Vehicle Charging Port-Battery Decoupling for Flexible VSS Mapping

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current tree-like structures used to define data objects in vehicle systems 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 charging port from the battery in the Vehicle Signal Specification (VSS) tree structure, allowing for an 'M' to 'N' relationship between charging ports and batteries, enabling support for multiple batteries and charging ports.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering 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

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesupport for multiple batteries and charging portsVSAvoiddata object relationship structure
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the rigid tree-like structure into a more flexible graph-like structure where charging ports and batteries are decoupled. Instead of nesting charging ports under batteries, the patent creates independent nodes for each charging port and battery, allowing multiple relationships to be established without hierarchical constraints. This segmentation enables the system to support multiple batteries and charging ports while maintaining structural clarity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces dynamic relationship management where the association between charging ports and batteries is not fixed but can be queried and modified. The system dynamically determines relationships based on actual connections rather than predetermined hierarchical structures, allowing the data model to adapt to different vehicle configurations with multiple batteries and charging ports.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Ease of operation

If charging ports are nested under batteries in the VSS tree structure, then the structure is simple, but it limits the ability to query and associate multiple charging ports with multiple batteries

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvequerying and association of data objectsVSAvoidflexibility in charging port and battery relationships
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the charging port from its nested position under the battery in the VSS tree structure. By decoupling the charging port node from the battery node hierarchy, the patent enables independent querying and association of charging ports with multiple batteries. This extraction allows the system to maintain simple individual node structures while achieving flexible many-to-many relationships through the graph-like connection model.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentEP4549234A1Method and system for decoupling charging signals from battery signals
Publication Date: 2025.05.07 BLACKBERRY LTD
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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.