Battery exchange device and battery charging method therefor

Abstract

The present invention relates to a battery exchange device and a battery charging method therefor, which quickly charge a battery by using both a charger and an energy storage system (ESS). The battery charging device according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a plurality of voltage measurement units for measuring each of the current charging voltages of a plurality of batteries inserted into a battery exchange device; a plurality of chargers for supplying each charger current to the plurality of batteries; an ESS for supplying an ESS current to the plurality of batteries; and a control unit for calculating, on the basis of the current charging voltages of each of the batteries measured by the voltage measurement unit, charger currents and an ESS current to be supplied from the plurality of chargers and the ESS to each of the batteries, and controlling the chargers and the ESS such that the calculated charger currents and ESS current are supplied to the batteries.

Description

Battery exchange device and battery charging method thereof

[0001] The present invention relates to a battery exchange device and a battery charging method thereof, and more particularly, to a battery exchange device and a battery charging method thereof that quickly charges a battery by using a charger and an energy storage system (ESS) together.

[0002] Electric vehicles, such as electric cars, electric motorcycles, and electric wheelchairs, operate on power generated by batteries that power the motors. For this reason, recharging the batteries when they discharge is crucial.

[0003] There are two ways to charge the battery of an electric vehicle: by connecting a charger to the electric vehicle and charging the battery, and by exchanging the discharged battery with a charged one.

[0004] The charging method is convenient because the battery is charged with a charger while it is installed, but it has the disadvantage of requiring a charger and taking a long time to fully charge.

[0005] The exchange method allows for quicker exchanges because the battery is fully charged beforehand, but it has the inconvenience of having to go to the battery exchange location before the battery is completely discharged.

[0006] Recently, battery replacement has become more popular due to increased battery life and the increasing availability of battery replacement locations. Furthermore, the proliferation of small home battery replacement devices is further fueling the growth of battery replacement.

[0007] One example of a battery replacement method is to remove a discharged battery from a battery case and install a fully charged battery, as in Patent Publication No. 10-2022-0110446.

[0008] As demand for battery replacement increases, battery swapping devices that charge discharged batteries and enable replacement are being installed in increasing numbers.

[0009] However, although many battery swapping devices are being installed, they are still not enough to meet the demand for battery charging for electric vehicles.

[0010] For example, during peak electric vehicle usage times, electric vehicles may be driven without a full charge due to the time required to fully charge. This can disrupt vehicle operation.

[0011] However, installing additional battery exchange devices to solve these problems is not a reasonable solution due to the investment costs.

[0012] Alternatively, there are ways to actively improve the battery's charging speed during times when battery replacement becomes more frequent.

[0013] However, if the charging speed is increased at a specific time, it may exceed the instantaneous power usage contracted with the power company, which may cause the circuit breaker to trip and prevent the battery from being charged, and there is a problem that progressive rates may be added due to the excess of the contracted power.

[0014] The present invention provides a battery exchange device and a battery charging method thereof that can increase the charging speed of a battery by charging a battery using a voltage supplied from a charger and a voltage supplied from an energy storage system (ESS) that stores a certain amount of voltage.

[0015] A battery exchange device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a plurality of voltage measuring units each measuring a current charging voltage of a plurality of batteries inserted into the battery exchange device; a plurality of chargers each supplying a charger current to the plurality of batteries; an energy storage device (ESS) supplying an ESS current to the plurality of batteries; and a control unit calculating a charger current and an ESS current to be supplied to each of the batteries from the plurality of chargers and the ESS based on the current charging voltage of each of the batteries measured by the voltage measuring units, and controlling the charger and the ESS so that the calculated charger current and ESS current are supplied to the batteries.

[0016] In the present invention, the control unit controls the charger to supply a larger charger current as the current charging voltage of the plurality of batteries in the charger is lower.

[0017] In the present invention, the control unit controls the ESS to supply the same ESS current to the plurality of batteries in the ESS.

[0018] In the present invention, the control unit controls the charger and the ESS so that the charger current output from the plurality of chargers and the ESS current output from the ESS are simultaneously supplied to the plurality of batteries.

[0019] In the present invention, the control unit controls the output current of the charger and ESS so that the power supplied by the total current supplied to the plurality of batteries does not exceed a preset instantaneous power usage.

[0020] A battery charging method of a battery exchange device according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises the steps of: measuring a current charging voltage of each battery when a plurality of batteries are inserted into the battery exchange device; calculating an amount of current to be supplied to each battery to charge the battery based on the charging voltage; supplying a charger current and an ESS current to the batteries from a charger and an ESS respectively provided in the battery exchange device based on the calculated amount of current; and charging the batteries by the charger current and the ESS current.

[0021] In the present invention, the charger supplies a larger charger current as the current charging voltage of the plurality of batteries is lower.

