A fast charging battery system for a four-way shuttle
By combining a fast-charging battery system with a mobile charging vehicle, the four-way shuttle can achieve dynamic and intelligent short-term energy replenishment, solving the problems of long charging time and low equipment utilization, and improving the operational efficiency of the warehousing system.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- NIUYAN INTELLIGENT LOGISTICS EQUIP (SUZHOU) CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2026-03-17
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-03
AI Technical Summary
The existing charging method for four-way shuttles requires stopping operations to plug in and charge or swap batteries at fixed points, resulting in low equipment utilization, inability to meet the needs of high-frequency operations, and long charging time that affects warehouse throughput efficiency.
By adopting a fast-charging battery system, combined with node generation, task sorting, node matching and charging management modules, dynamic and intelligent short-term energy replenishment is achieved. High-rate fast-charging batteries and mobile charging vehicles are used to quickly charge within the warehouse service area, avoiding the limitations of fixed energy replenishment points.
It significantly improves the equipment utilization rate and average daily operating time of the four-way shuttle, reduces ineffective travel time, ensures continuous operation capability, and improves the overall efficiency of the warehousing system.
Smart Images

Figure CN122323802A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of fast charging technology, and more specifically, to a fast charging battery system for a four-way shuttle. Background Technology
[0002] As an operational device in dense warehousing systems, the four-way shuttle car enables automated handling and retrieval of palletized goods through its four-way travel flexibility. It is key to improving the utilization rate of warehousing space and the efficiency of cargo throughput. The power battery system, which powers the four-way shuttle car, directly determines the equipment utilization rate of the shuttle car and the overall operational efficiency of the warehousing system through its energy replenishment efficiency, range, and scheduling adaptability.
[0003] The existing power battery systems of four-way shuttle vehicles are mainly recharged through fixed-point plug-in charging and manual / semi-automatic battery swapping. Fixed-point plug-in charging is mostly completed in dedicated charging areas or at the ends of aisles in the warehouse, while battery swapping is mostly carried out at designated battery swapping stations in the warehouse. Both require the shuttle vehicle to stop its current operation, resulting in the four-way shuttle vehicle spending extra time traveling between the work area and the charging point, significantly increasing the time wasted on ineffective travel. Moreover, the shuttle vehicle is completely shut down during charging / battery swapping, which seriously reduces the utilization rate of the equipment. For high-frequency operation scenarios, this problem will directly lead to a decrease in the overall throughput efficiency of the warehouse, making it unable to meet the operational needs under high workload. Secondly, most mainstream four-way shuttles use lithium iron phosphate battery packs, typically with parameters of 48V 40AH. The charging current of these batteries is usually limited to around 20A, so a full charge takes 1.5 to 2 hours. During charging, the four-way shuttle must stop operating and move to the charging station, which severely impacts the equipment's continuous operating capability and the overall throughput efficiency of the warehouse. Although increasing battery capacity can extend the single-operation time, it cannot solve the fundamental problem of long charging time and will increase battery size, weight, and cost. To mitigate this situation, a fast-charging battery system for four-way shuttles is proposed. Summary of the Invention
[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a fast-charging battery system for a four-way shuttle to solve the problems mentioned in the background art.
[0005] To achieve the above objectives, a fast-charging battery system for a four-way shuttle is provided, including a node generation module, a task sorting module, a node matching module, and a charging management module. The node generation module is used to configure fast-charging batteries and supporting mobile charging vehicles for the four-way shuttle, obtain the service area of the four-way shuttle, and generate a corresponding list of road segment nodes based on the service area. The task sorting module is used to obtain the transportation task list of the four-way shuttle, extract the termination time and target location of each transportation task, plan the best movement path for each task in combination with the road segment node list, analyze the completion time of the shuttle to and from the goods delivery location and the target location under the path, and sort the transportation tasks according to the rule that the termination time is close to the real time. The node matching module is used to calculate the time to be allocated based on the sorting results, combined with the termination time and completion time of each transportation task, and then analyze the number of times each road segment node is passed by, and match the node with the corresponding transportation task, based on the time to be allocated, the termination time and the best moving path. The charging management module is used to obtain the real-time battery status of the four-way shuttle, set a charging threshold, start the charging mode when the battery status is lower than the charging threshold, calculate the estimated time for charging completion, and filter out transportation tasks with a waiting time longer than the estimated time. It calculates the waiting time for each road segment node in the filtered tasks, selects the road segment node with the most waiting time, and dispatches a mobile charging vehicle to stand by. When the shuttle passes through the node while performing a task, it completes a short-term charge according to the waiting time. After charging is completed, the mobile charging vehicle returns to the charging position, and the filtered task list is updated in real time when the transportation task is completed.
