En-route battery charging / swapping scheduling strategy for electric container truck serving inter-terminal container transportation
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- GB · GB
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- TONGJI UNIV
- Filing Date
- 2025-03-05
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-22
Smart Images

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Abstract
Description
The present invention belongs to the field of transportation, and more specifically relates to a scheduling method for in-transit charging and batten swapping of electric container trucks serving interterminal container transport. Background Art With the annual increase in port throughput, ports with multiple terminals inevitably generate a large volume of inter-terminal container transport demand. At present, container trucks are the most common means of transport between terminals in a port. Traditional container trucks are powered by diesel. As interterminal transport demand grows, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in port areas are becoming increasingly severe. With the promotion of clean energy, a large number of electric container trucks are gradually replacing traditional fuel-powered trucks and performing inter-terminal transport tasks in a more environmentally friendly manner. Electric container trucks may be charged slowly overnight in terminal parking areas, or may receive fast charging or batten -swapping services in transit. Since the batten capacity of electric container trucks is often insufficient to support a full day of work, in-transit charging Swapping is required, which reduces the efficiency of inter-terminal container transport. Therefore, rational scheduling of electric container trucks serving inter-terminal container transport is one of the key issues in reducing the negative impact of in-transit charging / swapping on inter-terminal transport efficiency. Most existing scheduling solutions fail to consider the impact of charging / swapping of electric container trucks on the efficiency of inter-terminal container transport, and often adopt relatively simple strategies, such as setting priority rules for charging / swapping or directing trucks to the nearest charging / swapping facility. This may result in excessive waiting times for charging / swapping sendees and consequently prevent container transfer tasks from being completed on time, thereby reducing the efficiency of inter-terminal container transport. Therefore, when considering the impact of in-transit charging / swapping of electric container trucks on the efficiency of inter-terminal container transport, how to design a rational scheduling method to improve inter-terminal transport efficiency has become an urgent problem to be solved. Patent publication No. CN115438948A discloses a charging scheduling method, apparatus, device and readable storage medium for unmanned container trucks. The scheduling method is as follows: when it is determined that a vehicle requires charging, if there is an idle charging pile, the vehicle is directed to the nearest idle charging pile and charged in a preset manner; otherwise, the waiting time of the buffer zone of each charging pile is calculated. The vehicle is then directed to queue at the charging pile buffer zone with the shortest waiting time, and, when the vehicle is called forward, it is charged according to the preset method. This scheduling method ensures that the vehicle does not need to wait too long before resuming normal operation. Patent publication No. CN115719156A discloses an automatic charging scheduling method for unmanned container trucks. The scheduling method is as follows: vehicles awaiting charging are divided into an immediate charging queue and an opportunity charging queue based on their battery levels; vehicles in each queue are then sorted in ascending order of battery level, and priority is given to vehicles with lower battery levels. This scheduling method controls the charging order based on predefined priority levels and is simple and efficient. Each of the two patent publications above proposes a charging scheduling method for electric container trucks. However, the method proposed in CN115438948A lacks information exchange between systems and selects the charging pile with the shortest waiting time from the perspective of a single container truck. The method proposed in CN115719156A is based on platform monitoring of each vehicle's battery level and determines the vehicle order according to simple rules. However, these rules may lead to excessively long waiting times for some vehicles and do not consider, from a system-wide perspective, the impact of the charging order on overall operational efficiency. Summary of the Invention An object of the present invention is to provide a scheduling method for in-transit charging and batten-swapping of electric container trucks serving inter-terminal container transport. The method enables information exchange between systems by information-based means and provides a scheduling method for electric container trucks that minimises the impact on overall system efficiency. A scheduling method for in-transit charging and battery swapping of electric container trucks serving inter-terminal container transport comprises the following steps: Step 1, obtaining real-time status parameters of the inter-terminal transport system through an online platform for use in Steps 2 to 4; wherein the status parameters comprise: the number of charging / swapping facilities, the location of each charging / swapping