Patent Application
20230311701
This application claims the benefit of China Patent Application No. 202210318630.8 filed Mar. 29, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The disclosure relates to the technical field of safety protection, and in particular, to a safety protection method and system for a battery charging and swap station, a medium, an apparatus, and the battery charging and swap station.
With the rapid development of electric vehicles, consumers have an increasing tendency for choosing electric vehicles as a means of transportation. With the continuous increase in electric vehicle population, how to effectively provide rapid and effective energy replenishment for vehicles with insufficient energy has become a very concerned problem for vehicle owners and major manufacturers. Current mainstream electric energy replenishment solutions include a battery charging solution and a battery swap solution. Compared to the battery charging solution, the battery swap solution may swap a traction battery in a very short time and does not significantly affect the service life of the traction battery, and is therefore a main development trend of electric energy replenishment.
The battery swap solution needs to be carried out in a battery charging and swap station. At present, most battery charging and swap stations have realized automatic swap. Due to the need for cooperation of a plurality of battery swap apparatuses and mechanisms in a battery swap process, safety monitoring and protective measures in the battery swap process are essential. At present, a more common detection manner is to monitor human/object intrusion in the automatic battery swap process with a vision camera and a matched recognition algorithm. However, the current recognition algorithm can only perform detection in the battery swap process, resulting in small coverage of detection.
Accordingly, a novel technical solution is required in the art, to solve the problems described above.
To solve at least one of the problems described above in the prior art, that is, to solve the problem of small coverage of an existing safety protection method, the disclosure provides a safety protection method for a battery charging and swap station. The battery charging and swap station includes a battery swap platform, a battery swap apparatus, position detection devices, and safety scanning devices, where the battery swap platform is configured to bear a vehicle with a battery to be swapped, the position detection devices are configured to send electrical signals when blocked, and the safety scanning device is configured to monitor one of a plurality of preset monitoring regions each time.
The safety protection method includes:
In a preferred technical solution of the above safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station, the preset monitoring regions include a first monitoring region, a second monitoring region, and a third monitoring region, where the first monitoring region covers the battery swap platform, the second monitoring region covers two sides of the battery swap platform that extend along a length direction of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped and one side of the battery swap platform that extends along a width direction of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped and away from an entrance to the battery swap platform, and the third monitoring region covers the two sides of the battery swap platform that extend along the length direction of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped and two sides of the battery swap platform that extend along the width direction of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped.
In a preferred technical solution of the above safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station, there are a plurality of position detection devices, a part of the position detection devices are arranged outside the entrance to the battery swap platform, the other part of the position detection devices are arranged corresponding to the battery swap platform, and the step of “determining an actual monitoring region based on an obtained result” further includes:
In a preferred technical solution of the above safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station, there are a plurality of position detection devices, a part of the position detection devices are arranged outside the entrance to the battery swap platform, the other part of the position detection devices are arranged corresponding to the battery swap platform, and the safety protection method further includes:
In a preferred technical solution of the above safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station, a closable door is arranged on the battery swap platform, the battery swap process signal includes a closable-door closing signal, and the step of “determining the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result of the electrical signals and an obtained result of the battery swap process signal” further includes:
In a preferred technical solution of the above safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station, the battery swap apparatus includes a vehicle centering mechanism arranged on the battery swap platform, the battery swap process signal includes a centering completion signal, and the step of “determining the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result of the electrical signals and an obtained result of the battery swap process signal” further includes:
In a preferred technical solution of the above safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station, a closable door is arranged on the battery swap platform, the battery swap process signal includes a closable-door closing signal and a battery swap completion signal, and the step of “determining the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result of the electrical signals and an obtained result of the battery swap process signal” further includes:
In a preferred technical solution of the above safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station, the plurality of position detection devices include two position detection devices arranged outside the entrance to the battery swap platform, the battery swap process signal includes a battery swap completion signal, and the step of “determining the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result of the electrical signals and an obtained result of the battery swap process signal” further includes:
In a preferred technical solution of the above safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station, a closable door is arranged on the battery swap platform, and the safety protection method further includes:
In a preferred technical solution of the above safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station, the battery swap apparatus includes a vehicle hoisting apparatus, vehicle centering apparatuses, and a hoisting apparatus for a battery swap robot, and the step of “determining apparatuses required to be stopped based on an ascertainment result” further includes:
In a preferred technical solution of the above safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station, the safety protection method further includes:
The disclosure further provides a safety protection system for a battery charging and swap station. The battery charging and swap station includes a battery swap platform, a battery swap apparatus, position detection devices, and safety scanning devices, where the battery swap platform is configured to bear a vehicle with a battery to be swapped, the position detection devices are configured to send electrical signals when blocked, and the safety scanning device is configured to monitor one of a plurality of preset monitoring regions each time.
The safety protection system includes:
In a preferred technical solution of the above safety protection system for the battery charging and swap station, the preset monitoring regions include a first monitoring region, a second monitoring region, and a third monitoring region, where the first monitoring region covers the battery swap platform, the second monitoring region covers two sides of the battery swap platform that extend along a length direction of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped and one side of the battery swap platform that extends along a width direction of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped and away from an entrance to the battery swap platform, and the third monitoring region covers the two sides of the battery swap platform that extend along the length direction of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped and two sides of the battery swap platform that extend along the width direction of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped.
