Transport Vehicle Charging Control to Prevent Fleet Charging Bottlenecks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional transport vehicle systems experience a decrease in transport efficiency due to multiple vehicles needing to be charged simultaneously, leading to a surge in charging demands that overwhelm the system.
Innovation Solution
A transport vehicle system with a controller that performs first and second determination processes to identify vehicles below specific charge thresholds, instructing charging based on system-wide margins and individual vehicle states to stagger charging times and maintain efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple transport vehicles are sent to charging facilities simultaneously when their battery voltage drops, then each vehicle can be charged individually, but the transport efficiency of the entire system decreases due to the need to charge multiple vehicles in a short period
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by monitoring battery voltages and identifying vehicles that will soon require charging. By predicting future charging needs and scheduling charges in advance, the system prevents multiple vehicles from requiring charging simultaneously, thereby maintaining transport efficiency while ensuring battery availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts charging schedules based on real-time battery voltage monitoring and predicted future states. By continuously updating the charging plan according to current system conditions and projected battery levels, the system optimizes the timing of charging operations to avoid system-wide charging bottlenecks.
2Productivity
If the system monitors and manages charging for all transport vehicles, then charging coordination can be improved, but the control complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system segments the fleet management task by identifying specific target vehicles that require charging based on their battery voltage characteristics. Rather than managing all vehicles uniformly, the system divides the fleet into groups based on charging needs, simplifying the control logic while maintaining effective coordination.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms by continuously monitoring battery voltages and comparing them against threshold values. This feedback loop enables the controller to automatically adjust charging schedules based on real-time data, improving coordination efficiency without requiring complex manual intervention or overly sophisticated control algorithms.
Data Source
AI summary
[Problem] To suppress a decrease in the transport efficiency of the entire system.[Means to Solve Problem] A controller 20 includes a charging instructor 21 that instructs to start charging each transport vehicle 10. The charging instructor 21 performs a first determination process to determine whether a charge rate of an entirety of the plurality of transport vehicles 10 is below a first threshold value, and instructs to start charging at least any one of the transport vehicles 10 if the charge rate of the entirety of the plurality of transport vehicles 10 is determined as being below the first threshold value. The charging instructor 21 performs a second determination process to determine whether the charge rate of each transport vehicle 10 is below a second threshold value that is lower than the first threshold value, and instructs to start charging each transport vehicle 10 if the charge rate of the transport vehicle 10 is determined as being below the second threshold value.