[0006] As a further improvement to this technical solution, the node generation module is equipped with a fast-charging battery for the four-way shuttle. The fast-charging battery is a high-rate fast-charging battery adapted to the high-frequency operation conditions of the four-way shuttle warehouse, which supports a continuous charging current of 100A and above and can restore the endurance to meet the operation requirements after a short charging time. The fast-charging battery is a battery module composed of lithium titanate cells, with a nominal voltage of 48V and a nominal capacity of 23AH. It also includes a battery management system, a high-current charging interface, and a dedicated external charger; The battery management system is electrically connected to the battery module. The battery management system is configured with charging control parameters adapted to the characteristics of lithium titanate batteries, including charging cut-off voltage. The high-current charging interface is used to receive external high-power charging current; The battery system is configured to accept a continuous charging current of no less than 100A and to increase the state of charge of the battery module from less than 30% to more than 80% within 15 minutes. The physical dimensions of the battery module are 340-360mm in length, 230-250mm in width, and 105-125mm in height; The battery management system integrates an overvoltage protection unit; The battery system allows the four-way shuttle to operate continuously for 5 to 7 hours; The dedicated external charger can provide a DC output of 48V and 100A, and its output characteristics are matched with the charging requirements of the battery management system.
[0007] As a further improvement to this technical solution, in the node generation module, the entire area in which the four-way shuttle can drive and operate in the warehouse scenario is defined as the service area, and then all passable paths in the area are divided into grids, and continuous paths are decomposed into several interconnected road segment units. Each road segment unit is defined as its start and end points as road segment nodes. Each node is assigned a unique number and its physical location and connectivity with other nodes are recorded. Finally, all node information is integrated to generate a structured list of road segment nodes.
[0008] As a further improvement to this technical solution, the task sorting module connects to the logistics management terminal to obtain the transportation task list of the four-way shuttle. The transportation task includes the goods delivery location, target location, and termination time. The delivery location for goods is a fixed location, and the same delivery location is used for each transportation task. Based on the list of road segment nodes, the shortest path algorithm is used to calculate the optimal movement path from the goods delivery location to the target location. The path consists of continuous road segment nodes. Then, based on the rated driving speed of the four-way shuttle and the total length of the optimal movement path, the one-way travel time of the shuttle from the goods delivery location to the target location is calculated. Finally, the total round-trip time is calculated to obtain the completion time.
[0009] As a further improvement to this technical solution, the task sorting module calculates the time difference between the termination time of each transportation task and the current real-time time, and sorts the transportation tasks in ascending order of time difference, with the transportation task with the smallest time difference ranking first.
[0010] As a further improvement to this technical solution, in the node matching module, the time difference is calculated by combining the termination time of the transportation task with the real-time time, and then the time difference is combined with the completion time corresponding to the transportation task to calculate and obtain the time to be allocated corresponding to the transportation task. The time to be allocated is the maximum amount of time that the shuttle can use for charging while performing the task; Traverse the optimal movement path for all transportation tasks, count the frequency of each road segment node in all paths, and obtain the number of times each node is visited. Each transportation task is associated with all the road segment nodes included in its optimal movement path, so that each road segment node corresponds to all transportation tasks passing through that node, forming a list of node-task associations.
[0011] As a further improvement to this technical solution, the charging management module obtains the real-time battery status of the four-way shuttle at the logistics management end, and then sets the charging threshold according to the number of transportation tasks. The more transportation tasks there are, the higher the charging threshold becomes; Conversely, the fewer the number of transport tasks, the lower the charging threshold. The obtained real-time battery status value is compared with the charging threshold. When the real-time battery status value is lower than the charging threshold, it is determined to be in a low battery state and the charging mode is activated. Conversely, when the real-time battery status value is greater than the charging threshold, it is determined to be in a normal power supply state.