In a preferred technical solution of the above safety protection system for the battery charging and swap station, there are a plurality of position detection devices, a part of the position detection devices are arranged outside the entrance to the battery swap platform, the other part of the position detection devices are arranged corresponding to the battery swap platform, and the determination module is further configured to determine the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result in the following manner:
In a preferred technical solution of the above safety protection system for the battery charging and swap station, there are a plurality of position detection devices, a part of the position detection devices are arranged outside the entrance to the battery swap platform, and the other part of the position detection devices are arranged corresponding to the battery swap platform;
In a preferred technical solution of the above safety protection system for the battery charging and swap station, a closable door is arranged on the battery swap platform, the battery swap process signal includes a closable-door closing signal, and the determination module is further configured to determine the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result of the electrical signals and the obtained result of the battery swap process signal in the following manner
In a preferred technical solution of the above safety protection system for the battery charging and swap station, the battery swap apparatus includes a vehicle centering mechanism arranged on the battery swap platform, the battery swap process signal includes a centering completion signal, and the determination module is further configured to determine the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result of the electrical signals and the obtained result of the battery swap process signal in the following manner:
In a preferred technical solution of the above safety protection system for the battery charging and swap station, a closable door is arranged on the battery swap platform, the battery swap process signal includes a closable-door closing signal and a battery swap completion signal, and the determination module is further configured to determine the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result of the electrical signals and the obtained result of the battery swap process signal in the following manner
In a preferred technical solution of the above safety protection system for the battery charging and swap station, the plurality of position detection devices include two position detection devices arranged outside the entrance to the battery swap platform, the battery swap process signal includes a battery swap completion signal, and the determination module is further configured to determine the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result of the electrical signals and the obtained result of the battery swap process signal in the following manner
In a preferred technical solution of the above safety protection system for the battery charging and swap station, a closable door is arranged on the battery swap platform;
In a preferred technical solution of the above safety protection system for the battery charging and swap station, the battery swap apparatus includes a vehicle hoisting apparatus, vehicle centering apparatuses, and a hoisting apparatus for a battery swap robot, and the determination module is further configured to determine the apparatuses required to be stopped based on the ascertainment result in the following manner
In a preferred technical solution of the above safety protection system for the battery charging and swap station, the obtaining module is further configured to obtain a current operating mode of the battery charging and swap station; and
The disclosure further provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a plurality of program codes, where the program codes are adapted to be loaded and run by a processor to perform the safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station according to any one of the above preferred technical solutions.
The disclosure further provides a control apparatus, including:
The disclosure further provides a battery charging and swap station, including: a battery swap platform, a battery swap apparatus, position detection devices, and safety scanning devices, where the battery swap platform is configured to bear a vehicle with a battery to be swapped, the position detection devices are configured to send electrical signals when blocked, the safety scanning device is configured to monitor one of a plurality of preset monitoring regions each time, and the battery charging and swap station further includes the above control apparatus.
In a preferred technical solution of the above battery charging and swap station, the safety scanning device is a safety laser scanner; and/or
In a preferred technical solution of the above battery charging and swap station, the position detection device is a photoelectric sensor; and/or
In a technical solution of the disclosure, a battery charging and swap station includes a battery swap platform, a battery swap apparatus, position detection devices, and safety scanning devices, where the battery swap platform is configured to bear a vehicle with a battery to be swapped, the position detection devices are configured to send electrical signals when blocked, the safety scanning device is configured to monitor one of a plurality of preset monitoring regions each time, and a safety protection method includes: obtaining the electrical signals sent by the position detection devices; determining an actual monitoring region based on an obtained result; and controlling the safety scanning devices to perform safety monitoring based on the actual monitoring region, where the actual monitoring region is one of the plurality of preset monitoring regions.
By determining the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result of the electrical signals, and then controlling the safety scanning devices to perform safety monitoring based on the actual monitoring region, the safety protection method in the disclosure can expand the coverage of the monitoring regions. Specifically, through an arrangement enabling the position detection devices to send the electrical signals when blocked, the disclosure may determine a monitoring region under different conditions according to whether the electrical signals are obtained and the number of the obtained electrical signals, such that when the vehicle with a battery to be swapped is in different positions or the battery charging and swap station is in different modes, the safety monitoring may be carried out in a targeted manner, thereby expanding the coverage of safety monitoring. Efficient and reliable monitoring can be achieved by monitoring with the safety scanning devices.
Further, through disposing of a plurality of position detection devices and arrangement of same outside an entrance to the battery swap platform and corresponding to the battery swap platform, respectively, a position of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped may be determined based on electrical signals sent by the position detection devices in different positions, thereby improving the division accuracy of the actual monitoring region.
Further, through joint determination of the actual monitoring region in combination with a battery swap process signal and the electrical signals, efficient switching of the monitoring regions during battery swap may be implemented, thereby improving the monitoring effect.
Further, by determining apparatuses required to be stopped based on an open/closed status of a closable door after obtaining an intrusion signal, the safety protection method in the disclosure can implement safety protection measures in a targeted manner based on different battery swap phases.
Further, when an operating mode of the battery charging and swap station is a maintenance mode, the safety scanning device is controlled to stop working or stop sending out an intrusion signal, thereby avoiding troubles caused by alarm information during maintenance and inspection of the battery charging and swap station.
Solution 1. A safety protection method for a battery charging and swap station, where the battery charging and swap station includes a battery swap platform, a battery swap apparatus, position detection devices, and safety scanning devices, the battery swap platform is configured to bear a vehicle with a battery to be swapped, the position detection devices are configured to send electrical signals when blocked, and the safety scanning device is configured to monitor one of a plurality of preset monitoring regions each time; and
Solution 2. The safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station according to solution 1, where the preset monitoring regions include a first monitoring region, a second monitoring region, and a third monitoring region, the first monitoring region covers the battery swap platform, the second monitoring region covers two sides of the battery swap platform that extend along a length direction of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped and one side of the battery swap platform that extends along a width direction of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped and away from an entrance to the battery swap platform, and the third monitoring region covers the two sides of the battery swap platform that extend along the length direction of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped and two sides of the battery swap platform that extend along the width direction of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped.