facility, the total number of container trucks, the real-time location of each taiget container truck, and the queueing status of trucks at each charging / swapping facility; Step 2, based on a charging / swapping demand assessment module and a truck trip energy consumption model, evaluating the charging / swapping demand of the target container truck to determine whether charging / swapping is required; if required, proceeding to Step 3; wherein the charging / swapping demand assessment module is defined as follows: P x E < (p(Lod,m) + min {(p(Ld>c,q)\c e nc}+Pmin x E ; The truck trip energy consumption model is defined as follows: <p(^a,b>w') = fie x ^a,b X (1 - + p. X La<h X ~ ; p- Battery percentage of the target container truck; E- Battery capacity of the target container truck; Lod-Travel distance of the current trip; o- Starting point of the trip, d-Destination of the trip; m- Load of the target truck during the current trip; (p(Lo d,ni)- Energy consumption of the current trip, obtained from the truck trip energy consumption model; Ld c- Travel distance from the current destination d to the charging / swapping facility c; q- Expected load of the target truck for the next trip; when m>0, q=Q\ when m=0, ^>0; c- Charging / swapping facility; Qc- The set of all charging / swapping facilities; (p(Ld c,q)- Energy consumption of the next trip, obtained from the truck trip energy consumption model; Pmin~ Minimum battery percentage set to avoid over-discharge; (p(Lab, w)- Energy consumption of truck trip; La:b- Distance from point a to point b of the trip; w- Load of the target truck during the trip; M- Maximum load capacity of the target truck; / ?e- Energy consumption per unit distance when empty;^- Energy consumption per unit distance when fully loaded; Step 3, based on the reachable charging / swapping facility search module, searching for the set of reachable charging / swapping facilities; wherein the reachable charging / swapping facility search module is defined as follows: p X E >(p (L0 c, TTl) + Pmin X E, (p(LOiC, m) - Travel energy consumption from the starting point o of the current trip to charging / swapping facility c, when the current trip has a load m; Step 4, designating a charging / swapping facility and determining an insertion position for the charging / swapping service, specifically comprising the following steps: Step 4A, for each reachable charging / swapping facility c obtained in Step 3, calculate the additional travel time hc incurred by the target container truck when driving to the charging / swapping facility, as well as the charging / swapping time (gc ) for the container truck; h =T +T .i-T "-c 1 o,c 1 c,d 1 o,d> T’o,c~^,o,c^^'Cid—LCid / v,TOid—LOid / v, gcxa=PmaxxE — (p x E - (p(Lo c,myy To,c-Travel time from the starting point o of the current trip to the charging / swapping facility c; Tc d-Travel time from the charging / swapping facility c to the destination d of the current trip; Tod-Travel time of the current trip; v-Speed of the target container truck; a-Charging / swapping rate of the target container truck; Pmax-Preset maximum battery percentage of the container truck; (p[L0 C,my-Travel energy consumption from the starting point of the current trip to the charging / swapping facility c; Step 4B, for each reachable charging / swapping facility c obtained in Step 3, calculate the total additional queueing time waitingc t for container trucks resulting from inserting one charging / swapping service into the service sequence at that facility; specifically including the following steps: Step 4B1, for each reachable charging / swapping facility c and each possible insertion position I of the charging / swapping service, calculate the start time To of the charging / swapping operation for the target container truck after the insertion; To= MAX(Ta,Tby Ta=The time at which the target container truck arrives at the charging / swapping facility c; Tb=The time at which the current charging / swapping service at facility c ends; Step 4B2, iteratively calculate the start time Tck of each subsequent charging / swapping service at the charging / swapping facility after inserting the target container truck's service at position I, where k e (I + 1, Nc + 1) ; Tc,k = M4X(tC;fc_i,T0 + ^c) k = I + 1 Tc,k = MAX(tck i + gck ke (1 + 2, Nc + 1) tc k_i=Charging / swapping start time of the container truck at service position k — 1 before the service insertion; Charging / swapping start time of the container truck at service position k — 1 after the service insertion; gcjcl= Charging / swapping time required for the container truck at service position k — 1 after the service insertion; Step 4B3, calculate the increase in total queueing time waitingct under the combination of reachable charging / swapping facility c and the possible insertion position I of the charging / swapping service; waiting^ = (To - Tj + - tCik^y, Step 4C, identify the optimal charging / swapping facility c* and the optimal service insertion position I*, specifically including the following steps: wc,i = hc + waiting ci; (c*,r) = arg min wcl; ceac,ie(i, Nc+i) wherein wc i - the total increase in travel time for all container trucks. Preferably, the task trip comprises: a trip of the target container truck from truck station 1 to the origin terminal, a trip from the origin terminal to the destination terminal, and a trip from the destination terminal to truck station 2. Preferably, a number of charging / swapping facilities are installed at a set distance from the origin terminal, at a set distance from the destination terminal, and along