[0012] As a further improvement to this technical solution, when the real-time battery status value is lower than the charging threshold, the travel time of the mobile charging vehicle from the set fixed charging position to the target road segment node is calculated, and the estimated charging time is obtained by combining the estimated charging time of the four-way shuttle vehicle to complete short-term charging. The estimated charging time is calculated based on the charging power of the fast-charging battery and the amount of electricity to be replenished. Iterate through all sorted transportation tasks, remove tasks with a waiting time shorter than the expected time, and keep only transportation tasks with a waiting time longer than the expected time to ensure that the filtered tasks have enough time to complete charging and do not delay task execution. Based on the list of associations between nodes and tasks, the total time to be allocated for each node is obtained by summing the time to be allocated for all tasks corresponding to each segment node in the filtered transportation task. Sort the total time to be allocated for each node from largest to smallest, and select the node with the highest ranking as the docking and recharging node for the mobile charging vehicle. Dispatch mobile charging vehicles, send dispatch instructions to the mobile charging vehicles, control them to travel from fixed charging locations to selected road segment nodes, and keep them on standby at the nodes, waiting for the four-way shuttle vehicles; When the four-way shuttle is performing a transportation task and travels to the section node where the mobile charging vehicle is located, the mobile charging vehicle establishes a charging connection with the fast charging battery of the four-way shuttle and performs high-current fast charging according to the charging parameters of the fast charging battery. The charging time is controlled within the waiting time of the transportation task. At the same time, once a transportation task is completed, it is immediately removed from the list of filtered transportation tasks. The total time to be allocated for each road segment node corresponding to the remaining tasks is recalculated. When a new transportation task is added, the new task is included in the filtering scope and the task filtering and node allocation time are re-executed. Once charging is complete, the remaining charge of the fast-charging battery will be fully charged, or charged to the point where it meets the range requirements for all subsequent screening and transportation tasks of the shuttle. Charging will stop once either criterion is met. Once the mobile charging vehicle returns to its charging location, the four-way shuttle vehicle, after completing charging and leaving the road segment node, sends a return command to the mobile charging vehicle, controlling it to travel from that node back to the fixed charging location.
[0013] As a further improvement to this technical solution, when the real-time battery status value is greater than the charging threshold, monitoring continues.
[0014] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: This fast-charging battery system for four-way shuttles integrates hardware configuration, area planning, task scheduling, and intelligent energy replenishment through the coordinated operation of four modules: node generation, task sequencing, node matching, and charging management. This enables dynamic and intelligent short-term energy replenishment during four-way shuttle operations, significantly improving energy replenishment efficiency and equipment utilization. The node generation module ensures a dedicated fit between the fast-charging battery and the mobile charging vehicle. The fast-charging battery supports continuous charging currents of 100A and above, allowing for rapid recovery of operating range after a short charge. The mobile charging vehicle matches the fast-charging battery parameters and can move freely within the warehouse service area. Combined with the node-based segmentation of the service area, it provides a precise spatial data foundation for energy replenishment scheduling, completely eliminating the limitations of fixed energy replenishment points. This eliminates the need for shuttles to travel to dedicated energy replenishment areas, effectively reducing ineffective travel time and downtime for energy replenishment, and significantly improving the average daily operating time and equipment utilization of the four-way shuttle. Attached Figure Description
[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a fast-charging battery system for a four-way shuttle vehicle according to the present invention; Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating the node generation module of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating the task sorting module of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating the node matching module of the present invention; Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating the charging management module of the present invention. Detailed Implementation
[0016] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.