Solution 3. The safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station according to solution 2, where there are a plurality of position detection devices, a part of the position detection devices are arranged outside the entrance to the battery swap platform, the other part of the position detection devices are arranged corresponding to the battery swap platform, and the step of “determining an actual monitoring region based on an obtained result” further includes:
Solution 4. The safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station according to solution 2, where there are a plurality of position detection devices, a part of the position detection devices are arranged outside the entrance to the battery swap platform, the other part of the position detection devices are arranged corresponding to the battery swap platform, and the safety protection method further includes:
Solution 5. The safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station according to solution 4, where a closable door is arranged on the battery swap platform, the battery swap process signal includes a closable-door closing signal, and the step of “determining the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result of the electrical signals and an obtained result of the battery swap process signal” further includes:
Solution 6. The safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station according to solution 4, where the battery swap apparatus includes a vehicle centering mechanism arranged on the battery swap platform, the battery swap process signal includes a centering completion signal, and the step of “determining the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result of the electrical signals and an obtained result of the battery swap process signal” further includes:
Solution 7. The safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station according to solution 4, where a closable door is arranged on the battery swap platform, the battery swap process signal includes a closable-door closing signal and a battery swap completion signal, and the step of “determining the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result of the electrical signals and an obtained result of the battery swap process signal” further includes:
Solution 8. The safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station according to solution 4, where the plurality of position detection devices include two position detection devices arranged outside the entrance to the battery swap platform, the battery swap process signal includes a battery swap completion signal, and the step of “determining the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result of the electrical signals and an obtained result of the battery swap process signal” further includes:
Solution 9. The safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station according to solution 1, where a closable door is arranged on the battery swap platform, and the safety protection method further includes:
Solution 10. The safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station according to solution 9, where the battery swap apparatus includes a vehicle hoisting apparatus, vehicle centering apparatuses, and a hoisting apparatus for a battery swap robot, and the step of “determining apparatuses required to be stopped based on an ascertainment result” further includes:
Solution 11. The safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station according to solution 1, where the safety protection method further includes:
Solution 12. A safety protection system for a battery charging and swap station, where the battery charging and swap station includes a battery swap platform, a battery swap apparatus, position detection devices, and safety scanning devices, the battery swap platform is configured to bear a vehicle with a battery to be swapped, the position detection devices are configured to send electrical signals when blocked, and the safety scanning device is configured to monitor one of a plurality of preset monitoring regions each time; and
Solution 13. The safety protection system for the battery charging and swap station according to solution 12, where the preset monitoring regions include a first monitoring region, a second monitoring region, and a third monitoring region, the first monitoring region covers the battery swap platform, the second monitoring region covers two sides of the battery swap platform that extend along a length direction of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped and one side of the battery swap platform that extends along a width direction of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped and away from an entrance to the battery swap platform, and the third monitoring region covers the two sides of the battery swap platform that extend along the length direction of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped and two sides of the battery swap platform that extend along the width direction of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped.
Solution 14. The safety protection system for the battery charging and swap station according to solution 13, where there are a plurality of position detection devices, a part of the position detection devices are arranged outside the entrance to the battery swap platform, the other part of the position detection devices are arranged corresponding to the battery swap platform, and the determination module is further configured to determine the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result in the following manner:
Solution 15. The safety protection system for the battery charging and swap station according to solution 13, where there are a plurality of position detection devices, a part of the position detection devices are arranged outside the entrance to the battery swap platform, and the other part of the position detection devices are arranged corresponding to the battery swap platform;
Solution 16. The safety protection system for the battery charging and swap station according to solution 15, where a closable door is arranged on the battery swap platform, the battery swap process signal includes a closable-door closing signal, and the determination module is further configured to determine the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result of the electrical signals and the obtained result of the battery swap process signal in the following manner
Solution 17. The safety protection system for the battery charging and swap station according to solution 15, where the battery swap apparatus includes a vehicle centering mechanism arranged on the battery swap platform, the battery swap process signal includes a centering completion signal, and the determination module is further configured to determine the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result of the electrical signals and the obtained result of the battery swap process signal in the following manner:
Solution 18. The safety protection system for the battery charging and swap station according to solution 15, where a closable door is arranged on the battery swap platform, the battery swap process signal includes a closable-door closing signal and a battery swap completion signal, and the determination module is further configured to determine the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result of the electrical signals and the obtained result of the battery swap process signal in the following manner:
Solution 19. The safety protection system for the battery charging and swap station according to solution 15, where the plurality of position detection devices include two position detection devices arranged outside the entrance to the battery swap platform, the battery swap process signal includes a battery swap completion signal, and the determination module is further configured to determine the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result of the electrical signals and the obtained result of the battery swap process signal in the following manner
Solution 20. The safety protection system for the battery charging and swap station according to solution 12, where a closable door is arranged on the battery swap platform;
Solution 21. The safety protection system for the battery charging and swap station according to solution 20, where the battery swap apparatus includes a vehicle hoisting apparatus, vehicle centering apparatuses, and a hoisting apparatus for a battery swap robot, and the determination module is further configured to determine the apparatuses required to be stopped based on the ascertainment result in the following manner
Solution 22. The safety protection system for the battery charging and swap station according to solution 12, where
Solution 23. A computer-readable storage medium, storing a plurality of program codes, where the program codes are adapted to be loaded and run by a processor to perform a safety protection method for a battery charging and swap station according to any one of solutions 1 to 11.