the roadside of the task trip. Preferably, the charging / swapping facilities comprise charging facilities and battery-swapping facilities. Preferably, the container truck is provided with a GPS module and a timing module. Compared with the prior art, the advantages of the present invention are as follows: 1. For target container trucks requiring charging / swapping, real-time status of the inter terminal transport system is obtained via an online platform, and the optimal charging / swapping facility location and service insertion position are identified by applying a rule that minimises the total increase in travel time for all container trucks caused by inserting the target truck's charging / swapping activity. Therefore, queueing time for container truck charging / swapping is effectively reduced, the negative impact of charging / swapping activities on inter-terminal transport efficiency is mitigated, and a new solution is provided for the operation of port collection-and-distribution systems and the management of inter-terminal container transport. 2. The present invention addresses shortcomings of the prior art by enabling information exchange, allowing systematic decision-making for individual truck charging / swapping, and formulating insertion rules for charging / swapping service sequences from a system-wide perspective. 3. The present invention simultaneously considers both charging and battery swapping for container trucks, thereby aligning with the development trends of port collection-and-distribution systems. 4. The present invention is innovative and practical, providing a new solution for the operation of port collection-and-distribution systems and the management of inter-terminal container transport. Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the management process of the inter-terminal transport system provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the scheduling method for in-transit charging and battery swapping of electric container trucks serving inter-terminal container transport, as provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the charging and battery swapping activities of electric container trucks provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of Step 4, namely the charging / swapping facility designation and service insertion module, in the scheduling method for electric container trucks in transit between terminals, as provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the principle in Step 4B2. Detailed Description of the Embodiments The following provides a more detailed description of the scheduling method for in-transit charging and battery swapping of electric container trucks serving inter-terminal container transport, in conjunction with schematic diagrams showing preferred embodiments of the present invention. A person skilled in the art may make modifications to the described invention while still achieving the advantageous effects of the invention. Therefore, the following description should be interpreted as a broad disclosure to a person skilled in the art, and not as a limitation of the invention. As shown in Figure 1, the management process of the inter-terminal transport system provided in this embodiment applies to the route planning stage of electric container trucks. The system obtains real-time status of the inter-terminal transport network via an online platform and makes real-time decisions to coordinate the operation of container trucks and charging sw apping facilities, thereby reducing the increase in transport time caused by charging / swapping activities and mitigating their negative impact on efficiency. Charging / swapping facilities are installed near the origin terminal and the destination terminal, and along the roadside of port collection-and-distribution roads. A charging facility refers to a charging station. A battery-swapping facility refers to a station that provides battery-swapping services for electric container trucks. "Batten’ swapping" refers to replacing the battery installed on the container truck. As shown in Figure 2, the scheduling method for in-transit charging and battery swapping of electric container trucks serving inter-terminal container transport, provided in this embodiment, comprises the following steps: Step 1, obtaining system status parameters. This step is based on the system status acquisition module. The system status acquisition module obtains real-time status parameters of the inter-terminal transport system via an online platform, such as: The number of charging / swapping facilities, uploaded to the online platform by the network module on each online charging / swapping facility; used to determine the number of online charging / swapping facilities and ensure that at least one charging / swapping facility is online. The location of each charging / swapping facility, uploaded to the online platform by the GPS module on each online charging / swapping facility; used to construct the set of online charging / swapping facilities. This information is used in Step 2, Step 3, and Step 4 to calculate distances. The reference is a satellite-positioned coordinate (absolute position). The total number of container trucks, including the number of target container trucks in transit and the number of trucks queued in front of each charging / swapping facility, obtained by camera units and uploaded to the online platform; used in Step 4 to determine the optimal charging / swapping facility and service insertion position for the target container truck via an objective function. The real-time location