[0017] Please see Figures 1-5As shown, the purpose of this embodiment is to provide a fast-charging battery system for a four-way shuttle, including a node generation module, a task sorting module, a node matching module, and a charging management module. The node generation module is used to configure fast-charging batteries and supporting mobile charging vehicles for the four-way shuttle, obtain the service area of the four-way shuttle, and generate a corresponding list of road segment nodes based on the service area; it completes the hardware configuration of the shuttle operation end and the node decomposition of the service area, and outputs a standardized and structured list of road segment nodes, which is the data foundation for subsequent task path planning and charging node selection. In the node generation module, the four-way shuttle is equipped with a fast-charging battery. The fast-charging battery is a high-rate fast-charging battery adapted to the high-frequency operation conditions of the four-way shuttle in the warehouse. It supports a continuous charging current of 100A and above and can restore the range to meet the operation requirements after a short charging time. The fast-charging battery includes a removable battery housing containing a battery module composed of multiple lithium titanate cells connected in series and parallel. The overall parameters are 48V 23AH. The battery housing is designed to be 350mm x 240mm x 115mm in size and weighs approximately 15kg. It is compatible with the battery compartments of existing vehicle models or can be adapted with minimal modifications.
[0018] The battery module is connected to a dedicated battery management system (BMS). One of the core functions of the BMS is to implement fast charging management. Its preset charging cutoff voltage is set according to the upper limit voltage of the lithium titanate cell (for example, for a single cell fully charged at 2.4V, the cutoff voltage of a 48V system is about 57.6V). The BMS also integrates safety functions such as overvoltage protection and temperature monitoring.
[0019] The battery housing is equipped with a high-current charging connector, which uses terminals with low contact resistance and high heat dissipation capacity (such as Anderson connectors or similar industrial connectors).
[0020] The dedicated charger is installed independently of the vehicle body and has an output capacity of 48V / 100A. When the four-way shuttle needs to be charged, it drives into or moves to the matching charging vehicle, connects the charger's output plug to the charging socket on the vehicle, and after the BMS communicates with the charger, the charger charges the battery quickly with a high current of 100A according to the preset constant current-constant voltage curve. When the battery has 20% remaining charge, it can be charged to more than 90% in about 12 minutes. Then it switches to trickle charging to fully charge or directly ends the charging so that the vehicle can be used immediately.
[0021] The mobile charging vehicle is a mobile charging device that integrates a DC fast charging module and matches the charging parameters of the fast charging battery. It can move freely on passable sections of the four-way shuttle service area to provide on-site mobile fast charging for the shuttle. The mobile charging vehicle is equipped with a fixed charging position and stops at the position when not in operation.
[0022] The mobile charging vehicle is pre-set to a fixed charging location, which is set to park at the location when not in operation, and can move freely in the service area and passable road sections when in operation, so as to realize on-site mobile fast charging.
[0023] In the node generation module, the entire area in which the four-way shuttle can drive and operate in the warehouse scenario is defined as the service area. Then, all passable paths in the area are divided into grids, and continuous paths are broken down into several interconnected road segment units. Each road segment unit is defined as its start and end points as road segment nodes. Each node is assigned a unique number and its physical location and connectivity with other nodes are recorded. Finally, all node information is integrated to generate a structured list of road segment nodes.
[0024] According to the set standards, each continuous passable path is broken down into several independent straight road segment units. Each unit is labeled with a unique number, and a gridded distribution map of the road segment units is output. The physical start and end points of each road segment unit are used as core candidate points, and the common endpoints of adjacent road segment units are used as shared candidate points. All candidate points are extracted to form a candidate point set. Then, points that are in the blind spot of shuttle operation or cannot be stopped are removed, and valid endpoints that are passable and can be stopped are retained to form a set of valid road segment nodes.
