Battery exchange device and its control method

Abstract

A battery swapping device and its control method are disclosed. The battery swapping device includes: a plurality of charging slots; a transceiver; a plurality of sensors disposed in a region of the plurality of charging slots; a memory for storing instructions; and a processor connected to the memory. The processor is configured to: check whether a first device has stopped within a predefined distance from the battery swapping device based on at least one of location information or device information of the first device; when the first device stops within the predefined distance from the battery swapping device, acquire information measured via at least one sensor disposed in a region of the first charging slot among the plurality of charging slots; and determine whether to open the door of the first charging slot based on the information measured via the at least one sensor.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to battery swapping devices and their control methods. Background Technology

[0002] Technologies related to Battery Swapping Stations (BSS) for electric two-wheelers have been developed to reduce charging time. BSS is a technology designed to enable rapid battery pack replacement for electric two-wheelers, allowing users to quickly resume operation without long charging wait times. Recently, standardized battery sizes and interfaces have been adopted to improve compatibility between electric two-wheelers from various manufacturers. Relatedly, various attempts are underway to ensure the stable operation of BSS by improving user convenience during the acceptance and release of battery packs for swapping and guaranteeing the reliability of battery swapping. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Technical goals

[0004] Various embodiments of this disclosure provide a battery swapping device and a control method thereof. Specifically, the purpose of various embodiments of this disclosure is to provide a control method for providing a battery swapping service that facilitates user access through a process that initiates a primary authentication process for preparing to swap batteries based on the location information of the electric two-wheeler (e.g., Global Positioning System (GPS) information) without separate and additional authentication devices; and a secondary authentication process to determine whether the batteries are correctly installed on the battery swapping device.

[0005] The technical objectives targeted by the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to those described above, and other technical objectives can be derived from the following exemplary embodiments.

[0006] Technical solution

[0007] According to an example embodiment, a battery swapping device includes: a plurality of charging slots; a transceiver; a plurality of sensors disposed in a region of one of the plurality of charging slots; a memory for storing instructions; and a processor connected to the memory, wherein the processor is configured to: identify whether a first device is in a state where it has stopped within a predefined distance from the battery swapping device based on at least one of location information of a first device and device information of the first device; if the first device is in a state where it has stopped within a predefined distance from the battery swapping device, acquire information measured by at least one sensor disposed in a region of the first charging slot among the plurality of charging slots; and determine whether to open a door of the first charging slot based on the information measured by the at least one sensor.

[0008] The processor is configured to: receive information from the server via a transceiver that the first device is within a predefined distance from the battery exchange device; and receive information from the server via a transceiver indicating that the first device has stopped within the predefined distance.

[0009] The processor is configured to: receive a first signal for communication connection broadcast by the first device via a transceiver; determine, based on the received first signal, that the first device is within a predefined distance from the battery exchange device; receive, via the transceiver, a second signal including device information of the first device from the first device; and determine, based on the device information of the first device, that the first device is in a state where it has stopped within the predefined distance from the battery exchange device.

[0010] The processor is configured to: receive location information and device information of the first device from the server via a transceiver; determine whether the first device is within a predefined distance from the battery exchange device based on the location information of the first device; and determine whether the first device has stopped within the predefined distance from the battery exchange device based on the device information of the first device.

[0011] A region of the first charging slot includes: a first region; a second region arranged to be connected to the first region; a third region arranged to be connected to the second region and facing the first region; and a fourth region arranged to be connected to the first region and the third region and facing the second region, and at least one sensor includes: a first sensor located in the first region; a second sensor located in the second region; a third sensor located in the third region; and a fourth sensor located in the fourth region.

[0012] At least one sensor includes at least one proximity-illuminance sensor, and the information measured by at least one sensor includes luminance information measured by each of the at least one proximity-illuminance sensor and distance information to the first battery pack.

[0013] The processor is configured to: compare predetermined reference brightness information and reference distance information with measured brightness information and distance information, respectively, for each of at least one proximity-illuminance sensor; determine whether the comparison result satisfies a predetermined condition for each of at least one proximity-illuminance sensor; and determine whether the first battery pack is located in a region of the first charging slot based on whether the number of at least one proximity-illuminance sensor satisfying the predetermined condition is equal to or greater than a predetermined number.

[0014] The processor is configured to open the door of the first charging compartment when it has been determined that the first battery pack is located in an area of ​​the first charging compartment.

[0015] The processor is configured to close the door of the first charging compartment if it has been determined that the first battery pack is not located in an area of ​​the first charging compartment.

[0016] The processor is configured to charge the first battery pack after it has been recognized that the first battery pack has been properly accepted after the door of the first charging slot has been opened.

[0017] The processor is configured to: determine a second battery pack based on the state information of each of the multiple battery packs accepted in a portion of the multiple charging slots, after it has been identified that the first battery pack has been properly accepted after the first charging slot has been opened; and control the second charging slot where the second battery pack is located to release the second battery pack.

[0018] The processor is configured to close the door of the second charging slot when the second battery pack is released.

[0019] The device information of the first device includes at least one of the following: identification information of the first device; speed information of the first device; and startup status information of the first device, wherein the identification information of the first device is pre-registered in the database of the server.

[0020] According to an example embodiment, a control method for a battery swapping device includes: identifying whether a first device is in a state where it has stopped within a predefined distance from the battery swapping device based on at least one of location information and device information of the first device; if the first device is in a state where it has stopped within a predefined distance from the battery swapping device, acquiring information measured by at least one sensor arranged in a region of a first charging slot among a plurality of charging slots; and determining whether to open the door of the first charging slot based on the information measured by the at least one sensor.

[0021] Specific details of other example implementations are included in the detailed description and accompanying drawings.

[0022] Invention Effects

[0023] Based on the disclosed example implementations, one or more of the following effects can be expected.