Solution 24. A control apparatus, including:
Solution 25. A battery charging and swap station, including: a battery swap platform, a battery swap apparatus, position detection devices, and safety scanning devices, where the battery swap platform is configured to bear a vehicle with a battery to be swapped, the position detection devices are configured to send electrical signals when blocked, the safety scanning device is configured to monitor one of a plurality of preset monitoring regions each time, and the battery charging and swap station further includes a control apparatus according to solution 24.
Solution 26. The battery charging and swap station according to solution 25, where the safety scanning device is a safety laser scanner; and/or
Solution 27. The battery charging and swap station according to solution 25, where the position detection device is a photoelectric sensor; and/or
A safety protection method and system for a battery charging and swap station, a medium, an apparatus, and the battery charging and swap station in the disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings:
Preferred embodiments of the disclosure are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Those skilled in the art should understand that these embodiments are only used to explain the technical principles of the disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the disclosure. For example, although the embodiments below are described in combination with a battery charging and swap station being provided with four position detection devices and two safety scanning devices, they are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the disclosure. Those skilled in the art may adjust the number of the above position detection devices and safety scanning devices without departing from the principles of the disclosure, such that the method in the disclosure can be applicable to more specific application scenarios.
It should be noted that in the description of the disclosure, the terms, such as “center”, “upper”, “lower”, “left”, “right”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “front”, and “rear”, that indicate directions or positional relationships, are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings only for convenience of description, do not indicate or imply that the apparatus or element must have a specific orientation or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be construed as limitation to the disclosure. In addition, the terms “first”, “second”, and “third” are for descriptive purposes only, and cannot be interpreted as indicating or implying relative importance.
First, a battery charging and swap station in the disclosure is described with reference to
As shown in
The battery swap platform 1 is built from metal frames and metal plates. One end (i.e. a right end shown in
The battery swap apparatus includes a vehicle hoisting apparatus, vehicle centering apparatuses 4, a battery swap robot, a hoisting apparatus for a battery swap robot, etc. The battery swap robot is provided with a locking/unlocking mechanism and a battery bearing platform. The battery bearing platform is configured to bear a battery, and the locking/unlocking mechanism is configured to lock/unlock a traction battery, so as to implement demounting and mounting of the traction battery. There is a specific gap between the battery swap platform 1 and the ground, which allows the battery swap robot to bear the traction battery to go in or out. The vehicle centering apparatuses 4 are vehicle wheel push rods. There are four vehicle wheel push rods. The four push rods are arranged at the four roller apparatuses, respectively, and can move back and forth along a width direction (i.e. a vertical direction in
There are a plurality of position detection devices, a part of the position detection devices are arranged outside the entrance to the battery swap platform 1, and the other part of the position detection devices are arranged corresponding to the battery swap platform 1. Specifically, the position detection devices in the disclosure are photoelectric sensors, and more specifically, they are through-beam photoelectric sensors. There are four groups of through-beam photoelectric sensors, which are 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d in sequence along a direction of the vehicle entering the battery swap platform 1. The two groups of through-beam photoelectric sensors 2a and 2b are spaced outside the entrance to the battery swap platform 1, and another two groups of through-beam photoelectric sensors 2c and 2d are arranged corresponding to two ends of the battery swap platform 1 along the length direction, and transmit ends and receive ends of each group of through-beam photoelectric sensors are distributed on two sides of the battery swap platform 1 along the width direction. When the vehicle with a battery to be swapped forms a block between the transmit ends and the receive ends of the through-beam photoelectric sensors during traveling, light paths transmitted from the transmit ends are blocked, and the receive ends cannot receive light and therefore trigger actions of sending out electrical signals. Therefore, a position of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped may be ascertained based on the number and positions of electrical signals sent by the through-beam photoelectric sensors.
Through disposing of the plurality of photoelectric sensors and arrangement of same outside the entrance to the battery swap platform 1 and corresponding to the battery swap platform 1, respectively, the position of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped may be determined based on the electrical signals sent by the photoelectric sensors in different positions, thereby improving the division accuracy of the actual monitoring region. Moreover, the determination accuracy may be improved by arranging two groups of photoelectric sensors outside the entrance to the battery swap platform 1, and arranging one group of photoelectric sensors at two ends of the battery swap platform 1 in the length direction, respectively, thereby reducing false ascertainment.
Preferably, the safety scanning devices 3 are safety laser scanners. There are two safety laser scanners, in the disclosure, arranged along a diagonal of the battery swap platform 1. The safety laser scanners detect a human body or an object within a scanning range through a time of flight (TOF) technology. Each safety laser scanner has a scanning angle of about 180°. Therefore, a superimposed scanning range of the two safety laser scanners arranged along the diagonal of the battery swap platform 1 may cover the battery swap platform 1. Further, the safety laser scanner may also self-define a scanning region, and perform intrusion monitoring on the self-defined scanning region. When a human body or an object enters the scanning region, the safety laser scanner is triggered and sends out an intrusion signal. Therefore, a plurality of scanning regions may be self-defined, such that different scanning regions are monitored in different battery swap phases.
The delay can be shortened by performing scanning and intrusion monitoring on one of the plurality of self-defined scanning regions with the safety laser scanner, thereby implementing efficient monitoring. A monitoring range for the battery swap platform may be fully covered by arranging the two safety laser scanners along the diagonal of the battery swap platform 1.
Certainly, a specific arrangement of the above battery charging and swap station is merely used for illustrating the principles of the disclosure, and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the disclosure. Those skilled in the art may adjust the above arrangement without departing from the principles of the disclosure, so that the disclosure can be applicable to more specific application scenarios.
