Vehicle Charging Port-Battery Decoupling for Flexible Signal Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current tree-like structures in vehicle systems for defining data objects are rigid and unable to support multiple batteries or flexible relationships between charging ports and batteries, limiting their adaptability as technologies evolve.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution decouples the battery and charging port in the Vehicle Signal Specification (VSS) tree structure, allowing for an 'M' to 'N' relationship between charging ports and batteries, enabling multiple batteries to be associated with one or more charging ports and vice versa.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a rigid tree-like structure is used to define data objects, then the structure is simple and easy to implement, but it cannot support multiple batteries or flexible relationships between charging ports and batteries
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the rigid tree-like structure into a more flexible graph-like structure where data objects can have multiple parent-child relationships. Specifically, it separates the charging port data objects from battery data objects, allowing charging ports to be associated with multiple batteries and batteries to be associated with multiple charging ports through a many-to-many relationship model.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates universal data object types that can serve multiple functions. The charging port data object type is designed to work with any battery type, and battery data objects can be associated with different charging port types. This multi-functionality allows the same data structure to support various configurations of batteries and charging ports without requiring separate rigid hierarchies for each scenario.
2Ease of operation
If charging signals are coupled with battery signals in the data structure, then the data structure is compact, but it limits the ability to independently manage charging ports and batteries
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts charging port data objects from the battery data structure, creating independent data object types for charging ports and batteries. This separation allows charging ports to be defined and managed independently from specific battery instances, enabling flexible association where any charging port can be linked to any battery through the graph structure without being rigidly coupled in the data definition.
Data Source
AI summary
A method at a computing device, the method including sending a request to a vehicle communications subsystem to determine a number of charging ports on a vehicle; receiving a response providing the number of charging ports on the vehicle; sending a request to the vehicle communications subsystem to find batteries associated with each charging port; and receiving a response identifying batteries associated with each charging port.