[0024] According to an example embodiment of this disclosure, a battery swapping service is provided that makes the service more convenient for users through the following process: initiating a primary authentication process to prepare for battery swapping based on device information and location information (e.g., GPS information) of the electric two-wheeler without separate and additional authentication devices; and a secondary authentication process to determine whether the battery is correctly installed on the battery swapping device.

[0025] Furthermore, according to an example embodiment of this disclosure, a battery swapping service is provided that does not require the high maintenance and management costs of sensors in the battery swapping device. This is because, unlike authentication methods performed through various means such as quick response (QR), near field communication (NFC), and radio frequency identification (RFID) card tagging, the service provider offering the battery swapping service does not need to equip itself with a separate authentication device in addition to the battery swapping device.

[0026] The effects obtained from this disclosure are not limited to those described above, and those skilled in the art will clearly understand, based on the description of the claims, other effects not mentioned herein. Attached Figure Description

[0027] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating a battery exchange system according to an example embodiment.

[0028] Figure 2 This is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a battery exchange device according to an example embodiment.

[0029] Figure 3 This is a diagram illustrating the process of determining the state of the first device according to an example embodiment.

[0030] Figures 4a to 4c This is a diagram illustrating the process of controlling a charging slot for exchanging battery packs according to an example embodiment of a battery exchange device.

[0031] Figure 5 This is a diagram illustrating a control method for a battery exchange device according to an example embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0032] In taking into account the functionality of this disclosure, the terminology used in the example embodiments is selected from currently widely used general terms, where possible. However, terms can vary depending on the intent of those skilled in the art, precedents, the emergence of new technologies, etc. Furthermore, in some cases, there are terms arbitrarily chosen by the applicant, and in these cases, their meanings will be described in detail in the corresponding description. Therefore, the terms used in this disclosure should be defined based on the meaning of the terms and the content of the entire disclosure, rather than simply their names.

[0033] Throughout the specification, when a part is described as "containing or including" a component, that part does not exclude other components, but may also include other components, unless otherwise stated.

[0034] The expression “at least one of a, b or c” described throughout the specification may include “a alone”, “b alone”, “c alone”, “a and b”, “a and c”, “b and c” or “all of a, b and c”.

[0035] The term "terminal" as used below can be implemented as a computer or portable terminal capable of accessing a server or other terminal via a network. Here, a computer can include, for example, a laptop, desktop computer, and / or laptop computer equipped with a web browser. A portable terminal can be a wireless communication device that ensures portability and mobility, and includes (but is not limited to) any type of handheld wireless communication device, such as a tablet PC, smartphone, or communication-based terminals such as International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), W-CDMA, and Long Term Evolution (LTE).

[0036] In the following description, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, enabling those skilled in the art to readily implement these exemplary embodiments. However, the present disclosure can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described herein.

[0037] In the following, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0038] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating a battery exchange system according to an example embodiment.

[0039] Reference Figure 1 The battery swapping system 101 may include a battery swapping device 100, a server 200, a network 300, and a first device 20 including a first battery pack B1. In the following description, although the first device 20 is shown as an electric two-wheeler, the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to various electric mobility devices powered by rechargeable battery packs, and the exemplary embodiments of the first device 20 including the first battery pack B1 are not limited to specific cases. The first device 20 may correspond to a device that operates via a link to a battery swapping service that allows the first battery pack B1 to be received in the battery swapping device 100 before being swapped into a charged battery pack by the battery swapping device 100. For example, device information of the first device 20 may be stored on a platform associated with the battery swapping service through registration (e.g., membership) of the user U of the first device 20 in the battery swapping service.

[0040] The battery swapping device 100 according to the example embodiment may correspond to a swappable battery charging station or battery swapping station (BSS) used in a battery swapping service. The battery swapping device 100 can provide the battery swapping service by receiving status information of a first device from the server 200, indicating that the first device 20 has stopped within a predefined distance from the battery swapping device 100. Furthermore, the battery swapping device 100 can receive device information of the first device 20 via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication with the first device 20 and can provide the battery swapping service, as will be discussed below. Figure 3 The details are described in the text.

[0041] Furthermore, according to the exemplary embodiment, the first battery pack B1 can refer to a battery pack that can supply power to the first device 20 by being mounted on the first device 20. The user U can detach the first battery pack B1 from the first device 20 and can receive the first battery pack B1 in the charging slot of the battery exchange device 100 to charge the first battery pack B1. According to the exemplary embodiment, the second battery pack B2 can refer to a fully charged battery pack stored in the charging slot of the battery exchange device 100. However, the terms such as first battery pack B1 and second battery pack B2 used in this disclosure are distinguished only by whether the battery pack is received in the battery exchange device 100 for charging or released from the battery exchange device 100 for exchange, and the first battery pack B1 and second battery pack B2 are not distinguished based on specific performance or standards. The battery exchange device 100 can operate by being linked to the user U using the first device 20, the network 300, and the server 200, and the specific configuration of the battery exchange device 100 will be described in detail below. For ease of description, Figure 1 The present disclosure shows only one of each of the user U, the battery exchange device 100, and the first device 20, but may include multiple users, multiple battery exchange devices, and multiple electric mobility devices, and the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the specific cases shown.

[0042] According to the example embodiment, the server 200 can be configured to wirelessly communicate with the battery swapping device 100 and the first device 20. The server 200 can communicate with multiple first devices 20 operating via a link to a battery swapping service and receive device information from the first devices 20, including identification information, speed information, and startup status information of the multiple first devices 20, for use in providing the battery swapping service. Similarly, the server 200 can be configured to communicate with multiple battery swapping devices 100 operating via a link to a battery swapping service. The server 200 can receive location information of the first devices 20 through communication with them. In this case, the location information of the first devices 20 may include GPS information of the first devices 20, and the server 200 can receive the GPS information of the first devices 20 periodically over time through communication with them. For example, the server 200 can receive the GPS information of the first devices 20 according to a predetermined time period, such as two seconds or five seconds. For example, whenever the server 200 receives information that the startup status information of the first device 20 has changed, it can periodically receive the GPS information of the first device 20 over time.