For example, those skilled in the art may adjust a specific arrangement of the battery swap platform 1, an apparatus type specifically included in the battery swap apparatus, a specific form, the number and arrangement positions of the position detection devices, and a specific form, the number and arrangement positions of the safety scanning devices 3 without departing from the principles of the disclosure.
For example, the battery swap platform 1 may not be provided with the closable door 11, but instead, after being hoisted by the vehicle hoisting apparatus, the vehicle is directly driven by the battery swap robot to a position between the chassis of the vehicle and the battery swap platform 1 for battery swap.
For another example, the type and the number of battery swap apparatuses may be adjusted. For example, one or more of the vehicle hoisting apparatus, the vehicle centering apparatuses 4, the battery swap robot, and the hoisting apparatus for a battery swap robot may be omitted, or the above apparatuses are replaced with other apparatuses.
For another example, the position detection devices may alternatively be electromagnetic position sensors, laser position sensors, etc. The number and arrangement positions thereof may also be adjusted based on specific application scenarios, as long as the position of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped can be effectively obtained.
For another example, the specific form of the safety scanning devices 3 is not unique, as long as it can monitor one of the plurality of preset monitoring regions. For example, the safety scanning devices 3 may alternatively be safety gratings, vision cameras, safety light curtains, etc.
A safety protection method for a battery charging and swap station in the disclosure is described below with reference to
As shown in
S101: Obtain electrical signals sent by position detection devices. For example, when being blocked, the position detection device will send out one electrical signal. In this case, the electrical signal may be obtained. When not being blocked, the position detection device will not send out the electrical signal. In this case, the electrical signal cannot be obtained.
S103: Determine an actual monitoring region based on an obtained result. For example, a plurality of preset monitoring regions are pre-stored in safety scanning devices, and the actual monitoring region is one of the plurality of preset monitoring regions. Based on the number of the electrical signals obtained in the previous step and sending positions of the electrical signals, a position of a current vehicle with a battery to be swapped may be determined, and one of the plurality of preset monitoring regions is selected as the actual monitoring region based on the position of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped.
S105: Control the safety scanning devices to perform safety monitoring based on the actual monitoring region. For example, after the actual monitoring region is determined, the safety scanning devices scan and monitor the actual monitoring region. Once it is found that there is human or object intrusion in the actual monitoring region, the safety scanning devices send out intrusion signals, to implement corresponding safety protection measures.
By determining the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result of the electrical signals, and then controlling the safety scanning devices to perform safety monitoring based on the actual monitoring region, the safety protection method in the disclosure can expand the coverage of the monitoring regions and increase the speed of monitoring triggering. Specifically, through an arrangement enabling the position detection devices to send the electrical signals when blocked, the disclosure may determine a monitoring region under different conditions according to whether the electrical signals are obtained and the number of the obtained electrical signals, such that when the vehicle with a battery to be swapped is in different positions or the battery charging and swap station is in different modes, the safety monitoring may be carried out in a targeted manner, thereby expanding the coverage of safety monitoring. The delay can be shortened and efficient monitoring can be implemented by monitoring with the safety scanning devices.
For example, the battery charging and swap station may perform safety monitoring whether in an automatic battery swap mode, a manual battery swap mode, or a shutdown state, and monitoring ranges may be switched based on different modes of the battery charging and swap station. For another example, during battery swap, whether the vehicle with a battery to be swapped is in a phase of not entering the battery swap platform, a phase of entering the battery swap platform, a battery swap phase, or a phase of being driven away from the battery swap platform, a corresponding monitoring range may be determined for safety monitoring.
Preferred embodiments of the safety protection method in the disclosure are described below in combination with
In an embodiment, referring to
It should be noted that the division of the above monitoring regions is only a more preferred embodiment, and those skilled in the art may adjust the number and ranges of the above preset monitoring regions based on specific application scenarios.
In an embodiment, when the battery charging and swap station is configured in the manner described in the above embodiment, the safety protection method further includes: obtaining a battery swap process signal; and determining the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result of the electrical signals and an obtained result of the battery swap process signal.
In this embodiment, the battery swap process signal may include a closing signal of a closable door, a centering completion signal, a battery swap completion signal, etc. Herein, the closing signal of the closable door is an electrical signal sent after the closable door is closed, the centering completion signal is an electrical signal sent when vehicle centering apparatuses complete vehicle centering and positioning, and the battery swap completion signal is an electrical signal sent by a battery swap apparatus after the battery of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped is swapped with a fully charged traction battery. After the battery swap process signal is obtained, the position of the current vehicle with a battery to be swapped and the current battery swap phase may be determined based on the battery swap process signal and the obtained electrical signals sent by the position detection devices, to accurately determine the actual monitoring region based on the battery swap process signal and the electrical signals.
The above step of determining the actual monitoring region is illustrated in five possible cases below with reference to
Through joint determination of the actual monitoring region in combination with the battery swap process signal and the electrical signals, efficient and accurate switching of the monitoring regions during battery swap may be implemented, thereby improving the monitoring effect. Moreover, the above monitoring can also be real-time monitoring of the entire battery swap process.
In an alternative embodiment, those skilled in the art can also determine the actual monitoring region only based on the received electrical signals sent by the photoelectric sensors. For example, when no electrical signals are obtained, it proves that the vehicle with a battery to be swapped is in a position away from the battery swap platform, and it is determined that the actual monitoring region is the first monitoring region. When only the electrical signals sent by the photoelectric sensors 2a and 2b arranged outside the entrance to the battery swap platform are obtained, it proves that the vehicle is being backed into the battery swap platform, and it is determined that the actual monitoring region is the second monitoring region. When only the electrical signals sent by the photoelectric sensors 2c and 2d arranged corresponding to the battery swap platform are obtained, it proves that the vehicle has completely been on the battery swap platform, and it is determined that the actual monitoring region is the third monitoring region.