[0022] In the present invention, the same ESS current is supplied to the plurality of batteries in the ESS.

[0023] In the present invention, the charger current and ESS current are supplied to the batteries so that the power supplied by the total current supplied to the plurality of batteries does not exceed a preset instantaneous power usage.

[0024] According to the present invention, since the voltage supplied from the charger provided inside the battery exchange device and the voltage stored in the energy storage system (ESS) are simultaneously supplied to the battery to charge it, the charging speed of the battery can be increased.

[0025] Figure 1 is an exemplary diagram of an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating battery exchange between an electric vehicle and a battery charging device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 3 is a block diagram of a battery charging device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] FIG. 4 is a state diagram according to an example of charging multiple batteries using multiple chargers and ESS according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing a battery charging method in a battery exchange device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to exemplary drawings. When designating components in each drawing, it should be noted that, where possible, identical components will be given the same reference numerals, even if they appear in different drawings. Furthermore, when describing embodiments of the present invention, detailed descriptions of related known structures or functions will be omitted if they are deemed to hinder understanding of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0031] Hereinafter, a battery charging station and a battery charging method thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0032] Figure 1 is an exemplary diagram of an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] Electric vehicles can include electric cars, electric motorcycles, and electric wheelchairs.

[0034] An electric two-wheeled vehicle is shown as an example in Fig. 1, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0035] An electric vehicle (10) may be equipped with a battery (20), and the battery (20) may supply power for driving the electric vehicle (10).

[0036] The battery (20) can be mounted in the battery case (40) and can be separated from the battery case (40). For example, when the battery (20) is discharged, the discharged battery (20) can be separated from the battery case (40) and the fully charged battery (20) can be mounted in the battery case (40).

[0037] The battery case (40) can be fixedly installed at a set location of the electric vehicle (10). The battery case (40) has a space formed inside, and the battery (20) can be inserted and installed into the space inside.

[0038] The internal space of the battery case (40) can be formed to correspond to the external appearance of the battery (20). For example, the battery (20) has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the internal space of the battery case (40) is also formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape so that the battery (20) can be inserted into the internal space.

[0039] A fixing means (not shown) may be installed inside the battery case (40) to prevent the battery (20) from moving after the battery (20) is installed.

[0040] Accordingly, since the battery (20) is fixed by a fixing means, the battery (20) can be prevented from moving in the internal space of the battery case (40) even when the electric vehicle (10) is driven.

[0041] A control module (30) may be installed on one side of the inside of the battery case (40). This control module (30) may be mounted on a control board (not shown).

[0042] The control module (30) can control the driving and operations of the electric vehicle (10). For example, the control module (30) can drive a motor (not shown) to drive the electric vehicle (10).

[0043] An output terminal portion (21) may be formed in the battery (20). When the battery (20) is mounted in the battery case (40), power may be supplied from the battery (20) to the control module (30) through the output terminal portion (21).

[0044] The control module (30) can control the overall operation of the electric vehicle (10) using the power supplied in this manner.

[0045] FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating battery exchange between an electric vehicle and a battery charging device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0046] Referring to FIG. 2, a plurality of electric vehicles (10) are equipped with batteries (20) and run. When the batteries (20) are discharged below a certain capacity, the vehicles can visit a nearby battery charging device (100) to exchange the discharged batteries (20) for fully charged batteries (20).

[0047] To this end, the electric vehicle (10) can check the state of charge (SOC: State of Charge) of the battery (20) installed inside and output a notification when the charge capacity of the battery (20) falls below a set reference value. For example, a notification can be output when it falls below 30%.

[0048] When the driver confirms this notification, he or she can go to the battery charger (100) and exchange the discharged battery (20) with a fully charged battery (20). At this time, the battery charger (100) connects the exchanged discharged battery (20) to the internal charger to charge it.

[0049] In this way, multiple electric vehicles (10) can conveniently replace batteries (20) by sharing a buffer battery (20) without having to separately install a spare battery.

[0050] However, if there is no fully charged battery (20) in the battery charger (100), the driver must insert the discharged battery (20) mounted on his electric vehicle (10) into the battery charger (100) to charge it.

[0051] When the battery (20) is inserted into the battery charging device (100), the battery (20) is connected to a charger (not shown) provided inside, and the battery (20) can be charged through the charger.

[0052] At this time, it takes a certain amount of time to charge the discharged battery (20) in the battery charger (100).

[0053] Accordingly, during times when electric vehicles (10) are frequently driven, the discharge of the battery (20) becomes faster, and when many electric vehicles (10) are simultaneously brought to the battery charger (100), the battery (20) cannot be fully charged by the battery charger (100) and is used only to a certain extent (e.g., 60-80%).