[0043] Server 200 can receive device information of the first device 20 through communication with the first device 20. This device information includes at least one of the following: identification information of the first device 20, speed information of the first device 20, and startup status information of the first device 20. In this case, the identification information of the first device 20 may include unique identification information of a terminal attached to or built into the first device 20. In this case, the identification information of the first device 20 may be pre-registered in the database of server 200, and through this database, server 200 can receive and manage information related to the battery pack ownership status of the battery exchange device 100 located at a specific location to provide battery exchange services. Server 200 can receive and manage information related to the location of the first device 20 near the corresponding battery exchange device 100. The speed information of the first device 20 may include information related to the current operating speed of the first device 20. In this case, the startup status information of the first device 20 may include information indicating whether the motor of the first device 20 is activated, whether the first device 20 is currently started, and whether the first device 20 is turned off. Server 200 can periodically receive device information from first device 20 over time through communication with first device 20.

[0044] Server 200 can send information via communication with battery exchange device 100 indicating that the first device 20 is within a predefined distance from battery exchange device 100. Furthermore, server 200 can send information via communication with battery exchange device 100 indicating that the first device 20 has stopped within the predefined distance. Server 200 can instruct battery exchange device 100 to perform preparations (in other words, battery exchange preparation) for identifying whether the first battery pack B1 is located in an area of ​​the first charging slot by sending corresponding information to battery exchange device 100.

[0045] The battery exchange device 100, server 200, and first device 20 can communicate with each other within the network 300. The network 300 may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a value-added network (VAN), a mobile radio communication network, a satellite communication network, or a combination thereof, and may be permitted to... Figure 1 The diagram illustrates a comprehensive data communication network in which each entity communicates smoothly with each other, and includes wired Internet, wireless Internet, and mobile wireless communication networks. Wireless communication may include, but is not limited to, Long Term Evolution (LTE), Wireless LAN (e.g., Wi-Fi), Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Zigbee, Wi-Fi Direct (WFD), Ultra Wideband (UWB), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Near Field Communication (NFC), etc.

[0046] Figure 2 This is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a battery exchange device according to an example embodiment.

[0047] Reference Figure 2 The battery exchange device 100 according to an example embodiment may include a charging tank 110, a plurality of sensors 120, a memory 130, a processor 140, and a transceiver 150. Figure 2 The battery exchange device 100 shown only includes components associated with this exemplary embodiment. Therefore, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which this exemplary embodiment pertains that, in addition to… Figure 2 In addition to the components shown, other commonly used components may also be included.

[0048] According to an example embodiment, the charging slot 110 may include a plurality of charging slots. The charging slot 110 may include charging slots without stored battery packs (in other words, empty charging slots) and charging slots storing battery packs. A user can charge a first battery pack B1 by storing it in one of the charging slots 110 that is not fully charged. In response to the user storing the first battery pack B1 in the first charging slot, the battery exchange device 100 may provide the user with a fully charged second battery pack from one of the charging slots 110 that stores battery packs. For ease of description, in this disclosure, the first charging slot may refer to an empty charging slot without stored battery packs, and the second charging slot may refer to a charging slot storing a fully charged battery pack.

[0049] Multiple sensors 120 may be arranged in one area of ​​multiple charging slots 110. For example, at least one sensor 120 may be arranged in one area of ​​each of the multiple charging slots. For example, at least one sensor may be arranged in one area of ​​the first charging slot, and the battery exchange device 100 may compare predetermined conditions with information measured by the at least one sensor arranged in one area of ​​the first charging slot to determine whether to open the door of the first charging slot. In the case where the battery pack according to the exemplary embodiment is stored in the charging slot, the positive and negative terminals of the battery pack stored in the charging slot may be electrically connected to the charging terminals of the charging slot, and the charging slot 110 may perform charging of the battery pack.

[0050] The battery swapping device 100 according to an exemplary embodiment may include a plurality of sensors 120 that detect the operating state of the battery swapping device 100 or the state of the external environment and generate data values ​​or electrical signals corresponding to the detected states. The plurality of sensors 120 according to the exemplary embodiment may be arranged in an area of ​​a plurality of charging slots 110, and the area of ​​the plurality of charging slots 110 may represent the inlet of a charging slot. The plurality of sensors 120 according to the exemplary embodiment may include, for example, at least one proximity-illuminance sensor. The proximity-illuminance sensor may include: a proximity sensor that determines the distance between a specific object and the space where the proximity-illuminance sensor is located without physical contact with the specific object by emitting an electromagnetic field or electromagnetic wave; and an illuminance sensor that determines the intensity of light in the space where the proximity-illuminance sensor is located based on a resistance value that varies in a variable manner according to the amount of light received. The battery swapping device 100 according to the exemplary embodiment can control all the plurality of sensors 120 arranged in an area of ​​a plurality of charging slots to be in an active state. In addition, in order to perform effective power management during the provision of the entire battery swapping service, the battery swapping device 100 according to the example embodiment can control the sensors located in the empty charging slots in which the first battery pack B1 can be charged to be in an active state, and control the sensors located in the charging slots storing the other battery packs that are fully charged to be in a deactivated state.

[0051] The memory 130 according to the example embodiment is hardware that stores various data processed in the battery exchange device 100, and the memory 130 can store data processed and to be processed by the processor 140 in the battery exchange device 100. Furthermore, the memory can store not only the basic programming and data structures that can provide the functionality of at least one example embodiment of this disclosure, but also applications (programs, code modules, and instructions), drivers, etc., that can provide the functionality of the example embodiments of this disclosure. The memory may include random access memory (RAM), such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and static random access memory (SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), CD-ROM, Blu-ray or other optical disc storage devices, hard disk drive (HDD), solid-state drive (SSD), or flash memory, but is not limited to the specific cases mentioned in the example embodiments of this disclosure.