[0025] The task sorting module is used to obtain the transportation task list of the four-way shuttle, extract the termination time and target location of each transportation task, plan the optimal movement path for each task in combination with the road segment node list, analyze the completion time of the shuttle to and from the goods delivery location and the target location under the path, and sort the transportation tasks according to the rule that the termination time is close to the real time. It completes the information extraction, path planning, time consumption analysis, and priority sorting of transportation tasks, and outputs a transportation task list sorted by urgency. It provides task-dimensional data for subsequent time allocation calculation and charging node matching, and serves as a bridge connecting task management and charging scheduling. In the task sorting module, by connecting to the logistics management terminal, the transportation task list of the four-way shuttle is obtained from the logistics management terminal. The transportation task includes the delivery location of the goods, the target location, and the termination time. Establish a communication connection between the four-way shuttle dispatch system and the warehouse logistics management terminal to ensure the real-time and stability of data transmission. At the same time, extract all transportation task information to be executed by the four-way shuttle in batches from the task database of the logistics management terminal to form an initial transportation task list. The list must include the unique identifier number, cargo delivery location, target location, and termination time fields for each task. The delivery location for goods is a fixed location, and the same delivery location is used for each transportation task. Based on the list of road segment nodes, the shortest path algorithm is used to calculate the optimal movement path from the goods delivery location to the target location. The path consists of continuous road segment nodes. Then, based on the rated driving speed of the four-way shuttle and the total length of the optimal movement path, the one-way travel time of the shuttle from the goods delivery location to the target location is calculated. Finally, the total round-trip time is calculated to obtain the completion time.
[0026] Based on the structured road segment node list output by the node generation module, the fixed cargo delivery location and the target locations of each task are mapped to the corresponding road segment nodes (when the location does not directly match a node, the nearest dockable road segment node is selected as the equivalent location). At the same time, for each transportation task, Dijkstra's shortest path algorithm is used. Starting from the node corresponding to the cargo delivery location and ending at the node corresponding to the target location, the algorithm traverses the node connectivity and calculates the shortest travel path composed of continuous road segment nodes, which is the best movement path for the task. The algorithm records the node numbers and total road segment lengths contained in the path. In the task sorting module, the time difference between the termination time of each transportation task and the current real-time time is calculated, and the transportation tasks are sorted in ascending order of time difference, with the transportation task with the smallest time difference ranked first.
[0027] Extract the current real-time time of the system. For each transportation task, calculate the time difference between its termination time and the real-time time to obtain a quantitative value of the task's urgency. Sort all transportation tasks in ascending order of time difference. The smaller the time difference, the more urgent the task and the higher its ranking. When there are tasks with the same time difference, they can be sorted in ascending order of distance between the task's target location and the delivery location.
[0028] The node matching module calculates the time to be allocated based on the sorting results and the termination and completion times of each transportation task. Then, it analyzes the number of times each road segment node is passed and matches the node with the corresponding transportation task, based on the time to be allocated, the termination time, and the optimal movement path. It completes the calculation of the time to be allocated and the association analysis between nodes and tasks, builds a bridge between road segment nodes and transportation tasks, and outputs the time to be allocated for nodes, the number of times nodes are passed, and a list of nodes and tasks, providing a basis for the selection of charging nodes in the charging management module. In the node matching module, the time difference is calculated by combining the end time of the transportation task with the real-time time. Then, the time difference is combined with the completion time of the transportation task to calculate and obtain the time to be allocated for the transportation task. Based on the calculated task time difference and the corresponding completion time of the task, the time to be allocated is calculated through the difference. This time represents the maximum time available for charging when the shuttle performs the task. It is necessary to ensure that the calculation result is non-negative (if the result is negative, it is determined that the task has no charging time and is marked as to be prioritized or eliminated).
[0029] The time to be allocated is the maximum amount of time that the shuttle can use for charging while performing the task; Traverse the optimal movement path for all transportation tasks, count the frequency of each road segment node in all paths, and obtain the number of times each node is visited. Retrieve the optimal movement path data for all transportation tasks (each path consists of consecutive road segment nodes), and initialize the road segment node frequency statistics dictionary (the key is the unique node number, and the value is the initial frequency of 0). Traverse the optimal movement path for each transportation task, extract the node numbers of each road segment in the path one by one, and increment the frequency value of the corresponding node in the statistical dictionary by 1 for each extracted node number. After traversal is complete, the frequency data of all nodes is exported to obtain the number of times each road segment node is passed. This number reflects the frequency of the node in all task paths. Each transportation task is associated with all the road segment nodes included in its optimal movement path, so that each road segment node corresponds to all transportation tasks passing through that node, forming a list of node-task associations.
