Battery swap station and operation method thereof

Abstract

A battery swap station according to an embodiment disclosed in this document may include: N slots into which battery packs may be inserted, respectively; the electrode plates are electrically connected with the battery packs which are respectively inserted into M slots of less than N slots; and a power source for charging the battery packs respectively disposed in the M slots through electrode plates, in which a center point of each of the N slots is spaced apart from a first point at an equal pitch when viewed in a first direction, the electrode plates being rotatable about the first direction as an axis, and the electrode plates are electrically connected with the battery packs respectively inserted into M slots among the N slots according to the rotation of the electrode plates.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to and the benefits of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0132753 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on October 14, 2022, and all contents disclosed in the document of the Korean patent application are incorporated as a part of this specification. Technical Field

[0004] The embodiments disclosed herein relate to a battery swap station and an operating method thereof. Background Art

[0005] Recently, a battery swap station capable of exchanging a discharged battery with a charged battery has been developed and released. The battery swap station may include a slot into which a battery may be inserted and a power source capable of charging the battery inserted into the slot.

[0006] Since the battery swap station is intended for battery exchange (or replacement) by the user, one or more slots may be left empty. However, since the user can insert a battery into the empty slot at any time, the battery can be connected to a power source. Therefore, the battery swap station must be designed to have a power capacity corresponding to the total number of slots, regardless of the empty slots. Summary of the invention

[0007] Technical issues

[0008] Therefore, since the battery swap station is designed to have a larger power capacity than necessary, production and maintenance costs may increase.

[0009] Therefore, a method may be needed to ensure that the battery swap station has optimal power capacity.

[0010] Technical problems of the embodiments disclosed herein are not limited to the above-mentioned technical problems, and other unmentioned technical problems will be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art from the following description.

[0011] Technical Solution

[0012] According to the embodiment disclosed in this document, the battery swap station includes: N slots, each of which can be inserted into a battery pack; an electrode plate, which is electrically connected to the battery pack inserted into each of the M slots, where M is less than N; and a power supply, which is configured to charge the battery pack arranged in each of the M slots through the electrode plate, wherein when viewed in a first direction, the center point of each of the N slots is spaced apart from the first point at an equal interval, the electrode plate is capable of rotating along the first direction as an axis, and the electrode plate is electrically connected to the battery pack inserted into each of the M slots among the N slots due to the rotation.

[0013] In the battery swap station according to the embodiment, when viewed in the first direction, angles between adjacent slots among the N slots relative to the first point may be the same.

[0014] In the battery swap station according to the embodiment, N may be 4 and M may be 3, and the electrode plate may be arranged to contact the slot on a rear surface opposite to a front surface of a corresponding slot into which the battery pack is inserted.

[0015] In a battery swap station according to an embodiment, the electrode plate can rotate based on a first rotation direction or a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction, the first rotation direction or the second rotation direction is based on a previous empty slot and a current empty slot, and the empty slot may be (MN) slots that are not electrically connected between the battery and the power source through the electrode plate.

[0016] In the battery swap station according to an embodiment, when the first index of the current empty slot is less than the second index of the previous empty slot, the electrode plate can rotate based on the first rotation direction, and when the first index is not less than the second index, the electrode plate can rotate based on the second rotation direction.

[0017] In the battery swap station according to the embodiment, the first rotation direction may be a clockwise direction, and the second rotation direction may be a counterclockwise direction.

[0018] In the battery swap station according to the embodiment, when replacement of the battery pack occurs, the electrode plate may rotate.

[0019] The operating method of the battery swap station according to the embodiment disclosed in this document includes the following steps: identifying the replacement of a battery pack in N slots, wherein the battery pack can be inserted into each of the N slots; identifying the index of a currently empty slot among the N slots; based on the index of the currently empty slot, identifying a first rotation direction of the electrode plate or a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction; and rotating the electrode plate based on the identified rotation direction to charge the battery packs inserted into M slots among the N slots except the empty slots.

[0020] In the operating method of the battery swap station according to an embodiment, the step of identifying the one rotation direction may include the following steps: when the first index of the current empty slot is less than the second index of the previous empty slot, selecting the first rotation direction; and when the first index is not less than the second index, selecting the second rotation direction.