[0052] According to an example embodiment, processor 140 can control the overall operation of battery exchange device 100 and process data and signals. Processor 140 may consist of at least one hardware unit. Alternatively, processor 140 may be operated by one or more software modules generated by executing program code stored in memory 130. Because processor 140 may include memory, processor 140 can control the overall operation of battery exchange device 100 and process data and signals by executing program code stored in memory. Processor 140 according to the example embodiment can monitor the state information of the battery packs of multiple charging slots 110. The state information of the battery packs may include battery identification information and / or state parameters (e.g., voltage, state of charge (SoC), and state of health (SoH)). When a particular charging slot is in a second state, processor 140 can monitor (estimate) the SoC and / or SoH of the battery pack stored in the corresponding charging slot based on a time series of voltage and / or current values ​​of the battery pack stored in the corresponding charging slot. A combination of various known methods, or any one or two or more of them, can be used to estimate the SoC and / or SoH. For example, the SoC of the battery pack can be estimated using SoC-open circuit voltage (OCV) plots, ampere counts, and extended Kalman filters. In the case of a hardware implementation, the processor 140 according to the example embodiment can be implemented using at least one of the following: application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), digital signal processor (DSP), digital signal processing device (DSPD), programmable logic device (PLD), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), microprocessor, and other electronic units for performing functions.

[0053] According to an example implementation, the battery switching device 100 may include a transceiver 150 for performing wireless communication. The battery switching device 100 can communicate with external electronic devices (e.g., the first device 20 or the server 200) using the transceiver 150. The transceiver 150 may be configured to access the server 200 located remotely from the battery switching device 100 via a network 300 to send and receive information related to battery switching services from the server 200.

[0054] The communication technology used by transceiver 150 may include LTE communication technology. For example, transceiver 150 may use LTE communication technology during communication between battery switching device 100 and server 200. Battery switching device 100 can receive information from the server via transceiver 150 indicating that the first device 20 is within a predefined distance from battery switching device 100, and can also receive information from the server via transceiver 150 indicating that the first device 20 has stopped within the predefined distance. Battery switching device 100 can receive location information and device information of the first device 20 from server 200 via transceiver 150. Battery switching device 100 can determine whether the first device 20 is within a predefined distance from battery switching device 100 based on the location information of the first device 20. Battery switching device 100 can determine whether the first device 20 has stopped within a predefined distance from battery switching device 100 based on the device information of the first device 20.

[0055] The communication technology used by transceiver 150 may include Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication technology. For example, transceiver 150 may use BLE communication technology during communication between battery swapping device 100 and first device 20. Battery swapping device 100 may receive a first signal broadcast by first device 20 for communication connection via transceiver 150, and determine based on the received first signal that first device 20 is within a predefined distance from battery swapping device 100. Battery swapping device 100 may receive a second signal including device information of first device 20 from first device 20 via transceiver 150, and determine based on the device information of first device 20 that first device 20 has stopped within a predefined distance from battery swapping device 100.

[0056] In addition, the communication technologies used by transceiver 150 may include Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), 5G, Wireless LAN (WLAN), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth™, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), ZigBee, Near Field Communication (NFC), etc.

[0057] The battery swapping device 100 according to the example embodiment may also include a display (not shown) that shows the user U a description and instructions regarding the entire battery swapping process. The display according to the example embodiment may display status information for multiple charging slots and information such as words used to guide the acceptance and release of batteries, so that the user can smoothly use the battery swapping service.

[0058] The method of implementation as a software module or algorithm is computer-readable code or program instructions executable on processor 203 and can be stored on a computer-readable recording medium. Here, the computer-readable recording medium may include magnetic storage media (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), floppy disk, hard disk, etc.), optical reading media (e.g., CD-ROM or digital multifunction disc (DVD)), etc. The computer-readable recording medium can be distributed across computer systems connected via a network to store and execute the computer-readable code in a distributed manner. The medium can be read by a computer, stored in memory 130, and executed in processor 140.

[0059] Figure 3 This is a diagram illustrating the process of determining the state of the first device according to an example embodiment.

[0060] Reference Figure 3 The battery exchange device 100 according to the example embodiment may include a plurality of charging slots S1 to S8. Each of the plurality of charging slots S1 to S8 may be configured for storing and ejecting battery packs. Each of the plurality of charging slots S1 to S8 may correspond to a first state, which is, for example, a state in which a first battery pack B1 can be stored because there is no battery pack in the charging slot; and may correspond to a second state, which is, for example, a state in which a fully charged battery pack or a battery pack being charged, such as a second battery pack (not shown), is present in the charging slot. The first battery pack B1 and the second battery pack that can be used in the battery exchange device 100 according to the example embodiment may be stored in the charging slots of the battery exchange device 100 and may have been standardized and normalized to have the following specifications: when stored in the charging slots, they can be normally charged by the charging power supplied by the battery exchange device 100. In the following, will be Figures 4a to 4c The structure of the second battery pack and the multiple charging slots S1 to S8 included in the battery exchange device 100 is described in detail.

[0061] For ease of description, Figure 3 The battery exchange device 100 is shown to have a total of eight charging slots S1 to S8. For example, the battery exchange device 100 according to the example embodiment can be controlled to manage two charging slots that are adjacent to each other in the left-right direction among the total eight charging slots in a first state. The number and arrangement of the plurality of charging slots included in the battery exchange device 100 are not limited to... Figure 3 The example implementation shown can be less than eight or more than eight, and the arrangement of the charging slots to be managed on the battery exchange device 100 in the first state can be changed in various ways.