[0030] Create an empty dictionary of nodes and tasks (the key is the unique number of the road segment node, and the value is the list of transportation tasks corresponding to that node); Iterate through each transportation task, extract all segment node numbers in its best movement path, and for each node number, add the core information of the current transportation task (task number, time to be assigned, and termination time) to the task list of the corresponding node in the associated dictionary. After the traversal is complete, the integrity of the association dictionary is verified (ensuring that all valid tasks and all path nodes are associated), and finally a structured list of node and task associations is generated.
[0031] The charging management module is used to acquire the real-time battery status of the four-way shuttle, set a charging threshold, and activate the charging mode when the battery status is below the threshold. It calculates the estimated time for charging completion, filters out transportation tasks with a waiting time longer than the estimated time, calculates the waiting time for each road segment node in the filtered tasks, selects the road segment node with the longest waiting time, and dispatches a mobile charging vehicle to stand by. When the shuttle passes through this node while performing a task, it performs a short-term charge based on the waiting time. After charging is complete, the mobile charging vehicle returns to the charging location, and the filtered task list is updated in real time when the transportation task is completed. Integrating the output data of all upstream modules, it completes battery status monitoring, dynamic setting of charging thresholds, task filtering, charging node selection, mobile charging vehicle dispatch, short-term charging control, and dynamic task updates, becoming the final execution unit for short-term charging in shuttle operations. In the charging management module, the real-time battery status of the four-way shuttle is obtained at the logistics management end (preferably selecting the remaining SOC value), and then the charging threshold is set according to the number of transportation tasks. The more transportation tasks there are, the higher the charging threshold becomes (to avoid frequent shutdowns due to insufficient battery power under high task load). Conversely, the fewer the number of transport tasks, the lower the charging threshold (reducing unnecessary charging behavior), as shown in the following formula: ; in, For dynamic charging threshold, Based on the basic charging threshold, The coefficient representing the influence of the number of tasks. This represents the total number of transportation tasks currently pending. The obtained real-time battery status value is compared with the charging threshold. When the real-time battery status value is lower than the charging threshold, it is determined to be in a low battery state and the charging mode is activated. When the real-time battery status value is lower than the charging threshold, the travel time of the mobile charging vehicle from the set fixed charging location to the target road segment node is calculated. At the same time, the estimated charging time of the four-way shuttle vehicle to complete short-term charging is combined to obtain the estimated time. The estimated charging time is calculated based on the charging power of the fast-charging battery and the amount of electricity to be replenished. Iterate through all sorted transportation tasks, remove tasks with a waiting time shorter than the expected time, and keep only transportation tasks with a waiting time longer than the expected time to ensure that the filtered tasks have enough time to complete charging and do not delay task execution. Based on the list of associations between nodes and tasks, the total time to be allocated for each node is calculated by summing the time to be allocated for all tasks corresponding to each segment node in the filtered transportation task. The formula is as follows: ; in, Let n be the total time to be allocated for a certain road segment node, and n be the number of valid tasks corresponding to that node. This represents the time to be allocated for the i-th valid task corresponding to this node.
[0032] Sort the total time to be allocated for each node from largest to smallest, and select the node with the highest ranking as the docking and recharging node for the mobile charging vehicle. Dispatch mobile charging vehicles, send dispatch instructions to the mobile charging vehicles, control them to travel from fixed charging locations to selected road segment nodes, and keep them on standby at the nodes, waiting for the four-way shuttle vehicles; When the four-way shuttle is performing a transportation task and travels to the section node where the mobile charging vehicle is located, the mobile charging vehicle establishes a charging connection with the fast charging battery of the four-way shuttle and performs high-current fast charging according to the charging parameters of the fast charging battery. The charging time is controlled within the waiting time of the transportation task. At the same time, once a transportation task is completed, it is immediately removed from the list of filtered transportation tasks. The total time to be allocated for each road segment node corresponding to the remaining tasks is recalculated. When a new transportation task is added, the new task is included in the filtering scope and the task filtering and node allocation time are re-executed. Once charging is complete, the remaining charge of the fast-charging battery will be fully charged, or charged to the point where it meets the range requirements for all subsequent screening and transportation tasks of the shuttle. Charging will stop once either criterion is met. Once the mobile charging vehicle returns to its charging location, the four-way shuttle vehicle, after completing charging and leaving the road segment node, sends a return command to the mobile charging vehicle, controlling it to travel from that node back to the fixed charging location.