Certainly, the above alternative embodiment is only an example, and those skilled in the art may also adjust specific determination logic based on the principles of the disclosure. For example, the actual monitoring region may be determined based on characteristics of the process in which the vehicle is driven out of the battery swap platform.
In an embodiment, the safety protection method further includes: when intrusion signals sent by the safety scanning devices are obtained, ascertaining an open/closed status of the closable door; determining apparatuses required to be stopped based on an ascertainment result; and controlling the apparatuses required to be stopped to stop working. Specifically, if the closable door is in an open state, it is determined that the apparatuses required to be stopped are the vehicle hoisting apparatus, the vehicle centering apparatuses, the hoisting apparatus for a battery swap robot, and the closable door; and if the closable door is in a closed state, it is determined that the apparatuses required to be stopped are the vehicle centering apparatuses and the closable door.
For example, when the safety laser scanners send the intrusion signals, it proves that there is a human body or an object entering the actual monitoring region, and emergency stop is required to ensure the safety of the battery swap process. Based on different open and closed states of the closable door, the current battery swap process may be known. When the closable door is opened, it proves that the vehicle is in the battery swap process, and all battery swap apparatuses are in an operating state. When the closable door is closed, it proves that the vehicle is in a non-battery-swap process, for example, in a phase of battery swap completion or a phase of backing the vehicle into the battery swap platform, and only some battery swap apparatuses are in an operating state. Therefore, based on different states of the closable door, the apparatuses and devices currently in an operating state may be known, the apparatuses required to be stopped are determined, and then these apparatuses are controlled in a targeted manner to stop working. Specifically, if the closable door is in the open state, at least the vehicle hoisting apparatus, the vehicle centering apparatuses, the hoisting apparatus for a battery swap robot, and the closable door need to be controlled to be stopped in emergency; and if the closable door is in the closed state, at least the vehicle centering apparatuses and the closable door need to be controlled to be stopped in emergency.
Herein, the state of the closable door may be determined based on the above closable-door closing signal. If the closable-door closing signal is received, it is determined that the closable door is in the closed state, and if the closable-door closing signal is not received, it is determined that the closable door is in the open state. Certainly, the state may alternatively be obtained in another manner, for example, a position sensor is arranged on or near the closable door to detect the open/closed status of the closable door.
In addition, in the disclosure, by setting a safety relay to be connected to a servo driver, emergency stop may be output to a stop interface of the servo driver to perform stop control on the servo driver of each apparatus. Meanwhile, after delay for a period of time, a contactor between the above servo driver and a corresponding motor is disconnected, and a contactor between the above servo driver and another motor related to the battery swap platform is disconnected.
By determining the apparatuses required to be stopped based on the open/closed status of the closable door after obtaining an intrusion signal, the safety protection method in the disclosure can implement safety protection measures in a targeted manner based on different battery swap phases. In addition, by a control manner of outputting a stop signal by the safety relay to the servo driver to implement emergency stop, efficient and rapid stop can be implemented, thereby reducing safety accidents.
In an embodiment, the safety protection method further includes: obtaining a current operating mode of the battery charging and swap station; and if the current operating mode is a maintenance mode, controlling the safety scanning devices to stop working or stop sending out intrusion signals.
For example, the battery charging and swap station needs to enter the maintenance mode when there is a fault or a maintenance date is reached. The maintenance mode may be enabled in many manners, such as by inserting a key into a lock hole of a maintenance switch and turning the key, or by inputting a specific operation instruction via a terminal. In any way, an enable signal of the maintenance mode may be obtained, and once the maintenance mode is enabled, the safety scanning devices are controlled to stop working or stop sending out the intrusion signals, thereby avoiding troubles caused by frequent alarm information due to workers going in or out the monitoring region during maintenance and inspection of the battery charging and swap station.
A possible battery swap process is described below with reference to
As shown in
When battery swap is started, the vehicle 5 with a battery to be swapped is first driven to a designated parking position outside the battery charging and swap station, none of the photoelectric sensors 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d are blocked, and there is no battery swap process signal, it is determined that the actual monitoring region is the first monitoring region, and the two safety laser scanners 3 are controlled to perform scanning and intrusion monitoring on the first monitoring region.
Then, the vehicle 5 with a battery to be swapped is backed into the battery swap platform 1 from the designated parking position. During the backing, when the photoelectric sensors 2a and 2b are blocked in sequence to send the electrical signals, and the closable door 11 is closed and sends the closable-door closing signal after being completely closed, it is determined that the actual monitoring region is the second monitoring region, and the two safety laser scanners 3 are controlled to perform scanning and intrusion monitoring on the second monitoring region.
Next, the vehicle 5 with a battery to be swapped is backed onto the battery swap platform 1, front and rear wheels are parked on the roller apparatuses to implement positioning in the length orientation, the photoelectric sensors 2c and 2d are blocked in sequence to send the electrical signals, and the photoelectric sensors 2a and 2b quit being blocked to stop sending the electrical signals. Meanwhile, the vehicle centering apparatuses 4 send the centering completion signal after centering and positioning of the vehicle 5 are completed, and the closable door 11 is opened, ready for battery swap. In this case, it is determined that the actual monitoring region is the third monitoring region, and the two safety laser scanners 3 are controlled to perform scanning and intrusion monitoring on the third monitoring region.
