Parallel control method, charger parallel system and computer readable storage medium

Abstract

The application provides a parallel machine control method, a charger parallel system and a computer readable storage medium. The method comprises the following steps: after the charger parallel system is started, each charger connected to a communication bus sets a first timer to zero when a timing value of the first timer reaches a waiting time of the charger and no first data frame is received from the communication bus, and simultaneously uses a second timer to time and sends a first data frame to the communication bus at a preset period; the battery inspector receives the first data frame from the communication bus and generates a second data frame according to the received first data frame, and sends the second data frame to the communication bus, wherein the second data frame comprises state feedback information in response to a state reading command in the first data frame; all the chargers receive the second data frame from the communication bus and analyze the second data frame to obtain the state feedback information of the battery inspector. The application can effectively reduce the communication bus conflict in a half-duplex system.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of parallel operation control, and more specifically, to a parallel operation control method, a charger parallel operation system, and a computer-readable storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] A half-duplex system is a bidirectional communication system that allows data to be transmitted in both directions. At any given time, only one party can send data, while the other can only receive data. Due to its low hardware cost, simple structure, and relatively low power consumption, half-duplex systems are widely used in industrial communication, fieldbus, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

[0003] In a parallel charging system with a shared battery, multiple chargers need to communicate in real-time with the same battery monitoring device on a half-duplex bus. If two chargers send read commands at the same time, a bus conflict will occur, preventing normal communication. While a delayed communication mechanism, where each charger sends commands at different times, can achieve communication between each charger and the battery monitoring device, this mechanism still suffers from bus conflicts over extended periods, resulting in low communication reliability. A contention-based master communication method, where only one master communicates with the battery monitoring device in the parallel system, can achieve reliable communication, but implementing the contention mechanism is complex. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a parallel control method, a parallel charging system, and a computer-readable storage medium, addressing the issues of bus conflicts and complex logic in the competing host mode of the above-mentioned parallel charging system after long-term operation.

[0005] The technical solution of this invention to solve the above-mentioned technical problems is to provide a parallel control method applied to a charger parallel system. The charger parallel system includes a battery monitoring device and n chargers respectively connected to a communication bus. The chargers and the battery monitoring device communicate in half-duplex mode via the communication bus. Each charger includes a first timer and a second timer, where n is an integer greater than or equal to 2. The method includes: After the parallel charging system is started, each charger connected to the communication bus sets the first timer to zero when the first timer reaches its own waiting time and no first data frame or second data frame is received from the communication bus. At the same time, the second timer is used to send the first data frame to the communication bus at a preset period. When the first timer does not reach its own waiting time and the first data frame or second data frame is received from the communication bus, the first timer is restarted. The first data frame includes a status reading command, and the waiting time is different for each charger. The battery inspection device receives a first data frame from the communication bus and generates a second data frame based on the received first data frame, and sends the second data frame to the communication bus. The second data frame includes status feedback information in response to the status read command in the first data frame. All chargers receive the second data frame from the communication bus and parse the second data frame to obtain the status feedback information of the battery inspection instrument.

[0006] As a further improvement of the present invention, the waiting time of the first charger among the n chargers is T1, and the waiting time of the nth charger is T1 + (n-1) × T2, where T2 is a waiting time parameter, and both T1 and T2 are greater than zero.

[0007] As a further improvement of the present invention, all chargers have the same preset cycle, and the preset cycle is less than T1 and greater than the time of receiving the second data frame fed back by the battery inspection instrument.

[0008] As a further improvement of the present invention, T1 is greater than T2.

[0009] As a further improvement of the present invention, the method includes: After each charger starts up or receives a second data frame from the communication bus, it counts the number of first data frames sent to the communication bus. When the count value is greater than a preset value and no new second data frame is received from the communication bus, it stops sending the first data frame to the communication bus and resets its own waiting time to zero.

[0010] As a further improvement of the present invention, the first data frame and the second data frame have different lengths, and the charger identifies the first data frame and the second data frame according to the length of the data frame received from the communication bus.

[0011] As a further improvement of the present invention, n is 2, and T1 is 1 second and T2 is 0.5 seconds.