[0033] Conversely, when the real-time battery status value is greater than the charging threshold, it is determined to be in a normal power supply state.
[0034] Continue monitoring if the real-time battery status value is greater than the charging threshold.
[0035] The foregoing has shown and described the basic principles, main features, and advantages of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. The embodiments and descriptions in the specification are merely preferred examples and are not intended to limit the invention. Various changes and modifications can be made to the invention without departing from its spirit and scope, and all such changes and modifications fall within the scope of the present invention as claimed. The scope of protection of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
Claims
1. A fast-charging battery system for a four-way shuttle, characterized by: It includes a node generation module, a task sorting module, a node matching module, and a charging management module; The node generation module is used to configure fast-charging batteries and supporting mobile charging vehicles for the four-way shuttle, obtain the service area of the four-way shuttle, and generate a corresponding list of road segment nodes based on the service area. The task sorting module is used to obtain the transportation task list of the four-way shuttle, extract the termination time and target location of each transportation task, plan the best movement path for each task in combination with the road segment node list, analyze the completion time of the shuttle to and from the goods delivery location and the target location under the path, and sort the transportation tasks according to the rule that the termination time is close to the real time. The node matching module is used to calculate the time to be allocated based on the sorting results, combined with the termination time and completion time of each transportation task, and then analyze the number of times each road segment node is passed by, and match the node with the corresponding transportation task, based on the time to be allocated, the termination time and the best moving path. The charging management module is used to obtain the real-time battery status of the four-way shuttle, set a charging threshold, start the charging mode when the battery status is lower than the charging threshold, calculate the estimated time for charging completion, and filter out transportation tasks with a waiting time longer than the estimated time. It calculates the waiting time for each road segment node in the filtered tasks, selects the road segment node with the most waiting time, and dispatches a mobile charging vehicle to stand by. When the shuttle passes through the node while performing a task, it completes a short-term charge according to the waiting time. After charging is completed, the mobile charging vehicle returns to the charging position, and the filtered task list is updated in real time when the transportation task is completed.
2. The fast-charging battery system for a four-way shuttle vehicle of claim 1, wherein: In the node generation module, the four-way shuttle is equipped with a fast-charging battery. The fast-charging battery is a high-rate fast-charging battery adapted to the high-frequency operation conditions of the four-way shuttle in the warehouse. It supports a continuous charging current of 100A and above and can restore the range to meet the operation requirements after a short charging time. The fast-charging battery is a battery module composed of lithium titanate cells, with a nominal voltage of 48V and a nominal capacity of 23AH. It also includes a battery management system, a high-current charging interface, and a dedicated external charger; The battery management system is electrically connected to the battery module. The battery management system is configured with charging control parameters adapted to the characteristics of lithium titanate batteries, including charging cut-off voltage. The high-current charging interface is used to receive external high-power charging current; The battery system is configured to accept a continuous charging current of no less than 100A and to increase the state of charge of the battery module from less than 30% to more than 80% within 15 minutes. The physical dimensions of the battery module are 340-360mm in length, 230-250mm in width, and 105-125mm in height; The battery management system integrates an overvoltage protection unit; The battery system allows the four-way shuttle to operate continuously for 5 to 7 hours; The dedicated external charger can provide a DC output of 48V and 100A, and its output characteristics are matched with the charging requirements of the battery management system.
3. A fast-charging battery system for a four-way shuttle according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the node generation module, the entire area in which the four-way shuttle can drive and operate in the warehouse scenario is defined as the service area. Then, all passable paths in the area are divided into grids, and continuous paths are broken down into several interconnected road segment units. Each road segment unit is defined as its start and end points as road segment nodes. Each node is assigned a unique number and its physical location and connectivity with other nodes are recorded. Finally, all node information is integrated to generate a structured list of road segment nodes.