[0021] In the operating method of the battery swap station according to the embodiment, the first rotation direction may be a counterclockwise direction, and the second rotation direction may be a clockwise direction.

[0022] Beneficial Effects

[0023] According to various embodiments disclosed herein, a battery swap station may be designed to have a power capacity as small as that corresponding to an empty slot.

[0024] The effects of the battery swap station according to the disclosure of this document are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art according to the disclosure of this document. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a battery swap station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 2 A power source, an electrode plate, and a tank of a battery swap station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown.

[0027] Figure 3 A state corresponding to the rotation of the electrode plate according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0028] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operating method of a battery swap station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] Regarding the description of the drawings, like reference numerals may be used to refer to like or related components. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the description is not intended to limit the present disclosure to a specific embodiment, and should be construed as including various modifications, equivalents and / or substitutions according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0031] It should be understood that the embodiments of this document and the terms used therein are not intended to limit the technical features set forth herein to specific embodiments, and include various changes, equivalents, or substitutions of the corresponding embodiments. With respect to the description of the drawings, similar reference numerals may be used to refer to similar or related elements. It should be understood that the singular form of a noun corresponding to a term may include one or more things, unless the relevant context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0032] As used herein, each of phrases such as "A or B", "at least one of A and B", "at least one of A or B", "A, B or C", "at least one of A, B and C", and "at least one of A, B or C" may include any or all possible combinations of the items listed together in the corresponding one of the phrases. Unless otherwise specified, phrases such as "1 st ", "2 nd ,” “first,” “second,” “A,” “B,” “(a),” or “(b)” may be used to simply distinguish corresponding components from one another and do not limit the components in other aspects (e.g., importance or order).

[0033] Herein, it should be understood that when an element (e.g., a first element) is referred to as being "connected," "coupled," or "linked" to or "coupled to" or "connected to" another element (e.g., a second element) with or without the term "operably" or "communicatively," this means that the element can be connected to the other element directly (e.g., wired or wirelessly) or indirectly (e.g., via a third element).

[0034] Methods according to various embodiments disclosed herein may be included and provided in a computer program product. The computer program product may be traded as a product between a seller and a buyer. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., a compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM)), or distributed online (e.g., downloaded or uploaded) via an application store, or distributed directly between two user devices. If distributed online, at least a portion of the computer program product may be temporarily generated or at least temporarily stored in a machine-readable storage medium, such as a memory of a manufacturer's server, an application store's server, or a relay server.

[0035] According to the embodiments disclosed herein, each component (e.g., module or program) in the above-mentioned components may include a single entity or multiple entities, and some entities in the multiple entities may be individually arranged in different components. According to various embodiments disclosed herein, one or more of the above-mentioned components may be omitted, or one or more other components may be added. Alternatively or additionally, multiple components (e.g., module or program) may be integrated into a single component. In this case, according to various embodiments, the integrated component may still perform one or more functions of each component in the multiple components in the same or similar manner as the manner performed by the corresponding components in the multiple components before integration. According to the embodiments disclosed herein, the operations performed by a module, program or another component may be performed sequentially, in parallel, repeatedly or tentatively, or one or more operations in the operation may be performed or omitted in different orders, or one or more other operations may be added.

[0036] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a battery swap station 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2 The power sources 121 , 122 , and 123 , the electrode plate 111 , and the tanks 131 , 132 , 133 , and 134 of the battery swap station 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown. Figure 3 A state corresponding to the rotation of the electrode plate 111 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0037] Reference Figure 1 , the battery swap station 100 may include: a connection device 110; power sources 121 , 122 , and 123 ; tanks 131 , 132 , 133 , and 134 ; and a controller 140 . In an embodiment, the connection device 110 may include an electrode plate 111 and a motor 115 .

[0038] Although in Figure 1 , there are three power sources 121, 122, and 123 and four slots 131, 132, 133, and 134, but they are only examples. According to an embodiment, the battery swap station 100 may include N slots and M power sources which is less than N. Wherein, (NM) may be 1.

[0039] The battery pack may be inserted into each of the slots 131, 132, 133, and 134. The battery pack may be inserted into the front surface of each of the slots 131, 132, 133, and 134, and the rear surface of each of the slots 131, 132, 133, and 134 may contact the electrode plate 111 of the connection device 110.