[0012] The present invention also provides a parallel operation system, including a battery inspection device and n chargers respectively connected to a communication bus, wherein n is an integer greater than or equal to 2. The battery inspection device and each of the chargers respectively include a storage unit and a control chip. The storage unit stores a computer program that can be executed on the control chip, and when the control chip executes the computer program, it implements the steps of the parallel operation control method described above.

[0013] The present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the parallel control method described above.

[0014] The present invention has the following beneficial effects: by making each charger in the parallel charging system have a different waiting time, and each charger broadcasts the first data frame at a preset period only when it has not received the first data frame from the communication bus within its own waiting time after the system starts up, the occurrence of bus conflicts can be effectively reduced. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating the parallel control method provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the parallel control method provided in the embodiments of the present invention applied to a public battery system.

[0017] Figure 3 This is another schematic diagram of the parallel control method provided in this embodiment of the invention applied to a public battery system.

[0018] Figure 4 This is another schematic diagram of the parallel control method provided in this embodiment of the invention applied to a public battery system. Detailed Implementation

[0019] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and not intended to limit the invention.

[0020] This parallel control method can be applied to a parallel charger system using half-duplex communication. This system includes a communication bus, a battery monitoring device, and n chargers, where n is an integer greater than or equal to 2. The battery monitoring device and the n chargers are each connected to the communication bus, and they interact via the communication bus in half-duplex mode; that is, both the battery monitoring device and the chargers operate on a half-duplex communication protocol. The battery monitoring device is connected to multiple batteries and can read the status of each battery, such as voltage and temperature. Those skilled in the art will understand that in the above parallel charger system, the chargers can be placed distributed geographically.

[0021] like Figure 1 The diagram shown is a flowchart of the parallel control method of the present invention. This parallel control method can be operated on a battery monitoring device and a charger. Each charger includes a first timer and a second timer, and multiple chargers have different numbers. Those skilled in the art will understand that the charger numbers can be pre-set, for example, based on the charger's ID. The method of this embodiment includes the following steps: Step S11: After the parallel charging system is started, each charger connected to the communication bus sets its first timer to zero when the first timer reaches its own waiting time and no first or second data frame is received from the communication bus. Simultaneously, it uses a second timer to send the first data frame to the communication bus at a preset period. This first data frame includes a status read command, and the waiting time varies for each charger. If a charger receives the first or second data frame from the communication bus before the first timer reaches its own waiting time, it restarts the first timer, meaning that the charger does not send the first data frame to the communication bus.

[0022] As is well known to those skilled in the art, resetting the first timer to zero means stopping the first timer from counting (or stopping the reading of the count value from the first timer), that is, after the charger starts sending the first data frame to the communication bus at a preset period, the charger no longer determines whether the counting time of the first timer has reached its own waiting time; restarting the first counter means making the first counter start counting again from zero. Using the second timer to count and sending the first data frame to the communication bus at a preset period means restarting the second counter while sending the first data frame to the communication bus, and after the second timer reaches the preset period, sending the first data frame to the communication bus again while simultaneously controlling the second timer to restart again.

[0023] The aforementioned waiting time is pre-set in the charger and serves as a system parameter for the charger. For example, it can be stored in the charger's memory. After startup, the charger loads the waiting time from the memory and sends the first data frame according to the waiting time. Those skilled in the art will understand that the aforementioned waiting time can be adjusted as needed, for example, by connecting a host computer to the charger and adjusting the waiting time through the host computer. Furthermore, chargers with smaller serial numbers have the shortest waiting time, while the waiting time gradually increases with increasing serial numbers. Of course, in practical applications, the waiting time can also decrease as the charger's serial number increases.

[0024] Similarly, the preset period can also be stored in the charger in advance and used as a system parameter of the charger, and the preset period is the same for all chargers. The charger transmits the first data frame mentioned above in a broadcast manner. The first data frames transmitted by all chargers have the same format and the same content, and the format, encapsulation process and transmission process of the first data frame can all adopt conventional techniques in the art, which will not be described in detail here.

[0025] Step S12: The battery inspector receives a first data frame from the communication bus, generates a second data frame based on the received first data frame, and sends the second data frame to the communication bus. The second data frame includes status feedback information in response to the status read command in the first data frame.