[0062] According to the example embodiment, the battery switching device 100 can receive information from the server 200 indicating that the first device 20 is within a predefined distance from the battery switching device 100. This information, indicating that the first device 20 is within the predefined distance, can be generated by the server 200 after it has determined the distance between the first device 20 and the battery switching device 100 based on the GPS information of both devices and the battery switching device 100, and has determined that the corresponding distance is within the predefined distance. The battery switching device 100 can also receive information from the server 200 indicating that the first device 20 has stopped within the predefined distance from the battery switching device 100. This information can be generated and then sent to the first device 20 after the server 200 has determined whether the first device 20 has been started and whether it has been turned off, based on the degree of change in the GPS information of the first device 20 over time. For example, the process by which the battery switching device 100 receives information from the server 200 that the first device 20 is within a predefined distance from the battery switching device 100 and receives information indicating that the first device 20 is in a state where it has stopped within a predefined distance from the battery switching device 100 can be performed based on LTE communication.

[0063] According to the example embodiment, the battery switching device 100 can receive location information and device information of the first device 20 from the server 200. For example, the battery switching device 100 can determine whether the first device 20 is within a predefined distance from the battery switching device 100 based on the location information of the first device 20. For example, the battery switching device 100 can determine whether the first device 20 is within a predefined distance from the battery switching device 100 by comparing the GPS information included in the location information of the first device 20 with the GPS information of the battery switching device 100. For example, the battery switching device 100 can determine whether the first device 20 has stopped within a predefined distance from the battery switching device 100 based on the device information of the first device 20. For example, if the change in the GPS information included in the location information of the first device 20 during a predetermined time period is determined to be less than a threshold, the battery switching device 100 can determine that the first device 20 is in a stopped state. The battery exchange device 100 can determine that the first device 20 is in a stopped state based on device information of the first device 20, including information indicating whether the first device 20 is started and whether the first device 20 is turned off.

[0064] According to the example embodiment, the battery switching device 100 can perform communication with the first device 20 based on BLE communication, and determine whether the first device 20 has stopped within a predefined distance without communicating with the server 200. For example, the battery switching device 100 can receive a first signal broadcast by the first device for communication connection. The first signal may be a signal sent to a device existing within the BLE communication range to enable the first device 20 to start BLE communication. The battery switching device 100 can determine that the first device 20 is within a predefined distance from the battery switching device 100 based on the received first signal. For example, the battery switching device 100 can receive the first signal from the first device 20 and determine that the first device 20 is within a predefined distance from the battery switching device 100 based on the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) of the first signal. The battery switching device 100 can receive a second signal from the first device 20 including device information of the first device 20, and determine that the first device 20 is in a state where it has stopped within a predefined distance from the battery switching device 100 based on the device information of the first device 20. In the case of BLE communication, since the communication between the battery switching device 100 and the first device 20 is performed over a relatively short distance compared to LTE communication, the battery switching device 100 can make the following determination based on the data present in the memory of the battery switching device 100 without communicating with the server 200: the first device 20, which is pre-registered on the platform associated with the battery switching service, is in a state where it has stopped within a predefined distance from the battery switching device 100.

[0065] In the case where the first device 20 is in a stopped state, and in the case where the first device 20 is determined to be stopped within a predetermined distance from the battery exchange device 100, in order to prepare for battery exchange, the battery exchange device 100 according to the example embodiment can compare predetermined conditions with information measured by at least one sensor, and will... Figures 4a to 4c Provide a detailed description related to it.

[0066] Figures 4a to 4c This is a diagram illustrating the process of controlling a charging slot for exchanging battery packs according to an example embodiment of a battery exchange device.

[0067] Reference Figure 4a Based on the example embodiment, the structure of the charging slot included in the battery exchange device 100 can be identified. Figure 4a For ease of description, only four charging slots of the battery exchange device 100 are shown, but this is for ease of description, and as mentioned above, the number of charging slots is not limited to a specific case.

[0068] In a region 410 of the first charging slot Sn according to the example embodiment, a plurality of sensors (e.g., first sensor 401 to fourth sensor 404) may be arranged, and the plurality of sensors may include at least one proximity-illuminance sensor. In this case, a region 410 of the first charging slot Sn may correspond to the inlet region of the charging slot. A region 410 of the first charging slot Sn may include: a first region 410-1; a second region 410-2 arranged to be connected to the first region 410-1; a third region 410-3 arranged to be connected to the second region 410-2 and facing the first region; and a fourth region 410-4 arranged to be connected to the third region 410-3 and facing the second region 410-2. The first region 410-1 and the second region 410-2, the second region 410-2 and the third region 410-3, and the third region 410-3 and the fourth region 410-4 can be connected perpendicularly to each other, can be connected adjacent to each other, and can be connected intersecting each other. A region 410 of the first charging slot Sn according to the exemplary embodiment may include an indicator light 420 indicating the internal state of the first charging slot Sn. The indicator light 420 may display colors, for example, a first color (e.g., white) indicating a first state where there is no battery pack in the first charging slot Sn, as in indicator light 411; a second color (e.g., green) indicating a 2-1 state where there is a fully charged battery in the second charging slot Sm, as in indicator light 412; and a third color (e.g., orange) indicating a 2-2 state where there is a charging battery pack in the charging slot, as in indicator light 413. Multiple sensors according to the exemplary embodiment may include a first sensor 401, a second sensor 402, a third sensor 403, and a fourth sensor 404 included in a region 410 of the first charging slot Sn. Information measured by the first sensor 401, the second sensor 402, the third sensor 403, and the fourth sensor 404 can be used to acquire information measured by at least one proximity-illuminance sensor included in each sensor. The information measured by at least one sensor may include brightness information and distance information to the first battery pack B1, which are measured by each of the at least one proximity-illuminance sensor. In cases where the battery pack is an object of a different material, each of the at least one proximity-illuminance sensor may have been manufactured not to receive brightness information and distance information to the first battery pack B1, because each proximity-illuminance sensor has been manufactured to respond only to a specific portion of the battery pack made of a specific material, taking into account the materials of the normalized and standardized battery pack.