of each target container truck, automatically monitored by the GPS module on the target truck and uploaded to the online platform; used in Step 4 to determine the optimal charging / swapping facility and service insertion position for the target container truck via an objective function. The queueing status of container trucks at each charging / swapping facility, that is, the number of container trucks queued at each charging / swapping facility Nc, and the required charging / swapping time for each queued container truck. Nc is obtained by camera units and uploaded to the online platform, while the required charging / swapping time is uploaded by each container truck to the online platform; used in Step 4 to determine the optimal charging / swapping facility and service insertion position for the target container truck via an objective function. The travel distance LOid of the current trip: each ITT task is divided into three segments, as shown in Figure 3. The start and end (i.e., destination) positions of each segment are recorded on the online platform, and the platform can calculate the travel distance of each segment. The travel distance from the starting point of the current trip to the nearest charging / swapping facility Lo c : the starting point of the trip and the location of the charging / swapping facility are both recorded on the online platform, which can calculate this distance. The travel distance from the destination of the current trip to the nearest charging / swapping facility Ld c : the destination of the trip and the location of the charging / swapping facility are both recorded on the online platform, which can calculate this distance. Step 2, assessing the charging / swapping demand of the target container truck to determine whether charging / swapping is needed; if needed, proceeding to Step 3. This step is based on the charging / swapping demand evaluation module, which determines whether the battery level is below the threshold by considering the current trip status. If yes, charging / swapping is required; otherwise, the truck continues with its original trip. The charging / swapping demand evaluation module determines whether the battery level of the target container truck, referred to as the target truck, falls below the threshold, based on information such as the current trip being executed and the location of the truck. The charging / swapping demand evaluation module is as follows: pxE <(p(Lod,m) + min {(p(Ldc,q)\c E!lc}+Pmin xE (1) p- Battery percentage of the target container truck, automatically monitored by the truck and transmitted to the online platform; E - Battery capacity of the target container truck, a fixed value related to battery specifications, pre-stored on the online platform; Lo d-Travel distance of the current trip; o- Starting point of the trip,d- Destination (i.e., end point) of the trip; m- Current load of the target container truck during the trip, automatically monitored by the truck and transmitted to the online platform; (p^Lo d,ni)- Energy consumption of the current trip, obtained via the truck trip energy consumption model; Ld c- Travel distance from the destination d of the current trip to the charging / swapping facility; Q-Expected load for the next trip of the target container truck: when m>0,then ^=0;when m=0,then q>0; c-Charging / swapping facility; f2c-Set of all charging / swapping facilities; Energy consumption of the next trip, obtained via the truck trip energy consumption model; Pmin-Minimum battery percentage set to avoid over-discharge, a predetermined value. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 3, the task trip of the container truck comprises: the trip from truck station 1 to the origin terminal, the trip from the origin terminal to the destination terminal, and the trip from the destination terminal to truck station 2. As shown in Figure 3, which illustrates the electric container truck charging / swapping activity provided in this embodiment of the present application, the charging / swapping demand evaluation module operates in real time, enabling the target truck to proceed to charging / swapping facilities 1, 2, or 3 for sendee during any segment of the task trip. The item on the left indicates the current battery energy of the target container truck. The first item on the right estimates the energy consumption of the current trip without charging / swapping. The second item on the right estimates the minimum battery energy required to travel from the current trip destination d to the nearest charging / swapping facility. The third item on the right ensures that the battery percentage always remains above a threshold, for example 30%. If the above expression is satisfied, charging / swapping is required; otherwise, the truck continues executing the original trip of the current task. That is, the evaluation principle of the charging / swapping demand evaluation module is as follows: Based on the current location of the target container truck, the online platform determines the trip of the current task being executed by the truck and calculates the minimum energy required to reach the destination, which corresponds to the first item on the right. At the same time, the platform calculates the energy needed for the truck to travel from the destination to the nearest charging / swapping facility’, which corresponds to the second item on the right. Finally, a certain redundancy value is added. The truck's energy' consumption for travel depends on the distance L and load w, and can be calculated by the following formula: That is, in the