4. A fast-charging battery system for a four-way shuttle according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the task sorting module, the logistics management terminal is connected to obtain the transportation task list of the four-way shuttle. The transportation task includes the delivery location of the goods, the target location, and the termination time. The delivery location for goods is a fixed location, and the same delivery location is used for each transportation task. Based on the list of road segment nodes, the shortest path algorithm is used to calculate the optimal movement path from the goods delivery location to the target location. The path consists of continuous road segment nodes. Then, based on the rated driving speed of the four-way shuttle and the total length of the optimal movement path, the one-way travel time of the shuttle from the goods delivery location to the target location is calculated. Finally, the total round-trip time is calculated to obtain the completion time.
5. A fast-charging battery system for a four-way shuttle according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the task sorting module, the time difference between the termination time of each transportation task and the current real-time time is calculated, and the transportation tasks are sorted in ascending order of time difference, with the transportation task with the smallest time difference ranked first.
6. A fast-charging battery system for a four-way shuttle according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the node matching module, the time difference is calculated by combining the termination time of the transportation task with the real-time time, and then the time difference is combined with the completion time of the transportation task to calculate and obtain the time to be allocated for the transportation task. The time to be allocated is the maximum amount of time that the shuttle can use for charging while performing the task; Traverse the optimal movement path for all transportation tasks, count the frequency of each road segment node in all paths, and obtain the number of times each node is visited. Each transportation task is associated with all the road segment nodes included in its optimal movement path, so that each road segment node corresponds to all transportation tasks passing through that node, forming a list of node-task associations.
7. A fast-charging battery system for a four-way shuttle according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the charging management module, the real-time battery status of the four-way shuttle is obtained at the logistics management end, and then the charging threshold is set according to the number of transportation tasks. The more transportation tasks there are, the higher the charging threshold becomes; Conversely, the fewer the number of transport tasks, the lower the charging threshold. The obtained real-time battery status value is compared with the charging threshold. When the real-time battery status value is lower than the charging threshold, it is determined to be in a low battery state and the charging mode is activated. Conversely, when the real-time battery status value is greater than the charging threshold, it is determined to be in a normal power supply state.
8. A fast-charging battery system for a four-way shuttle according to claim 7, characterized in that: When the real-time battery status value is lower than the charging threshold, the travel time of the mobile charging vehicle from the set fixed charging location to the target road segment node is calculated. At the same time, the estimated charging time of the four-way shuttle vehicle to complete short-term charging is combined to obtain the estimated time. The estimated charging time is calculated based on the charging power of the fast-charging battery and the amount of electricity to be replenished. Iterate through all sorted transportation tasks, remove tasks with a waiting time shorter than the expected time, and keep only transportation tasks with a waiting time longer than the expected time to ensure that the filtered tasks have enough time to complete charging and do not delay task execution. Based on the list of associations between nodes and tasks, the total time to be allocated for each node is obtained by summing the time to be allocated for all tasks corresponding to each segment node in the filtered transportation task. Sort the total time to be allocated for each node from largest to smallest, and select the node with the highest ranking as the docking and recharging node for the mobile charging vehicle. Dispatch mobile charging vehicles, send dispatch instructions to the mobile charging vehicles, control them to travel from fixed charging locations to selected road segment nodes, and keep them on standby at the nodes, waiting for the four-way shuttle vehicles; When the four-way shuttle is performing a transportation task and travels to the section node where the mobile charging vehicle is located, the mobile charging vehicle establishes a charging connection with the fast charging battery of the four-way shuttle and performs high-current fast charging according to the charging parameters of the fast charging battery. The charging time is controlled within the waiting time of the transportation task. At the same time, once a transportation task is completed, it is immediately removed from the list of filtered transportation tasks. The total time to be allocated for each road segment node corresponding to the remaining tasks is recalculated. When a new transportation task is added, the new task is included in the filtering scope and the task filtering and node allocation time are re-executed. Once charging is complete, the remaining charge of the fast-charging battery will be fully charged, or charged to the point where it meets the range requirements for all subsequent screening and transportation tasks of the shuttle. Charging will stop once either criterion is met. Once the mobile charging vehicle returns to its charging location, the four-way shuttle vehicle, after completing charging and leaving the road segment node, sends a return command to the mobile charging vehicle, controlling it to travel from that node back to the fixed charging location.
9. A fast-charging battery system for a four-way shuttle according to claim 7, characterized in that: If the real-time battery status value is greater than the charging threshold, monitoring will continue.