[0026] In this step, the battery monitoring device receives data frames on the communication bus in real time. After receiving the first data frame, it parses the first data frame to obtain a status read command, then obtains the status feedback information corresponding to the status read command, and finally encapsulates the status feedback information to form a second data frame. Those skilled in the art will understand that the aforementioned status feedback information can be the status of the battery connected to the battery monitoring device (e.g., voltage, temperature, etc.). Similarly, the battery monitoring device transmits the second data frame via broadcast, and the parsing of the first data frame, the acquisition of the status feedback information, and the format, encapsulation process, and transmission process of the second data frame can all employ conventional techniques in the art, which will not be elaborated further here.

[0027] Those skilled in the art will understand that, in practical applications, each charger connected to the communication bus in step S31 may also send the first data frame according to a preset period when it fails to receive the second data frame from the communication bus when the first timer reaches its own waiting time.

[0028] Step S13: All chargers receive the second data frame from the communication bus and parse the second data frame to obtain the status feedback information of the client device.

[0029] Those skilled in the art will understand that after receiving the status feedback information from the battery inspection device, the charger can operate according to the status feedback information, such as displaying the status feedback information on a display device, generating an alarm signal when the status feedback information is abnormal, or adjusting operating parameters according to the status feedback information. The parsing of the aforementioned second data frame can employ techniques conventional in the art, and will not be elaborated upon here.

[0030] Those skilled in the art will understand that during the operation of the parallel charging system, the above steps S11-S13 are continuously executed by each charger and battery inspection instrument.

[0031] The above-described parallel control method, by giving each charger in the parallel charging system a different waiting time, and by requiring each charger to broadcast the first data frame at a preset period only if it has not received the first data frame from the communication bus within its own waiting time after system startup, that is, after the parallel charging system starts up, the charger with the shortest waiting time sends the first data frame. Other chargers, having received the first data frame from the charger with the shortest waiting time within their own waiting time, no longer send the first data frame to the communication bus. In this way, among all the chargers connected to the communication bus, only one (e.g., the charger with the smallest number) sends a read frame (i.e., the first data frame) to the communication bus, while other chargers (e.g., chargers with non-smallest numbers) only receive data frames (i.e., the second data frame) returned by the client device from the communication bus. This effectively reduces the occurrence of bus conflicts and improves the stability of the parallel charging system.

[0032] Specifically, in the above-mentioned parallel charging system, the waiting time for the charger with the larger number is greater than that for the charger with the smaller number. In this way, when the charger with the smaller number fails to connect (i.e. disconnects from the communication bus), the charger with the smallest number among the remaining chargers can take over the first data frame transmission, thereby avoiding first data frame conflicts in the communication bus and simplifying the control logic.

[0033] In one embodiment of the present invention, among the n chargers, the waiting time of the first charger (e.g., the charger numbered 1) is T1, and the waiting time of the nth charger (e.g., the charger numbered n) is T1 + (n-1) × T2, where T2 is a time constant, and both T1 and T2 are greater than zero. That is, according to the number, the waiting time (i.e., the time to wait for the first data frame to be sent) of each charger increases by T2 sequentially.

[0034] In particular, to avoid frame loss when the charger receives data frames from the communication bus, which could lead to confusion, the preset period can be made smaller than the waiting time of all chargers, that is, the preset period is smaller than T1, for example, the preset period is smaller than half of T1.

[0035] In addition, T2 can be made less than T1, thereby avoiding short periods of no data frames in the communication bus, especially when the total number of chargers is large. For example, T2 can be made less than or equal to half of T1.

[0036] To facilitate identification of the first and second data frames by each charger, the first and second data frames have different lengths. Each charger identifies the first and second data frames based on their received data frame lengths, thus eliminating the need for the charger to parse the received first data frame and simplifying the operation. Of course, in practical applications, different identifiers can also be added to specific bytes of the first and second data frames to distinguish them.

[0037] The parallel control method described above will be further explained below using a parallel system with two chargers. In this parallel system, the battery monitoring device is connected to the battery pack and can obtain the status of the connected battery (e.g., voltage, temperature, internal resistance).

