Battery Swap Station Door Control Using AI Edge Monitoring

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current unattended battery swap stations determine door closure based solely on sensors near the door, ignoring specific station conditions, posing safety hazards by potentially trapping vehicles, persons, or animals.

Innovation Solution

Implement an AI edge computing unit connected to a controller and monitoring devices to assess station conditions, determining whether it is safe to close the door by checking for the absence of vehicles, persons, or animals, and controlling the door accordingly.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the door closure decision is made solely based on sensors near the door, then the control system is simple and fast, but safety is compromised by potentially locking vehicles, persons, or animals inside the station

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovesafetyVSAvoidcontrol system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The control system is segmented into multiple independent components: local door sensors, AI edge computing unit with monitoring device, and controller. Each segment performs a specific function (local presence detection, comprehensive scene analysis, and final decision-making), allowing the system to enhance safety through distributed intelligence while maintaining operational simplicity at each node.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The AI edge computing unit acts as an intermediary between the simple local sensors and the final door control decision. It receives data from multiple sources including monitoring devices that detect vehicles, persons, or animals within the station, processes this information comprehensively, and provides recommendations to the controller, thereby bridging the gap between simple local control and complex safety requirements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If comprehensive monitoring is implemented to detect vehicles, persons, and animals before door closure, then safety is improved, but system complexity and processing requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovesafetyVSAvoidautomation level
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSExtent of automation

Solution Approach 1:

The AI edge computing unit serves as an automated intermediary that handles the complex task of comprehensive scene analysis. It automatically processes data from monitoring devices, applies safety logic to detect vehicles, persons, or animals, and generates door control recommendations, thereby implementing high-level automation without requiring complex automated decision-making in the main controller.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements a feedback loop where the AI edge computing unit continuously monitors the station environment, compares detected objects against safety criteria, and provides real-time recommendations to the controller. This feedback mechanism enables automated safety enforcement while keeping the automation level manageable by delegating specific analytical tasks to the AI unit rather than requiring full system-wide automated decision-making.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP4428776B1Door management method for unattended battery swap station system
Publication Date: 2026.05.06 NIO TECH ANHUI CO LTD
  • EP4428776B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP4428776B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The disclosure relates to the technical field of battery swap stations, and specifically provides a door management method for an unattended battery swap station system. The disclosure is intended to solve the following problem: A door body of a current unattended battery swap station determines whether to close the door body only through a sensor near the door body, without considering specific conditions in the station, which poses a safety hazard. For this purpose, according to the door management method for an unattended battery swap station system in the disclosure, an AI edge computing unit determines whether the door body meets a closing condition. The AI edge computing unit can empower the entire unattended battery swap station system, enabling the battery swap station to be unattended. In addition, the AI edge computing unit can identify and determine whether the door body meets the closing condition, based on the situations in the battery swap station, improving the safety performance of the battery swap station. The following problem is solved: A door body of a current unattended battery swap station determines whether to close the door body only through a sensor near the door body, without considering specific conditions in the station, which poses a safety hazard.