[0040] Reference Figure 2, the grooves 131, 132, 133 and 134 may have a rectangular parallelepiped structure. In another embodiment, the grooves 131, 132, 133 and 134 may have a structure other than a rectangular parallelepiped (eg, a structure in which the front and rear surfaces are polygonal and the side surfaces are rectangular, or a cylindrical structure).

[0041] When the battery pack is inserted into the slots 131, 132, 133, and 134, the battery pack may be charged by the power supplies 121, 122, and 123. The power supplies 121, 122, and 123 may charge the battery packs inserted into the slots 131, 132, 133, and 134 connected by the electrode plates 111 of the connection device 110.

[0042] The number of power sources 121, 122, and 123 may be smaller than the number of slots 131, 132, 133, and 134. Therefore, the electrode plate 111 may electrically connect the battery pack inserted into each of the slots fewer than the slots 131, 132, 133, and 134 to the power sources 121, 122, and 123.

[0043] The total number of battery packs inserted into the slots 131, 132, 133, and 134 may be equal to the number of power sources 121, 122, and 123. For example, when the number of slots 131, 132, 133, and 134 is N and the number of power sources 121, 122, and 123 is M, the total number of battery packs inserted into the N slots 131, 132, 133, and 134 may be M. Wherein, (NM) may be 1. According to an embodiment, N may be 4 and M may be 3.

[0044] Reference Figure 2 , the electrode plate 111 may not electrically connect at least one of the grooves 131, 132, 133, and 134 to the power sources 121, 122, and 123. The electrode plate 111 may be arranged to contact the grooves 131, 132, 133, and 134 on a rear surface opposite to a front surface of each of the grooves 131, 132, 133, and 134.

[0045] In an embodiment, when viewed in the first direction (-x direction), the center points of the grooves 131, 132, 133, and 134 may be spaced apart from the first point 112 at equal intervals. For example, the interval between the center point of the groove 131 and the first point 112 may be equal to the interval and angle between the center point of the groove 132 and the first point 112.

[0046] In an embodiment, when viewed in the first direction (-x direction), angles between adjacent grooves among the grooves 131, 132, 133, and 134 relative to the first point 112 may be the same. For example, the angle between the groove 131, the first point 112, and the groove 132 may be equal to the angle between the groove 131, the first point 112, and the groove 133.

[0047] from Figure 2 As can be seen in FIG. 1 , the slots 131, 133, and 134 are electrically connected to the power sources 121, 122, and 123 through the electrode plate 111, and the slot 132 is not electrically connected to the power sources 121, 122, and 123. Hereinafter, the slots electrically connected to the power sources 121, 122, and 123 will be referred to as "connected slots", and the slots not electrically connected to the power sources 121, 122, and 123 will be referred to as "non-connected slots".

[0048] In an embodiment, the connection groove and the non-connection groove may be changed by rotation of the electrode plate 111. In an embodiment, the battery pack inserted into the connection groove may be electrically connected to the power sources 121, 122, and 123 by rotation of the electrode plate 111.

[0049] In an embodiment, the motor 115 may rotate the electrode plate 111 along a first direction (−x direction) as an axis. In an embodiment, the motor 115 may rotate the electrode plate 111 in a clockwise direction or a counterclockwise direction relative to a first point 112 of the electrode plate 111 .

[0050] The controller 140 may control the motor 115 to rotate the electrode plate 111 in a clockwise direction or a counterclockwise direction.

[0051] The controller 140 may identify the replacement of the battery pack. For example, the controller 140 may identify the replacement of the battery pack based on a signal from a sensor (not shown) of each of the slots 131, 132, 133, and 134. Herein, the sensor (not shown) may sense the removal and / or insertion of the battery pack.

[0052] In an embodiment, the controller 140 may identify a situation in which a new battery pack is inserted into an empty slot and a battery pack is removed from a charging slot as a replacement of a battery pack. Here, an empty slot may refer to a slot in which a battery pack is not inserted, and a charging slot may refer to a slot in which a battery pack is inserted.