[0038] Combination Figure 2 , Figure 3 As shown, both chargers #1 and #2 need to acquire and display data from the battery monitoring instrument. The RS485 interfaces of both chargers are connected to the same battery monitoring instrument via the MODBUS communication protocol. When the charger parallel system starts, neither charger #1 nor #2 sends a read command (i.e., the first data frame). If charger #1 does not receive the first data frame from the communication bus during its waiting time T1, it sends the first data frame to the communication bus every Ts, while simultaneously receiving data returned by the battery monitoring instrument (i.e., the second data frame). Charger #2 receives the first data frame from charger #1 from the communication bus during time T1, therefore it does not send a read command and remains in the data receiving state. At this time, only the read command sent by charger #1 and the returned data from the battery monitoring instrument exist on the communication bus; there are no invalid data frames that may be interfered with. Charger #1 can normally receive the returned data from the battery monitoring instrument, and charger #2 will receive both the read command sent by charger #1 and the returned data from the battery monitoring instrument. Unit #2 distinguishes between the read command sent by Unit #1 and the return data from the battery inspector by verifying the length of the received data frame, and only processes the return data from the battery inspector. The flow of the read command on the communication bus is as follows: Figure 2 As shown, the flow of the returned data is as follows Figure 3 As shown. Through the above method, Unit 1 and Unit 2 can communicate with the battery inspection instrument simultaneously on the same communication bus, and there is no interference on the communication bus, so stable communication can be maintained even after long-term operation.

[0039] For the standalone operation of the parallel charging system, when the system starts and only charger #1 is running while charger #2 is off, charger #1 continuously sends read commands to the communication bus at a cycle of Ts, while simultaneously receiving data from the battery monitoring device. Charger #1 can communicate normally with the battery monitoring device. If charger #2 resumes operation, charger #1 will remain unchanged, while charger #2 will receive the read commands from charger #1 and the data returned by the battery monitoring device, continuing to receive data. Communication between the parallel charging system and the battery monitoring device remains normal.

[0040] When the parallel charging system starts, charger #1 is in a powered-off state, and only charger #2 is running. Initially, charger #2 maintains its default setting and does not actively send read commands to the communication bus. At this time, there are no read commands on the communication bus, and charger #2 will not receive any data. After a cumulative period of no reception (T1 + T2), charger #2 begins sending read commands to the communication bus every Ts, while simultaneously receiving data returned by the battery monitoring device. Charger #2 can then communicate normally with the battery monitoring device. If charger #1 resumes operation at this time, because Ts is less than T1, charger #1 will receive the read command sent by charger #2 within T1 time, but will not send a read command to the communication bus; it will only receive the data returned by the battery monitoring device. Charger #2 will still send one read command to the communication bus every Ts. Figure 4 As shown, the communication bus only contains read commands sent by Unit 2 and return data from the battery monitoring device, avoiding communication bus conflicts that might occur if Unit 1 and Unit 2 send read commands at the same time during long-term operation.

[0041] To avoid a situation where all chargers fail to receive the first data frame from other chargers within their respective waiting time due to different startup sequences or startup times, and simultaneously (or substantially simultaneously) send the first data frame to the communication bus, leading to a communication bus conflict, in one embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned parallel control method further includes: after each charger starts up or receives the second data frame from the communication bus, it counts the first data frames it sends to the communication bus, and when the count value is greater than a preset value and no new second data frame is received from the communication bus, it stops sending the first data frame to the communication bus and simultaneously restarts the first timer.

[0042] In the above manner, the charger that has been awakened and is sending a read command (i.e., the first data frame) will accumulate the number of times it has sent a read command to the communication bus but received no data (i.e., the second data frame). When the count reaches the upper limit S (S can be set according to the preset period Ts of sending the first data frame), a communication bus conflict is confirmed. All chargers will stop sending and start waiting again from the same moment (i.e., the first counter restarts). The charger with the shortest waiting time will automatically wake up and start sending a read command to the communication bus to maintain the communication of the entire system. Other chargers will remain in the state of receiving data.

[0043] The present invention also provides a parallel charging system, including a battery inspection device and multiple chargers respectively connected to a communication bus. Each battery inspection device and each charger includes a storage unit and a control chip. The storage unit stores a computer program that can be executed on the control chip, and when the control chip executes the computer program, it implements the steps of the parallel control method described above.

[0044] The charger parallel system in this embodiment is similar to the one described above. Figure 1-4 The parallel control methods in the corresponding embodiments belong to the same concept. The specific implementation process can be found in the corresponding method embodiments. The technical features in the method embodiments are all applicable to this system embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0045] The present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the parallel control method described above.