During battery swap, the battery swap robot, hoisted by the hoisting apparatus for a battery swap robot, removes a used battery on the vehicle 5 with a battery to be swapped, then transfers the used battery to a battery rack of the battery charging and swap station for charging, transfers the fully charged battery to the bottom of the vehicle 5 with a battery to be swapped, mounts the fully charged battery, hoisted by the hoisting apparatus for a battery swap robot, onto a chassis of the vehicle 5 with a battery to be swapped, and sends out the battery swap completion signal after mounting. When the battery swap robot drops below the closable door 11, the closable door 11 starts to be closed and sends the closing signal of the closable door after being completely closed. The photoelectric sensors 2c and 2d are still blocked to send the electrical signals, and the photoelectric sensors 2a and 2b do not send the electrical signals because they are not blocked. In this case, it is determined that the actual monitoring region is the second monitoring region, and the two safety laser scanners 3 are controlled to perform scanning and intrusion monitoring on the second monitoring region.
Finally, the vehicle 5 with a battery swapped is driven out of the battery swap platform 1. During the process in which the vehicle is driven out, the photoelectric sensors 2d and 2c quit being blocked to stop sending the electrical signals, and the photoelectric sensors 2b and 2a are blocked in sequence to send the electrical signals. When the vehicle 5 continues being driven out, the photoelectric sensor 2b also quits being blocked, and only the photoelectric sensor 2a sends the electrical signal, it is determined that the actual monitoring region is the first monitoring region, and the two safety laser scanners 3 are controlled to perform scanning and intrusion monitoring on the first monitoring region.
Although the steps are described in the above order in this embodiment, those skilled in the art may understand that in order to achieve the effects of this embodiment, different steps are not necessarily performed in this order, but can be performed simultaneously (in parallel) or in a reverse order, and these simple variations are within the scope of protection of the disclosure.
A safety protection system for a battery charging and swap station in the disclosure is briefly described below with reference to
As shown in
In an embodiment, the preset monitoring regions include a first monitoring region, a second monitoring region, and a third monitoring region, where the first monitoring region covers the battery swap platform, the second monitoring region covers two sides of the battery swap platform that extend along a length direction of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped and one side of the battery swap platform that extends along a width direction of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped and away from an entrance to the battery swap platform, and the third monitoring region covers the two sides of the battery swap platform that extend along the length direction of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped and two sides of the battery swap platform that extend along the width direction of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped. In an embodiment, for detailed description of function implementation, reference may be made to the description of the above method steps.
In an embodiment, there are a plurality of position detection devices, a part of the position detection devices are arranged outside the entrance to the battery swap platform, the other part of the position detection devices are arranged corresponding to the battery swap platform, and the determination module 120 is further configured to determine the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result in the following manner: when no electrical signals are obtained, determining that the actual monitoring region is the first monitoring region; and/or when only electrical signals sent by the position detection devices arranged outside the entrance to the battery swap platform are obtained, determining that the actual monitoring region is the second monitoring region; and/or when only electrical signals sent by the position detection devices arranged corresponding to the battery swap platform are obtained, determining that the actual monitoring region is the third monitoring region. In an embodiment, for detailed description of function implementation, reference may be made to the description of the above method steps.
In an embodiment, there are a plurality of position detection devices, a part of the position detection devices are arranged outside the entrance to the battery swap platform, the other part of the position detection devices are arranged corresponding to the battery swap platform, and the obtaining module 110 is further configured to obtain a battery swap process signal; and the determination module 120 is further configured to determine the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result of the electrical signals and an obtained result of the battery swap process signal. In an embodiment, for detailed description of function implementation, reference may be made to the description of the above method steps.
In an embodiment, a closable door is arranged on the battery swap platform, the battery swap process signal includes a closable-door closing signal, and the determination module 120 is further configured to determine the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result of the electrical signals and the obtained result of the battery swap process signal in the following manner: when the closable-door closing signal and electrical signals sent by the position detection devices arranged outside the entrance to the battery swap platform are obtained, determining that the actual monitoring region is the second monitoring region. In an embodiment, for detailed description of function implementation, reference may be made to the description of the above method steps.
In an embodiment, the battery swap apparatus includes a vehicle centering mechanism arranged on the battery swap platform, the battery swap process signal includes a centering completion signal, and the determination module 120 is further configured to determine the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result of the electrical signals and the obtained result of the battery swap process signal in the following manner when the centering completion signal and electrical signals sent by the position detection devices arranged corresponding to the battery swap platform are obtained, determining that the actual monitoring region is the third monitoring region. In an embodiment, for detailed description of function implementation, reference may be made to the description of the above method steps.
In an embodiment, a closable door is arranged on the battery swap platform, the battery swap process signal includes a closable-door closing signal and a battery swap completion signal, and the determination module 120 is further configured to determine the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result of the electrical signals and the obtained result of the battery swap process signal in the following manner when the closable-door closing signal, the battery swap completion signal, and electrical signals sent by the position detection devices arranged corresponding to the battery swap platform are obtained, determining that the actual monitoring region is the second monitoring region. In an embodiment, for detailed description of function implementation, reference may be made to the description of the above method steps.
In an embodiment, the plurality of position detection devices include two position detection devices arranged outside the entrance to the battery swap platform, the battery swap process signal includes a battery swap completion signal, and the determination module 120 is further configured to determine the actual monitoring region based on the obtained result of the electrical signals and the obtained result of the battery swap process signal in the following manner when the battery swap completion signal and an electrical signal sent by only a position detection device, away from the entrance to the battery swap platform, in the two position detection devices arranged outside the entrance to the battery swap platform are obtained, determining that the actual monitoring region is the first monitoring region. In an embodiment, for detailed description of function implementation, reference may be made to the description of the above method steps.