[0053] In an embodiment, the controller 140 may identify the index of the current empty slot among the slots 131, 132, 133, and 134. Herein, each of the slots 131, 132, 133, and 134 may be assigned an index. For example, the slots 131, 132, 133, and 134 may be sequentially assigned index 1, index 2, index 3, and index 4, respectively.

[0054] In an embodiment, the controller 140 may identify one of a first rotation direction (eg, counterclockwise) or a second rotation direction (eg, clockwise) opposite to the first rotation direction of the electrode plate 111 based on the index of the current empty slot.

[0055] In an embodiment, when the index of the current empty slot is less than the index of the previous empty slot, the controller 140 may select the first rotation direction. In an embodiment, when the index of the current empty slot is not less than the index of the previous empty slot, the controller 140 may select the second rotation direction.

[0056] For example, the controller 140 may identify one of a first rotation direction (eg, counterclockwise) or a second rotation direction (eg, clockwise) opposite to the first rotation direction of the electrode plate 111 , as shown in Table 1 below.

[0057] [Table 1]

[0058] 1 2 3 4 1 - Counterclockwise Counterclockwise Counterclockwise 2 Clockwise - Counterclockwise Counterclockwise 3 Clockwise Clockwise - Counterclockwise 4 Clockwise Clockwise Clockwise -

[0059] Referring to Table 1, when the index of the previous empty slot is 2 to 4 and the index of the current empty slot is 1, the rotation direction of the electrode plate 111 may be counterclockwise. When the index of the previous empty slot is 3 to 4 and the index of the current empty slot is 2, the rotation direction of the electrode plate 111 may be counterclockwise. When the index of the previous empty slot is 4 and the index of the current empty slot is 3, the rotation direction of the electrode plate 111 may be counterclockwise. When the index of the previous empty slot is 1 and the index of the current empty slot is 2, the rotation direction of the electrode plate 111 may be clockwise. When the index of the previous empty slot is 1 and 2 and the index of the current empty slot is 3, the rotation direction of the electrode plate 111 may be clockwise. When the index of the previous empty slot is 1 to 3 and the index of the current empty slot is 4, the rotation direction of the electrode plate 111 may be clockwise.

[0060] Reference Figure 3 , in the state 310 where the slot 131 is an empty slot, when a new battery pack is inserted into the slot 131 and the battery pack inserted into the slot 132 is removed, the current empty slot can be changed to the slot 132. In this case, in order to change from the state 310 to the state 320, the electrode plate 111 can be rotated in the clockwise direction. Due to the change from the state 310 to the state 320, the non-connected slot can be changed from the slot 131 to the slot 132. As the slot 131 is changed from the non-connected slot to the connected slot, the power source connected to the slot 131 among the power sources 121, 122, and 123 can charge the battery pack inserted into the slot 131.

[0061] In the state 320 where the slot 132 is an empty slot, when a new battery pack is inserted into the slot 132 and the battery pack inserted into the slot 131 is removed, the current empty slot can be changed to the slot 131. In this case, in order to change from the state 330 to the state 310, the electrode plate 111 can be rotated in the counterclockwise direction. Due to the change from the state 320 to the state 310, the non-connected slot can be changed from the slot 132 to the slot 131. As the slot 132 is changed from the non-connected slot to the connected slot, the power source connected to the slot 132 among the power sources 121, 122, and 123 can charge the battery pack inserted into the slot 132.

[0062] Similarly, when the empty slot changes from slot 132 to slot 133, electrode plate 111 may rotate in a clockwise direction. When the empty slot changes from slot 133 to slot 132, electrode plate 111 may rotate in a counterclockwise direction. One of power source 121, power source 122, and power source 123 may charge a battery pack inserted into a slot changed from a non-connection slot to a connection slot.

[0063] When the empty slot changes from slot 133 to slot 134, electrode plate 111 may rotate in a clockwise direction. When the empty slot changes from slot 134 to slot 133, electrode plate 111 may rotate in a counterclockwise direction. One of power source 121, power source 122, and power source 123 may charge a battery pack inserted into a slot changed from a non-connection slot to a connection slot.

[0064] Finally, when the empty slot changes from slot 131 to slot 134, the electrode plate 111 may rotate in a clockwise direction. However, in this case, the non-connected slot may sequentially change from slot 131 to slot 132, slot 133, and then slot 134. When the empty slot changes from slot 134 to slot 131, the electrode plate 111 may rotate in a counterclockwise direction. However, in this case, the non-connected slot may sequentially change from slot 134 to slot 133, slot 132, and then slot 131.