[0046] The computer-readable storage medium in this embodiment is the same as described above. Figure 1-4 The parallel control methods in the corresponding embodiments belong to the same concept. The specific implementation process can be found in the corresponding method embodiments. The technical features in the method embodiments are also applicable to the computer-readable storage medium embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0047] It should be understood that the sequence number of each step in the above embodiments does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0048] Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the above-described division of functional units and modules is merely an example. In practical applications, the functions can be assigned to different functional units and modules as needed. The functional units and modules in the embodiments can be integrated into a single processor, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated units can be implemented in hardware or as software functional units. Furthermore, the specific names of the functional units and modules are merely for easy differentiation and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. The specific working processes of the units and modules in the above system can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0049] In the above embodiments, the descriptions of each embodiment have different focuses. For parts that are not described in detail or recorded in a certain embodiment, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0050] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0051] In the embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed parallel control method and charger parallel system can be implemented in other ways. For example, the charger parallel system embodiments described above are merely illustrative.

[0052] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into a single processor, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into a single unit. The integrated units described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional units.

[0053] If the integrated module / unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, all or part of the processes in the methods of the above embodiments can also be implemented by a computer program instructing related hardware. The computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and when executed by a processor, it can implement the steps of the various method embodiments described above. The computer program includes computer program code, which can be in the form of source code, object code, executable files, or certain intermediate forms. The computer-readable medium can include: any entity or interface switching device capable of carrying the computer program code, recording media, USB flash drive, portable hard drive, magnetic disk, optical disk, computer memory, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), electrical carrier signals, telecommunication signals, and software distribution media, etc. It should be noted that the content included in the computer-readable medium can be appropriately added or removed according to the requirements of legislation and patent practice in the jurisdiction. For example, in some jurisdictions, according to legislation and patent practice, the computer-readable medium does not include electrical carrier signals and telecommunication signals.

[0054] The above-described embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and are not intended to limit them. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and should all be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A parallel control method applied to a parallel charging system, the parallel charging system comprising a battery monitoring device and n chargers respectively connected to a communication bus, wherein the chargers and the battery monitoring device communicate in half-duplex mode via the communication bus, each charger comprising a first timer and a second timer, wherein n is an integer greater than or equal to 2, characterized in that, The method includes: After the parallel charging system is started, each charger connected to the communication bus sets the first timer to zero when the first timer reaches its own waiting time and no first data frame or second data frame is received from the communication bus. At the same time, the second timer is used to send the first data frame to the communication bus at a preset period. When the first timer does not reach its own waiting time and the first data frame or second data frame is received from the communication bus, the first timer is restarted. The first data frame includes a status reading command, and the waiting time is different for each charger. The battery inspection device receives a first data frame from the communication bus and generates a second data frame based on the received first data frame, and sends the second data frame to the communication bus. The second data frame includes status feedback information in response to the status read command in the first data frame. All chargers receive the second data frame from the communication bus and parse the second data frame to obtain the status feedback information of the battery inspection instrument.

2. The parallel control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The waiting time of the first charger among the n chargers is T1, and the waiting time of the nth charger is T1 + (n-1) × T2, where T2 is a time constant, and both T1 and T2 are greater than zero.

3. The parallel control method according to claim 2, characterized in that, All chargers have the same preset cycle, and the preset cycle is less than T1 and greater than the time it takes to receive the second data frame fed back by the battery inspection instrument.

4. The parallel control method according to claim 2, characterized in that, T1 is greater than T2.

5. The parallel control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method includes: After each charger starts up or receives a second data frame from the communication bus, it counts the first data frames sent to the communication bus. When the count value is greater than a preset value and no new second data frame is received from the communication bus, it stops sending the first data frame to the communication bus and restarts the first timer.

6. The parallel control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first data frame and the second data frame have different lengths, and the charger identifies the first data frame and the second data frame based on the length of the data frame received from the communication bus.

7. The parallel control method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The n is 2, and T1 is 1 second and T2 is 0.5 seconds.

8. A parallel charging system, comprising a battery monitoring device and n chargers respectively connected to a communication bus, where n is an integer greater than or equal to 2, characterized in that, The battery inspection device and each of the chargers respectively include a storage unit and a control chip. The storage unit stores a computer program that can be executed on the control chip, and when the control chip executes the computer program, it implements the steps of the parallel control method as described in any one of claims 1-7.

9. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the parallel control method as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

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