charging / swapping demand evaluation module, the truck trip energy consumption model is defined as: ^P^a.b’ ~ Pe ^a,b X (1 — —) + X Lab X — (2) where, Energy consumption calculated based on the target container truck's travel distance and load, i.e., container truck travel energy consumption; Lab-Distance from point a to point b along the trip, determined by the online platform based on the truck's real-time location, iv- Load of the target container truck during the trip; M- Maximum load capacity of the target container truck; Pe- Energy consumption per unit distance when empty(w =O);pf- Energy consumption per unit distance when fully loaded ( w =M). Additionally, in Step 2, a unified threshold may be set based on operational experience, and the need for charging / swapping may be determined using a lookup table method. When using the lookup table method, the decision may be made according to the table below: Charging / Swapping Requirement Real-time Battery Level Range (%) Charging / Swapping Required 0~30 No Charging / Swapping Required 30-100 If the real-time battery energy p x E falls within the range requiring charging / swapping, then charging / swapping is necessary; otherwise, the current trip continues as originally planned. Step 3: searching for the set of reachable charging / swapping facilities. This step is based on the reachable charging / swapping facility search module, which determines for each charging / swapping facility whether it is reachable by the target container track. All reachable facilities form the reachable charging / swapping facility set ,CL for the target truck. The reachable charging / swapping facility search module is defined as follows: P X E >(p(Eoc,m) + EminxE (3) where ^(Lo c,m) is the energy consumption for traveling from the starting point o of the current trip to the charging / swapping facility c, given a current load m; this is obtained from the container truck energy consumption model in the charging / swapping demand evaluation module. That is, if Step 2 determines that the truck cannot complete the current trip and then proceeds to charge, it must charge during the current trip. Therefore, Step 3 performs the search. The working principle of the reachable charging / swapping facility search module is as follows: based on the current location of the target container truck, the online platform determines the current trip route being executed by the truck, calculates the energy consumption required to reach each charging / swapping facility <p(LOiC,m), and compares it with the real-time battery level of the target container truck. As shown in Figure 3, if the current trip is from truck station 1 to the origin terminal, the charging / swapping facility7 refers to charging / swapping facility 1. If the above condition holds, the charging / swapping facility c is considered a reachable charging / swapping facility for the target container truck; otherwise, it is not. In addition, in Step 3, a unified distance threshold may also be set based on operational experience and the threshold in Step 1, namely using a lookup table method to search for the set of reachable charging / swapping facilities. When using the lookup table method, the determination may be made according to the following table: Reachability of Charging / Swapping Facility Distance Between Target Truck and Charging / Swapping Facility (km) Reachable 0~5 Not Reachable >5 The distance between the target container truck and the charging / swapping facility is obtained based on the location of the charging / swapping facility7 and the real-time location of the target container truck from Step 1. If the distance between the target container truck and the charging / swapping facility falls within the reachable range, then c is a reachable charging / swapping facility for the target truck. Step 4: charging / swapping facility assignment and service insertion position determination. This step is based on the charging / swapping facility assignment and service insertion module. It quantifies the impact on system efficiency caused by sending the target container truck to different charging / swapping facilities, determines which charging / swapping facility the truck should go to, and considers the service order of multiple trucks at the selected charging / swapping facility so as to insert the charging / swapping service for the target truck. That is, the optimal charging / swapping facility location and service insertion position are determined by the rule of minimising the total increase in travel time for all trucks caused by inserting the charging / swapping activity of the target truck. That is, the total increase in travel time for all container trucks is calculated for each reachable charging / swapping facility c and each possible service insertion position I. The charging / swapping facility c* corresponding to the minimum increase is the optimal charging / swapping facility for the target container truck. The service insertion position I* corresponding to the minimum increase is the optimal service insertion position for the target container truck. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 4, this module comprises the following three steps: Step 4A, Step 4B, and Step 4C. Step 4A: For each reachable charging / swapping facility c obtained in Step 3, calculate the additional travel time hc caused by traveling to this charging / swapping facility and the charging / swapping time gc) for the target container truck. Then upload the charging / swapping time (gc) to the online platform. The additional travel time hc is calculated by the charging / swapping facility assignment and service insertion module: hc=T0ic+TQd-T0,d (4) TOiC-Travd time from the starting point o of the current trip to the charging / swapping facility c;Toc=Loc. / v; Tc d -Travel time from charging / swapping facility c to the destination d of the current trip;TCid=LCid / v; To^-Travel time for the current trip; TOid=LOid / v, v-Speed of the target container truck; Lo c-Travel distance from the starting point o of the current trip to charging / swapping facility c; Lcd-Travel distance from charging / swapping facility c to the destination d of the current trip; To d-Travel distance of the current trip. The container truck charging / swapping time gc is calculated by the charging / swapping facility designation and service insertion module: gc x a=Pmax xE — (p x E — <p(Lo>c,m)) (5) where, a- Charging / swapping rate of the target container truck (amount of energy charged or swapped per unit time); Pmax- Preset maximum battery percentage for the container truck; (p^L0 C,m)- Travel energy consumption from the starting point of the current trip to the charging / swapping facility c, when carrying a load. Step 4B: For each reachable charging / swapping facility c obtained in Step 3, calculate the total queueing time added for all container trucks when inserting a charging / swapping service for the target truck. This is computed through the following three sub-steps: Step 4B1: For each reachable charging / swapping facility c and each possible service insertion position I, calculate the charging / swapping start time To for the target container truck after insertion. To is defined as the maximum (i.e. latest) of the two time values: Ta andTb, thus: MAX(Ta,Tb). where, service insertion position I : If the charging / swapping facility c already has Nc queued trucks (i.e. Nc is the number of trucks in the queue), then possible insertion positions are: I e (1, Nc + 1) . Ta= Time when the target truck arrives at the charging / swapping facility c; Tb = Time when the current charging / swapping service at facility c ends, obtained from the online platform; where Ta can be calculated by the online platform using the following formula: Ta = Tnow F Tnowclv (6) where,Tnow-The current time, obtained by the target truck's timing module and uploaded to the online platform; Lnowc -The travel distance from the current location now to the charging / swapping facility c, where the current location now is obtained by the GPS module on the target container truck and uploaded to the online platform. Step 4B2: Iterate to calculate the start time of each subsequent charging / swapping service Tck at the charging / swapping facility after the target container truck's service is inserted at position I, where k e (I + 1, Nc + 1) , as shown in Figure 5. In this case, the start time of each subsequent charging / swapping service is calculated by the Charging / Swapping Facility Assignment and Sendee Insertion Module as follows: ( Tc,k = + gc) k = I + 1 'J’c.k = MAX(tck_r,Tck_r + ke (1 + 2, Nc + 1) tc k_i=Charging / swapping start time for the container truck at service position k — 1 before insertion; Tc,k^i= Charging / swapping start time for the container truck at service position k — 1 after insertion; 9c,k-i= Required charging / swapping duration for the container truck at service position k — 1 after insertion; Step 4B3: Calculate the total queueing time increase waitingci under reachable charging / swapping facility c and possible insertion position I for the charging / swapping service. In this case, the total queueing time increase is calculated by the charging / swapping facility assignment and service insertion module as follows: waiting^ = (To - + (8) Step 4C: To minimise the total increase in travel time for all container trucks caused by inserting the charging / swapping activity of the target truck, determine the optimal charging / swapping facility location and the corresponding service insertion position. That is, in Steps 4A and 4B, traverse and calculate the total increase in travel time for all container trucks under each charging / swapping facility c and each service insertion position I. In this case, for each pair (c, I), the total increase in travel time for all container trucks wc i is calculated by the charging / swapping facility assignment and service insertion module as follows: wc> = hc + waitingcl (9) The minimum increase value corresponds to the charging / swapping facility c”, which is the optimal charging / swapping facility for the target container truck. The service insertion position corresponding to the minimum increase value Pis the optimal insertion position for the charging / swapping service of the target container truck. That is: (c*,r} = arg min wcl (10) cEQc,le{l, Nc+1) In addition, in this embodiment, the online platform, the system status acquisition module, the charging / swapping demand evaluation module, the reachable charging / swapping facility search module, and the charging / swapping facility assignment and service insertion module are sequentially connected by signal connection. The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and do not impose any limitation on the invention. Any person skilled in the art may make any equivalent substitution, modification or change to the disclosed technical solution and technical content of the present invention without departing from the scope of the technical solution of the invention, and such substitution, modification or change shall still fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.