[0065] Reference Figures 1 to 3 The described battery swap station 100 may be designed to have a power capacity as small as the power capacity corresponding to the empty slot. Even when the electrode plate 111 rotates, the battery swap station 100 may prevent the electric wires from being twisted to a specified degree or more.

[0066] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operating method of the battery swap station 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0067] Reference Figure 4In operation 410, the battery swap station 100 may identify battery replacement. For example, the battery swap station 100 may identify replacement of the battery pack based on a signal from a sensor (not shown) of each of the slots 131, 132, 133, and 134. Herein, the sensor (not shown) may sense removal and / or insertion of the battery pack.

[0068] In an embodiment, the battery swap station 100 may identify a situation where a new battery pack is inserted into an empty slot and a battery pack is removed from a charging slot as a replacement of a battery pack. Here, an empty slot may refer to a slot in which a battery pack is not inserted, and a charging slot may refer to a slot in which a battery pack is inserted.

[0069] In operation 420, the battery swap station 100 may identify the direction of rotation based on the current empty slot. In an embodiment, when the index of the current empty slot is less than the index of the previous empty slot, the controller 140 may select a first direction of rotation (e.g., counterclockwise). In an embodiment, when the index of the current empty slot is not less than the index of the previous empty slot, the controller 140 may select a second direction of rotation (e.g., clockwise). Here, slots 131, 132, 133, and 134 may be sequentially assigned indexes 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively.

[0070] In operation 430, the battery swap station 100 may rotate the electrode plate 111 along the identified rotation direction. The battery swap station 100 may rotate the electrode plate 111 so that the currently empty slot is a non-connected slot.

Claims

1. A battery swap station, comprising: N slots, a battery pack being insertable into each of the N slots; an electrode plate electrically connected to a battery pack inserted into each of the M slots, the M being smaller than the N; and a power source configured to charge a battery pack disposed in each of the M slots through the electrode plate, wherein, when viewed in the first direction, a center point of each of the N grooves is spaced apart from the first point by an equal interval, The electrode plate is rotatable along the first direction as an axis, and The electrode plate is electrically connected to a battery pack inserted into each of the M slots among the N slots due to the rotation.

2. The battery swap station according to claim 1, wherein: When viewed in the first direction, angles between adjacent grooves among the N grooves relative to the first point are the same.

3. The battery swap station according to claim 1, wherein: N is 4 and M is 3, and the electrode plate is arranged to contact the groove on a rear surface opposite to a front surface of a corresponding groove into which the battery pack is inserted.

4. The battery swap station according to claim 1, wherein: The electrode plate rotates based on a previous empty slot and a current empty slot based on one of a first rotation direction or a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction, and The empty slots are MN slots that are not electrically connected between the battery and the power source through the electrode plates.

5. The battery swap station according to claim 4, wherein: When the first index of the current empty slot is less than the second index of the previous empty slot, the electrode plate rotates based on the first rotation direction, and When the first index is not less than the second index, the electrode plate rotates based on the second rotation direction.

6. The battery swap station according to claim 4, wherein: The first rotation direction is clockwise, and the second rotation direction is counterclockwise.

7. The battery swap station according to claim 1, wherein: When replacement of the battery pack occurs, the electrode plates rotate.

8. A method for operating a battery swap station, the method comprising the following steps: identifying a replacement for a battery pack in N slots, the battery pack being insertable into each of the N slots; Identifying an index of a currently empty slot among the N slots; Based on the index of the current empty slot, identifying a first rotation direction of the electrode plate or a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction; as well as The electrode plate is rotated based on the identified rotation direction to charge the battery packs inserted into the M slots excluding the empty slot among the N slots.

9. The operating method according to claim 8, wherein: The step of identifying the one rotation direction comprises the following steps: When the first index of the current empty slot is less than the second index of the previous empty slot, selecting the first rotation direction; and When the first index is not less than the second index, the second rotation direction is selected.

10. The operating method according to claim 8, wherein: The first rotation direction is counterclockwise, and the second rotation direction is clockwise.

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