[0069] Reference Figure 4b According to the example embodiment, the battery exchange device 100 can be used via, for example... Figure 3 After identifying whether the first device 20 has stopped within a predetermined distance from the battery exchange device 100, the process described herein compares predetermined reference brightness information and reference distance information with the measured brightness information and distance information, respectively, relative to each of at least one proximity-illuminance sensor. The predetermined reference brightness information and reference distance information may be, for example, shown in Table 1 below.

[0070] [Table 1]

[0071]

[0072] As shown in Table 1, the predetermined reference distance information can be set to be different from each other in the proximity-illuminance sensor included in each of the sensors (e.g., the first sensor 401, the second sensor 402, the third sensor 403, and the fourth sensor 404). Furthermore, the predetermined reference luminance information can decrease when the predetermined reference distance information decreases in the proximity-illuminance sensor included in each of the sensors (e.g., the first sensor 401, the second sensor 402, the third sensor 403, and the fourth sensor 404).

[0073] According to the example implementation, to allow the first battery pack B1 to be inserted naturally, tolerances may exist in the internal structure of the first charging slot Sn. Due to the standardized weight of the first battery pack B1, when inserted into the first charging slot Sn, the first battery pack B1 can be positioned close to the lower region (e.g., the third region 410-3) of a region 410 within the first charging slot Sn. For example, the proximity-illuminance sensor included in the third sensor 403 located in the lower region of the first charging slot Sn can acquire distance information closer to the lower region of the first battery pack B1, and the proximity-illuminance sensor included in the first sensor 401 in the upper region (e.g., the first region 410-1) of a region 410 within the first charging slot Sn can acquire distance information further away from the upper region of the first battery pack B1. Based on the characteristics caused by the physical shapes of the first charging slot Sn and the first battery pack B1, the battery exchange device 100 can determine whether a predetermined condition is met by comparing the distance information to the first battery pack B1 measured by each of the proximity-illuminance sensors (e.g., the first sensor 401, the second sensor 402, the third sensor 403, and the fourth sensor 404) with predetermined reference distance information, and comparing the brightness information with predetermined reference brightness information.

[0074] Based on whether the number of one or more proximity-illuminance sensors that meet predetermined conditions is equal to or greater than a predetermined number, the battery exchange device 100 can determine whether the first battery pack is located in a region 410 of the first charging slot Sn. The predetermined number can be changed according to the settings of the battery exchange device 100. For example, when the distance information from the proximity-illuminance sensor (e.g., the first sensor 401) to the first battery pack B1 is 0.9 mm and the brightness information is 0.6 lux, according to the reference distance information from each proximity-illuminance sensor to the first battery pack B1 in Table 1, it can be considered that the proximity-illuminance sensor (e.g., the first sensor 401) meets the reference brightness information of each proximity-illuminance sensor. As another example, when the distance information to the first battery pack B1 at the proximity-illuminance sensor (e.g., the first sensor 401) is 0.9 mm and the brightness information is 0.8 lux, according to the reference distance information from each proximity-illuminance sensor to the first battery pack B1 in Table 1, it can be considered that the proximity-illuminance sensor (e.g., the first sensor 401) does not meet the reference brightness information of each proximity-illuminance sensor. In this way, when the number of proximity-illuminance sensors whose comparison results among the proximity-illuminance sensors included in each of the sensors (e.g., the first sensor 401, the second sensor 402, the third sensor 403, and the fourth sensor 404) meet the predetermined conditions is equal to or greater than a predetermined number (e.g., three), the battery exchange device 100 can determine that the information measured by the sensors (e.g., the first sensor 401, the second sensor 402, the third sensor 403, and the fourth sensor 404) meets the predetermined conditions, and can determine that the first battery pack B1 is located in a region 410 of the first charging tank Sn. When the number of proximity-illuminance sensors that meet predetermined conditions is less than a predetermined number, the battery exchange device 100 can determine that the first battery pack is not located in a region 410 of the first charging tank Sn. Figure 4a Different, in order to simplify the attached diagram, in Figure 4b and Figure 4c In the illustration, the first charging slot Sn and the second charging slot Sm are shown as adjacent to each other, but the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to the case shown.

[0075] When the information measured by the sensors included in the sensor array (e.g., first sensor 401, second sensor 402, third sensor 403, and fourth sensor 404) meets predetermined conditions, the battery exchange device 100 according to the example embodiment can determine that the first battery pack B1 is located in a region 410 of the first charging slot Sn, and the door of the first charging slot Sn can be opened. In this case, the door of the first charging slot Sn can be formed by contacting any one of the regions 410-1 to 410-4 included in a region 410, and can be configured such that the first charging slot Sn is opened when the door is opened and closed when the door is closed, by using any one of the corresponding regions as an axis. For example, the door of the first charging slot Sn can be opened by using the first region 410-1 included in a region 410 as an axis when the first battery pack B1 is located in a region 410 of the first charging slot Sn, and can remain open continuously after the first battery pack B1 is received in the first charging slot Sn. The first battery pack B1, housed in the first charging slot Sn, can be secured to the inside of the first charging slot Sn by a fixing device (e.g., a hook).

[0076] When the information measured by the sensors included in the sensor array (e.g., first sensor 401, second sensor 402, third sensor 403, and fourth sensor 404) does not meet predetermined conditions, the battery exchange device 100 according to the example embodiment can determine that the first battery pack B1 is not located in a region 410 of the first charging slot Sn, and can close the door of the first charging slot Sn. In this case, closing the door of the first charging slot Sn can include all operations in the operation of closing the first charging slot Sn when it is open and in the operation of keeping the first charging slot Sn closed when it is closed.

