivalent structural or procedural transformations made using the content of this application's specification and drawings, or direct or indirect applications in other related technical fields, are similarly included within the patent protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A power management method, characterized by, The vehicle ECU is divided into multiple unit groups, each unit group includes a first-level unit and a second-level unit; each ECU integrates a battery; each unit group connects to different vehicle equipment. In each cell cluster, the battery of the first-level cell is connected to a charging power source, and the battery of the second-level cell is connected to the battery of the first-level cell. The battery capacity integrated in the first-level unit is greater than the battery capacity integrated in the second-level unit. The power management method includes: When the battery of the first level unit is depleted, the battery of the second level unit is controlled to charge the battery of the first level unit.

2. The power management method of claim 1, wherein, The power management method further includes: when the battery of the second level unit is low on power, controlling the battery of the first level unit to charge the battery of the second level unit.

3. The power management method of claim 1, wherein, The unit group also includes a third-level unit, whose battery is connected to the battery of the second-level unit. The importance level of the third-level unit is lower than that of the second-level unit. The power management method further includes: When the battery of the second-level unit is depleted, the battery of the third-level unit is controlled to charge the battery of the second-level unit.

4. The power management method of claim 3, wherein, The power management method further includes: when the battery of the third-level unit is low on power, controlling the battery of the second-level unit to charge the battery of the third-level unit.

5. A power management system, characterized by, The vehicle ECU is divided into multiple unit groups, each unit group includes first-level units and second-level units; each ECU integrates a battery; each unit group connects to different vehicle equipment. In each cell cluster, the battery of the first-level cell is connected to a charging power source, and the battery of the second-level cell is connected to the battery of the first-level cell. The battery capacity integrated in the first-level unit is greater than the battery capacity integrated in the second-level unit. The power management system further includes a management module, which is connected to the first-level unit and the second-level unit respectively. The power management system is used for: When the battery of the first level unit is depleted, the battery of the second level unit is controlled to charge the battery of the first level unit.

6. The power management system of claim 5, wherein, The charging power source is selected from a generator and / or a vehicle inverter.

7. The power management system of claim 5, wherein, Different levels of ECUs integrate batteries of different capacities.

8. The power management system of claim 5, wherein, At least two batteries in the second-level unit are interconnected.

9. A vehicle characterized by comprising: Including the power management system as described in any one of claims 5-8.

10. A storage medium, characterized by The storage medium stores a computer program, which, when executed by a computer, implements the power management method as described in any one of claims 1-4.

Images