In an embodiment, a closable door is arranged on the battery swap platform, and the obtaining module 110 is further configured to obtain intrusion signals sent by the safety scanning devices; the safety protection system 100 further includes an ascertainment module 140, and the ascertainment module 140 is configured to ascertain an open/closed status of the closable door when the obtaining module 110 obtains the intrusion signals sent by the safety scanning devices; the determination module 120 is further configured to determine apparatuses required to be stopped based on an ascertainment result; and the control module 130 is further configured to control the apparatuses required to be stopped to stop working. In an embodiment, for detailed description of function implementation, reference may be made to the description of the above method steps.
In an embodiment, the battery swap apparatus includes a vehicle hoisting apparatus, vehicle centering apparatuses, and a hoisting apparatus for a battery swap robot, and the determination module 120 is further configured to determine the apparatuses required to be stopped based on the ascertainment result in the following manner if the closable door is in an open state, determining that the apparatuses required to be stopped are the vehicle hoisting apparatus, the vehicle centering apparatuses, the hoisting apparatus for a battery swap robot, and the closable door; and if the closable door is in a closed state, determining that the apparatuses required to be stopped are the vehicle centering apparatuses and the closable door. In an embodiment, for detailed description of function implementation, reference may be made to the description of the above method steps.
In an embodiment, the obtaining module 110 is further configured to obtain a current operating mode of the battery charging and swap station; and the determination module 120 is further configured to: when the current operating mode is a maintenance mode, control the safety scanning devices to stop working or stop sending out intrusion signals. In an embodiment, for detailed description of function implementation, reference may be made to the description of the above method steps.
It should be noted that the safety protection system 100 for the battery charging and swap station provided in the above embodiments is only illustrated by the division of the above functional modules (such as the obtaining module 110, the determination module 120, the control module 130, and the ascertainment module 140). In practical applications, the above functional modules may be implemented by different functional units according to requirements, that is, the functional modules in the embodiments are further split or combined, for example, the functional modules in the above embodiments may be combined into one functional module, or further split into a plurality of sub-modules to complete all or some of the functions described above. The names of the functional modules involved in the embodiments are merely for distinguishing purpose and are not to be construed as limiting the disclosure.
Those skilled in the art can understand that all or some of the procedures in the method of one of the above embodiments of the disclosure may also be implemented by a computer program instructing relevant hardware. The computer program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the above method embodiments may be performed. The computer program includes computer program codes, which may be in a source code form, an object code form, an executable file form, some intermediate forms, or the like. The computer-readable storage medium may include: any entity or apparatus that can carry the computer program codes, such as a medium, a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, a magnetic disk, an optical disc, a computer memory, a read-only memory, a random access memory, an electric carrier signal, a telecommunications signal, and a software distribution medium. It should be noted that the content included in the computer-readable storage medium may be appropriately added or deleted depending on requirements of the legislation and patent practice in a jurisdiction. For example, in some jurisdictions, according to the legislation and patent practice, the computer-readable storage medium does not include an electric carrier signal and a telecommunications signal.
Various embodiments regarding components in the disclosure may be implemented in hardware, or implemented by software modules running on one or more processors, or implemented in combinations thereof. Those skilled in the art should understand that a microprocessor or a digital signal processor (DSP) may be used in practice to implement some or all of the functions of some or all of the components in the server and client according to the embodiments of the disclosure. The disclosure may alternatively be implemented as devices or device programs (for example, PC programs and PC program products) for performing some or all of the methods as described herein. Such programs for implementing the disclosure may be stored on a PC readable medium, or may be in the form of one or more signals. Such signals may be obtained by downloading from an Internet web site, or provided on a carrier signal, or provided in any other form.
The disclosure further provides a computer-readable storage medium. In an embodiment of the computer-readable storage medium according to the disclosure, the computer-readable storage medium may be configured to store a program for performing the safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station in the above method embodiment, and the program may be loaded and run by a processor to perform the above safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station. For ease of description, only parts related to the embodiments of the disclosure are shown. For specific technical details that are not disclosed, reference may be made to the method part of the embodiments of the disclosure. The computer-readable storage medium may be a storage apparatus device formed by various electronic devices. Optionally, the computer-readable storage medium in this embodiment of the disclosure is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.
The disclosure further provides a control apparatus. In an embodiment of the control apparatus according to the disclosure, the control apparatus includes a processor and a memory. The memory may be configured to store a program for performing the safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station in the above method embodiment, and the processor may be configured to execute the program in the memory. The program includes, but is not limited to, the program for performing the safety protection method for the battery charging and swap station in the above method embodiment. For ease of description, only parts related to the embodiments of the disclosure are shown. For specific technical details that are not disclosed, reference may be made to the method part of the embodiments of the disclosure. The control apparatus may be an apparatus formed by various electronic devices.
The disclosure further provides a battery charging and swap station. The battery charging and swap station includes a battery swap platform, a battery swap apparatus, position detection devices, and safety scanning devices, where the battery swap platform is configured to bear a vehicle with a battery to be swapped, the position
detection devices are configured to send electrical signals when blocked, the safety scanning device is configured to monitor one of a plurality of preset monitoring regions each time, and the battery charging and swap station further includes the above control apparatus.
Heretofore, the technical solutions of the disclosure have been described with reference to the preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. However, those skilled in the art can readily understand that the scope of protection of the disclosure is apparently not limited to these specific embodiments. Those skilled in the art may make equivalent changes or substitutions to the related technical features without departing from the principle of the disclosure, and all the technical solutions with such changes or substitutions shall fall within the scope of protection of the disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202210318630.8 | Mar 2022 | CN | national |