[0077] When the door of the first charging slot Sn is opened and the first battery pack B1 is identified as having been properly accepted, the battery exchange device 100 according to the example embodiment can charge the first battery pack B1. The first battery pack B1 being identified as having been properly accepted can mean that various parameters, including the SoC and SoH of the first battery pack B1, are obtained through communication with the battery management system (BMS) of the first battery pack B1, and that the state of the first battery pack B1 identified through communication with the server 200 corresponds to a normal state. For example, based on the time series of voltage and / or current values ​​of the first battery pack B1 stored in the first charging slot Sn, the battery exchange device 100 can monitor (estimate) the SoC and / or SoH of the first battery pack B1 stored in the first charging slot Sn. To estimate the SoC and / or SoH, SoC-OCV diagrams, ampere counts, extended Kalman filters, etc., can be used, and the battery exchange device 100 can determine whether the first battery pack B1 is in a normal state through communication with the server 200. In this context, the normal state can refer to, for example, the operational performance of the first battery pack B1 identified based on parameters related to the SoC, SoH, voltage, current, and temperature of the first battery pack B1, or whether the operational performance of the first battery pack B1 when fully charged exists within a critical range sufficient to operate the first device 20.

[0078] Reference Figure 4c When the first battery pack B1 is identified as having been properly accepted after the first charging slot Sn is opened, the battery exchange device 100 according to the example embodiment can determine the second battery pack B2 based on the state information of each of the multiple battery packs accepted in a portion of the multiple charging slots, and can control the second charging slot Sm where the second battery pack B2 is located to release the second battery pack B2. For example, if multiple battery packs exist in charging slots S1 to Sm before the first battery pack B1 is accepted, the battery exchange device 100 can determine the battery pack with the highest SoC among the multiple battery packs as the second battery pack B2. When the second battery pack B2 is released by user U after the second charging slot Sm where the second battery pack B2 is accepted is opened, the battery exchange device 100 according to the example embodiment can close the door of the second charging slot Sm. Then, the battery exchange device 100 can provide battery exchange services to various users U by controlling the second charging slot Sm corresponding to the first state in a manner similar to controlling the first charging slot Sn in the entire battery exchange process described above.

[0079] exist Figures 4a to 4bAlthough it is shown that sensors including at least one proximity-illuminance sensor (e.g., first sensor 401, second sensor 402, third sensor 403, and fourth sensor 404) exist only in the first charging slot Sn to store the first battery pack B1, and it is shown that only four proximity-illuminance sensors exist in a region 410 of the first charging slot Sn, according to the example embodiment, when the first battery pack B1 becomes the second battery pack B2 after being accepted for charging in the first charging slot Sn, the corresponding first charging slot Sn can function in the same way as the second charging slot Sn in providing battery swapping services, and the number of multiple proximity-illuminance sensors and the number and position of the multiple proximity-illuminance sensors located in a region 410 of the charging slot can also vary, and therefore the example embodiment of this disclosure is not limited to the case described based on the drawings.

[0080] Figure 5 This is a diagram illustrating a control method for a battery exchange device according to an example embodiment.

[0081] Reference Figure 5 In operation S510, the battery swapping device 100 according to the example embodiment can identify whether the first device 20 is in a state where it has stopped within a predefined distance from the battery swapping device 100 based on the location information and device information of the first device 20. The battery swapping device 100 according to the example embodiment can receive information from the server 200 indicating that the first device 20 is within a predefined distance from the battery swapping device 100, and can also receive information from the server indicating that the first device 20 is in a state where it has stopped within a predefined distance, such as... Figure 3 As described in [the document]. Furthermore, the battery exchange device 100 can receive location information and device information of the first device 20 from the server 200 to compare the GPS information included in the location information of the first device 20 (including latitude, longitude, and altitude) with the GPS information of the battery exchange device 100 (including latitude, longitude, and altitude). It can also identify that the first device 20 is in a stopped state within a predefined distance from the battery exchange device 100 based on changes in the GPS information included in the location information of the first device 20 during a predetermined time period. Additionally, the battery exchange device 100 can determine that the first device 20 is in a stopped state based on device information of the first device 20 including information indicating whether the first device 20 is activated and whether the first device 20 is deactivated.

[0082] Furthermore, the battery exchange device 100 can perform communication between the battery exchange device 100 and the first device 20 based on the aforementioned first signal and second signal, and can determine whether the first device 20 is in a state that has stopped within a predefined distance from the battery exchange device 100.

[0083] In operation S520, the battery exchange device 100 according to the example embodiment can acquire information measured by at least one sensor arranged in a region of a first charging slot among a plurality of charging slots. In this case, at least one sensor may already be arranged in a region of the charging slot, such as... Figure 4a As described herein. An area of ​​the charging slot may represent the inlet of the charging slot, and the information measured by at least one proximity-illuminance sensor included in at least one sensor may include luminance information measured by each of the at least one proximity-illuminance sensor and distance information to the first battery pack. The information measured by at least one sensor satisfies the following conditions: Figure 4b Under the predetermined conditions described herein, the battery exchange device 100 can determine that the first battery pack B1 is located in a region of the first charging tank.

[0084] In operation S530, the battery exchange device 100 according to the example embodiment can determine whether to open the door of the first charging slot based on the comparison result. If, in operation S530, the first battery pack B1 is determined to be located in an area of ​​the first charging slot, the battery exchange device 100 can open the door of the first charging slot. If, in operation S530, the first battery pack B1 is determined not to be located in an area of ​​the first charging slot, the battery exchange device 100 can close the door of the first charging slot. Then, as described above... Figure 4c As described above, if the first battery pack B1 is identified as having been properly accepted after the door of the first charging slot is opened, the battery exchange device 100 can charge the first battery pack B1. Furthermore, if the first battery pack B1 is identified as having been properly accepted after the first charging slot is opened, the battery exchange device 100 can determine the second battery pack B2 based on the state information of each of the multiple battery packs accepted in a portion of the multiple charging slots, and can control the second charging slot where the second battery pack B2 is located to release the second battery pack B2. If the second battery pack B2 is released after the door of the second charging slot is opened, the battery exchange device 100 can perform a process of closing the door of the second charging slot.