Claims
1. A scheduling method for in-transit charging and battery swapping of electric container trucks serving inter-terminal container transport, characterised in that the method comprises the following steps:Step 1, obtaining real-time system status parameters of an inter-terminal transport system via an online platform for use in Steps 2 to 4;wherein the status parameters comprise: the number of charging / swapping facilities, the location of each charging / swapping facility, the total number of container trucks, the real-time location of each target container truck, and the queueing status of container trucks at each charging / swapping facility;Step 2, based on a charging / swapping demand evaluation module and a truck trip energy consumption model, evaluating the charging / swapping demand of the target container truck so as to determine whether charging / swapping is required; when charging / swapping is required, proceeding to Step 3;wherein the charging / swapping demand evaluation module is defined as:P x E < (p(Lod,m) + min {(p(Ld>c,q)\c G nc}+Pmin x E ;The truck trip energy consumption model is:(p^a,b. w) = pex Lab x (1 - + Pf x Laib x ™ ;where:p-Battery percentage of the target truck;E-Battery capacity of the target truck;L0>d-Travel distance of the current assigned trip;o-Starting point of the trip, d-Destination of the trip;m-Current load of the target truck;(p(LOid,m)-Energy consumption of the current trip, obtained from the truck energy consumption model;Ld c-Travel distance from the destination d of the current trip to the charging / swapping facility;q-Expected load of the next trip for the target truck, where q=Q if m>0, and q>0 if m=0;c-Charging / swapping facility;I2c-Set of all charging / swapping facilities;<P(Ld,c ,9)- Energy consumption of the next trip, obtained from the truck energy consumption model;Pmjn-Minimum battery percentage threshold to avoid deep discharge;(p(La>b> w)-Energy consumption model of the container track:Lab-Distance from point a to point b on the trip;w-Load of the target truck during the trip;M-Maximum load capacity of the target truck,^-Energy consumption per unit distance when unloaded; ^--Energy consumption per unit distance when fully loaded;Step 3, based on a reachable charging / swapping facility search module, searching for a set of reachable charging / swapping facilities;wherein the reachable facility search module is defined by the following condition:P X £ ><p(Lo c, TTl) + P-min X E ,Where:(p(LOiC, m) - Energy required for the current trip when the truck is loaded with m, i.e., energy consumed from the starting point ( o ) to the charging / swapping facility c;Step 4, determining an assigned charging / swapping facility and a service insertion position for the charging / swapping service, comprising the following sub-steps:Step 4A, for each reachable charging / swapping facility c obtained in Step 3, calculating the additional travel time hc and the charging / swapping time gc added to the current task of the target truck;hc=Toc+Tcd -To dPo,c~^‘o,c^,Tc,d~^‘c,d^,Po,d~^lo,d^,9c x a=Pmax xE — (p x E — (p{L0C, m));Toc-Travel time from the current trip's starting point o to charging / swapping facility c;Tc;d-Travel time from the charging / swapping facility c to the current trip's destination d,Tod-Original travel time of the current trip;v-Speed of the target container truck;a-Charging / swapping rate of the target truck;Pmax-Maximum battery percentage for the truck;<p(L0C,m)-Travel energy consumption from the starting point of the current trip to charging / swapping facility c;Step 4B, for each reachable charging / swapping facility c obtained in Step 3, calculating the total additional queueing time waiting{:j of all trucks caused by inserting a charging / swapping service into the service sequence of facility c, including the following substeps:Step 4B1, for each reachable charging / swapping facility c and each possible insertion position I of the service, calculating the start time To for the charging / swapping service of the target truck after insertion;Tq= MAX(Ta,Th)-where:Ta- The time when the target truck arrives at facility c;Tb= The time when the current charging / swapping service at facility c ends;Step 4B2, iterating to compute the start time Tck of each subsequent charging / swapping sendee after inserting the sendee for the target truck at position I, for k e (I + 1, Nc + 1) ;( Tc,k — + gc) k = I + 1= MAX(tCik^1,TCik^1 + g^r) ke ( / + 2, Nc + 1)tc,k-i=Charging / swapping start time of the truck at position k -- 1 before insertion;Tc^-^Charging / swapping start time of the truck at position k — 1 after insertion;gC(fe...i=Charging / swapping duration required for the truck at position k — 1;Step 4B3, computing the total queueing time increase waiting^ caused by inserting the target truck sendee at facility c and position I :waiting^ = (To - Tj +Step 4C, identifying the optimal charging / swapping facility c* and service insertion position I*, by the following steps:wc,i = hc + waiting;(c*,Z*) — arg min wc{; cenc,ie(i, nc+i)where: wcl- Total increase in travel time for all container trucks.
2. The scheduling method according to Claim 1, wherein the task trip comprises: a trip from truck station 1 to the origin terminal; a trip from the origin terminal to the destination terminal; and a trip from the destination terminal to truck station 2.
3. The scheduling method according to Claim 1, wherein charging / swapping facilities are provided along the roadside of the task trip, at a set distance from the origin terminal, and at a set distance from the destination terminal.
4. The scheduling method according to Claim 1, wherein the charging / swapping facilities comprise charging facilities and battery-swapping facilities.
5. The scheduling method according to Claim 1, wherein the container truck is provided with a GPS module and a timing module.