[0054] Accordingly, the present invention proposes a method for improving the charging speed of a battery (20) in a battery exchange device (100).

[0055] Figure 3 is a block diagram of a battery charging device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0056] Referring to FIG. 3, a battery exchange device (100) according to an embodiment of the present invention may be configured to include a plurality of chargers (110), an energy storage device (ESS) (120), a voltage measuring unit (130), and a control unit (140).

[0057] The charger (110) is electrically connected to the battery (20) inserted into the battery exchange device (100) and supplies current (hereinafter referred to as charger current) to charge the battery (20).

[0058] The charger (110) receives commercial power and converts it into a voltage for charging the battery (20), and when the set conditions are satisfied, it can supply charger current to the battery (20).

[0059] The charger (110) is configured in multiple units and can be connected one-to-one to each of the multiple batteries (20).

[0060] The charger current output from each charger (110) may be the same or different.

[0061] The charger current is determined by the current state of charge (SOC) of the battery (20) and can be determined by the control unit (140) described later.

[0062] ESS (120) can be a device that stores and supplies voltage.

[0063] ESS (120) is also electrically connected to a battery (20) inserted into a battery charging device (100) like a charger (110) and supplies current (hereinafter referred to as ESS current) to charge the battery (20), thereby charging the battery (20).

[0064] The ESS (120) may include, for example, a supercapacitor.

[0065] The ESS current output from the ESS (110) is determined by the current state of charge (SOC) of the battery (20) and can be determined by the control unit (140) described later.

[0066] The voltage measurement unit (130) can measure the current state of charge (SOC), i.e., the current charging voltage, of the battery (20) inserted into the battery exchange device (100).

[0067] The voltage measuring unit (130) is composed of multiple units and can be connected one-to-one to each of the multiple batteries (20).

[0068] The charging voltage of each battery (20) measured by each voltage measuring unit (130) can be transmitted to the control unit (140) in real time.

[0069] The control unit (140) can control the overall operation of the battery exchange device (100).

[0070] The control unit (140) can calculate the output amount of the charger current to be output from each charger (110) and the ESS current to be output from the ESS (150) based on the charging voltage (SOC) of each battery (20) transmitted from a plurality of voltage measurement units (130).

[0071] The control unit (140) can control each charger (110) and ESS (120) to output the charger current and ESS current to each battery (20) based on the respective output amounts of the charger current and ESS current calculated as described above.

[0072] Each battery (20) can be charged by this charger current and ESS current.

[0073] FIG. 4 is a state diagram according to an example of charging multiple batteries using multiple chargers and ESS according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0074] As an example, FIG. 4 illustrates a state diagram in which five batteries (20) are inserted into a battery exchange device (100) and five chargers (110) are electrically connected to each of the five batteries (20) to supply charger current to the corresponding batteries (20). Of course, it will be appreciated that the number of chargers (110) and batteries (20) may be greater or less.

[0075] At this time, as described above, the ESS (120) is also electrically connected to five batteries (20) to supply ESS current to each battery (20).

[0076] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the control unit (140) can control each charger (110) and ESS (120) to output different charger currents and ESS currents to each battery (20) using the charging voltage of each battery (20) measured by each voltage measuring unit (130).

[0077] For example, when the current charging voltages of five batteries (20) are different, a larger charger current is supplied as the charging voltage of the battery (20) is lower, and when the current charging voltages of the five batteries (20) are the same, the same charger current is supplied.

[0078] At this time, ESS (120) supplies ESS current of the same size to five batteries (20).

[0079] In this way, by supplying charger current from the charger (110) and ESS current from the ESS (120) to each battery (20), the time required to fully charge each battery (20) can be reduced.

[0080] In addition, by supplying different sizes of charger current depending on the current state of charge of each battery (20), it is possible to quickly charge even a relatively more discharged battery (20).

[0081] Here, it should be noted that when the control unit (140) calculates the size of the charger current output from each charger (110) to each battery (20) and the ESS current output from the ESS (120) to each battery (20), the instantaneous power usage contracted with the power company can be taken into consideration.

[0082] That is, when supplying the charger current and ESS current to each battery (20), the size of the charger current and ESS current can be adjusted so that the power supplied to the entire battery (20) does not exceed the preset instantaneous power usage.

[0083] This is because, if the power supplied to the entire battery (20) to be charged from the battery exchange device (100) exceeds the instantaneous power, the circuit breaker may trip, making it impossible to charge the battery, and a progressive rate may be added due to the excess of the contracted power.

[0084] Referring to Fig. 4, as an example, the reduction of the charging time is explained assuming that the charging voltage of all five batteries (21 to 25) is 40% of the remaining capacity and the capacity of the ESS (120) is 3 kWh.