[0085] This example implementation can be represented by functional block configurations and various processing steps. These functional blocks can be implemented by various numbers of hardware and / or software configurations performing specific functions. For example, the example implementation can employ integrated circuit configurations such as memory, processors, logic circuits, and lookup tables, which can perform various functions under the control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices. Similar to components that can be implemented by software programming or software elements, this example implementation can be implemented by programming or scripting languages ​​such as C, C++, Java, and assembly languages, including various algorithms implemented by combinations of data structures, procedures, routines, or other programming configurations. Functional aspects can be implemented by algorithms executed by one or more processors. In addition, this example implementation can employ related techniques for electronic environment setup, signal processing, and / or data processing. The terms “mechanism,” “element,” “device,” and “configuration” can be used broadly and are not limited to mechanical and physical configurations. The terms can include the meaning of a series of software routines associated with processors, etc.

[0086] The above-described exemplary embodiments are merely examples, and other exemplary embodiments may be implemented within the scope of the claims described below.

Claims

1. A battery swapping device, comprising: Multiple charging slots; transceiver; Multiple sensors are arranged in one area of ​​the plurality of charging slots; Memory that stores instructions; as well as The processor connected to the memory, The processor is configured as follows: Based on at least one of the location information of the first device and the device information of the first device, it is determined whether the first device is in a state where it has stopped within a predefined distance from the battery exchange device; When the first device is in a state where it has stopped within the predefined distance from the battery exchange device, information is acquired by at least one sensor arranged in a region of the first charging slot among the plurality of charging slots; as well as Whether to open the door of the first charging slot is determined based on information measured by the at least one sensor.

2. The battery exchange device according to claim 1, wherein, The processor is configured to: Receive information from the server via the transceiver that the first device is within the predefined distance from the battery exchange device; and The transceiver receives information from the server indicating that the first device has stopped within the predefined distance.

3. The battery exchange device according to claim 1, wherein, The processor is configured to: The transceiver receives a first signal broadcast by the first device for communication connection. Based on the received first signal, it is determined that the first device is within the predefined distance from the battery exchange device; Receives a second signal, including device information of the first device, from the first device via the transceiver; and Based on the device information of the first device, it is determined that the first device is in a state where it has stopped within the predefined distance from the battery exchange device.

4. The battery exchange device according to claim 1, wherein, The processor is configured to: The transceiver receives the location information of the first device and the device information of the first device from the server. Based on the location information of the first device, determine whether the first device is located within the predefined distance from the battery exchange device; as well as Based on the device information of the first device, it is determined whether the first device has stopped within the predefined distance from the battery exchange device.

5. The battery exchange device according to claim 1, wherein, The area of ​​the first charging slot includes: First area; A second region, which is arranged to be connected to the first region; A third region, the third region being arranged to connect to the second region and face the first region; and A fourth region, which is arranged to connect to the first region and the third region and to face the second region, Wherein, the at least one sensor includes: The first sensor is located in the first region; The second sensor is located in the second region; The third sensor located in the third region; and The fourth sensor is located in the fourth region.

6. The battery exchange device according to claim 1, wherein, The at least one sensor includes at least one proximity-illuminance sensor, and The information measured by the at least one sensor includes brightness information and distance information to the first battery pack, measured by each of the at least one proximity-illuminance sensor.

7. The battery exchange device according to claim 6, wherein, The processor is configured to: For each of the at least one proximity-illuminance sensor, predetermined reference luminance information and reference distance information are compared with measured luminance information and distance information, respectively; For each of the at least one proximity-illuminance sensor, it is determined whether the result of the comparison meets a predetermined condition; as well as The determination of whether the first battery pack is located in the area of ​​the first charging tank is based on whether the number of at least one proximity-illuminance sensor that meets the predetermined condition is equal to or greater than a predetermined number.

8. The battery exchange device according to claim 7, wherein, The processor is configured to open the door of the first charging compartment when it has been determined that the first battery pack is located in the area of ​​the first charging compartment.

9. The battery exchange device according to claim 7, wherein, The processor is configured to close the door of the first charging compartment if it has been determined that the first battery pack is not located in the area of ​​the first charging compartment.

10. The battery exchange device according to claim 1, wherein, The processor is configured to charge the first battery pack after it has been recognized that the first battery pack has been properly received after the door of the first charging slot has been opened.

11. The battery exchange device according to claim 1, wherein, The processor is configured to: If it has been determined that the first battery pack was properly accepted after the first charging slot was opened, the second battery pack is determined based on the status information of each of the multiple battery packs accepted in a portion of the multiple charging slots. as well as Control the second charging slot where the second battery pack is located to release the second battery pack.

12. The battery exchange device according to claim 11, wherein, The processor is configured to close the door of the second charging slot when the second battery pack is released.

13. The battery exchange device according to claim 1, wherein, The device information of the first device includes at least one of the following: Identification information of the first device; The speed information of the first device; and Startup status information of the first device, The identification information of the first device is pre-registered in the server's database.

14. A control method for a battery exchange device, comprising: Based on at least one of the location information of the first device and the device information of the first device, it is determined whether the first device is in a state where it has stopped within a predefined distance from the battery exchange device; When the first device is in a state where it has stopped within the predefined distance from the battery exchange device, information is acquired by at least one sensor arranged in an area of ​​the first charging slot among the plurality of charging slots; as well as Whether to open the door of the first charging slot is determined based on information measured by the at least one sensor.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having a program for executing a control method of the battery exchange device according to claim 14 on an electronic device.

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