[0085] Since the remaining capacity of the batteries (21 to 25) inserted into the battery exchange device (100) is 40%, the charger current is supplied to each battery (21 to 25) so that each charger (111 to 115) charges it at 0.9 kW.

[0086] When 3kWh ESS (120) is discharged at 1C (charge rate), 3kW of power is discharged.

[0087] At this time, when 3kW of power is distributed to 5 batteries (21-25), 0.6kW of power is supplied to each battery (21-25).

[0088] Accordingly, each battery (21 to 25) is charged at 1.5 kW by combining the 0.9 kW power of the charger (111 to 115) and the 0.6 kW power delivered from the ESS (120).

[0089] Here, looking at the charging speed, 0.5C supplied from the charger (111-115) is added to 0.333C supplied from the ESS (120), resulting in a charging rate of 0.833C. This is 0.6kW / 1.8kWh=0.333C when the capacity of each battery (21-25) is 1.8kWh.

[0090] Therefore, when the remaining capacity of the battery (20) is 40% when inserted into the battery exchange device (100), it takes 0.72 hours to charge it to 100%. That is, 1.08 kWh / 1.5 kW = 0.72.

[0091] As can be seen here, by additionally installing a 3kWh ESS (120) and charging each battery (20) simultaneously through the ESS (120) in addition to each charger (110), the charging time of the battery (20) can be shortened by 40% from the existing 1.2 hours to 0.72 hours without exceeding the set instantaneous power usage.

[0092] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing a battery charging method in a battery exchange device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0093] Referring to FIG. 5, in a battery charging method according to an embodiment of the present invention, when a battery (20) is inserted into a battery exchange device (100), a voltage measuring unit (130) measures the current charge voltage (SOC) of the battery (20) (S101).

[0094] The control unit (140) calculates the charging current to be supplied to the battery (20) to charge the battery (20) based on the measured current charging voltage of the battery (20) (S102).

[0095] Next, the control unit (140) calculates the ESS current to be output from the ESS (120) using the calculated charging current (S103) and calculates the charger current to be output from the charger (110) (S104).

[0096] The control unit (140) can control the ESS (120) and the charger (110) to output the calculated ESS current and charger current (S105).

[0097] Although not shown in the drawing, there may be one or more batteries (20).

[0098] At this time, the control unit (140) can control the output current of the ESS (120) and the charger (110) so that the power supplied by the total current supplied to the entire battery (20) does not exceed the preset instantaneous power usage.

[0099] As described above, the battery exchange device and battery charging method according to the present invention can shorten the battery charging time by checking the remaining battery capacity and charging the battery using the charger and ESS together according to the remaining capacity. At this time, when charging the battery, the output current of the charger and ESS is controlled so that the power used to charge the battery does not exceed a preset instantaneous power usage.

[0100] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the attached drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but can be manufactured in various different forms. Those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains will understand that the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive.

Claims

1. Multiple voltage measuring units each measuring the current charging voltage of multiple batteries inserted into the battery exchange device; A plurality of chargers each supplying charger current to the plurality of batteries; An energy storage system (ESS) that supplies ESS current with the above plurality of batteries; and A battery exchange device including a control unit that calculates a charger current and an ESS current to be supplied to each of the batteries from the plurality of chargers and ESSs based on the current charging voltage of each of the batteries measured by the voltage measuring unit, and controls the chargers and ESSs so that the calculated charger current and ESS current are supplied to the batteries.

2. In claim 1, A battery exchange device in which the control unit controls the charger to supply a larger charger current as the current charging voltage of the plurality of batteries in the charger is lower.

3. In claim 1, The above control unit is a battery exchange device that controls the ESS to supply the same ESS current to each of the plurality of batteries in the ESS.

4. In claim 1, The above control unit is a battery exchange device that controls the charger and the ESS so that the charger current output from the plurality of chargers and the ESS current output from the ESS are simultaneously supplied to the plurality of batteries.

5. In claim 1, The above control unit is a battery exchange device that controls the output current of the charger and ESS so that the power supplied by the total current supplied to the plurality of batteries does not exceed a preset instantaneous power.

6. A step of measuring the current charging voltage of each battery when multiple batteries are inserted into the battery exchange device; A step of calculating the amount of current to be supplied to each of the batteries to charge the batteries based on the charging voltage; A step of supplying charger current and ESS current to the battery from the charger and ESS respectively equipped in the battery exchange device based on the calculated current amount; and Including a step of charging the battery by the charger current and the ESS current, A battery charging method in which the charger supplies a larger charger current as the current charging voltage of the plurality of batteries is lower, and the ESS supplies the same ESS current to each of the plurality of batteries.

7. In claim 6, A battery charging method for supplying the charger current and ESS current to the batteries so that the power supplied by the total current supplied to the plurality of batteries does not exceed a preset instantaneous power usage.

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