CN110729787A - Movable charging device, system and method - Google Patents
Movable charging device, system and method Download PDFInfo
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- CN110729787A CN110729787A CN201911017014.3A CN201911017014A CN110729787A CN 110729787 A CN110729787 A CN 110729787A CN 201911017014 A CN201911017014 A CN 201911017014A CN 110729787 A CN110729787 A CN 110729787A
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
- H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
- H02J7/00—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
- H02J7/0042—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries characterised by the mechanical construction
- H02J7/0045—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries characterised by the mechanical construction concerning the insertion or the connection of the batteries
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- H01M10/00—Secondary cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M10/42—Methods or arrangements for servicing or maintenance of secondary cells or secondary half-cells
- H01M10/44—Methods for charging or discharging
- H01M10/441—Methods for charging or discharging for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- H01M10/00—Secondary cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M10/42—Methods or arrangements for servicing or maintenance of secondary cells or secondary half-cells
- H01M10/44—Methods for charging or discharging
- H01M10/446—Initial charging measures
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
- H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
- H02J7/00—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
- H02J7/0047—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries with monitoring or indicating devices or circuits
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- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
- Y02E60/00—Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
- Y02E60/10—Energy storage using batteries
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- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
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- Electrochemistry (AREA)
- General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Power Engineering (AREA)
- Charge And Discharge Circuits For Batteries Or The Like (AREA)
Abstract
Embodiments of the present invention provide a mobile charging device, system and method, wherein the mobile charging device comprises a power interface for charging a rechargeable battery, a charging interface for outputting power from the rechargeable battery, a moving part for moving the mobile charging device, a communication part and a controller; the controller of the movable charging apparatus may control its moving means to move the movable charging apparatus to the terminal device position specified in the received instruction information in response to the instruction information received via the communication means, so as to charge the terminal device. The technical scheme of the embodiment of the invention is convenient for the user to charge the terminal equipment at any time and any place, and improves the flexibility and the office efficiency of mobile office.
Description
Technical Field
The invention relates to the field of mobile office, communication control and uninterruptible power supplies, in particular to a device, a system and a method for conveniently supplying power to mobile terminal equipment.
Background
With the development of computer and wireless network communication technologies and other technologies, mobile office is more and more popular, users get rid of time and place limitations, and can use portable mobile terminal equipment such as mobile phones, tablets or notebook computers to network and process work related services anytime and anywhere. However, once the power of these terminal devices is exhausted, the user cannot work, which undoubtedly directly affects the efficiency of mobile office work. Although it is possible to charge with a backup power supply such as a charger, it is often difficult to support a mobile phone or a notebook computer for a long time, and thus it is often necessary to prepare a plurality of backup power supplies to ensure a normal office work, which causes much inconvenience to users. In order not to affect normal mobile office work, a user can also search a fixed power socket or a charging station in the surrounding environment to charge the terminal equipment in time. However, in many public places, power outlets are not equipped, or even if power outlets are provided at some locations, users may not have long enough wires to connect their terminal devices to the power outlets, or often need to queue up for a long time to wait for charging. This compromises the flexibility and convenience of mobile office work.
Disclosure of Invention
Therefore, an object of the embodiments of the present invention is to provide a mobile charging apparatus, a mobile charging system, and a mobile charging method, so that a user can charge a terminal device thereof anytime and anywhere, thereby improving flexibility and office efficiency of mobile office. The above purpose is realized by the following technical scheme:
according to a first aspect of embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a movable charging apparatus including a power supply interface for charging a rechargeable battery, a charging interface for the rechargeable battery to output electric power, moving means for moving the movable charging apparatus, communication means, and a controller, wherein the controller controls the moving means to move the movable charging apparatus to a position specified in indication information in response to the indication information received via the communication means.
In some embodiments of the invention, the charging interface comprises a combination of at least one or more of the following: the system comprises an alternating current charging interface, a direct current charging interface and a non-contact charging interface.
In some embodiments of the invention, the mobile charging device further comprises a rechargeable battery.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the mobile charging device may further comprise a sensing component for detecting a state of use of the mobile charging device and/or a state related to the environment in which the mobile charging device is located.
In some embodiments of the invention, the sensing means may comprise at least a current sensor for detecting a charge level of the rechargeable battery and an obstacle avoidance sensor for detecting whether there is an obstacle in front of the movable charging device.
In some embodiments of the invention, the controller may be further configured to generate and send a low charge alert to prompt an imminent cessation of charging in response to the sensing component detecting that the charge of the rechargeable battery is below the lower threshold.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the controller may be further configured to control the moving means to move the movable charging device to a preset position in response to the sensing means detecting that the charge level of the rechargeable battery is lower than the lower threshold.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the mobile charging device may further comprise a positioning component for determining a position of the mobile charging device.
In some embodiments of the invention, the controller may be further configured to establish a communication connection with the device issuing the request in response to receiving a request to establish a connection from an external device via the communication section.
According to a second aspect of embodiments of the present invention, there is also provided a mobile charging system, the system comprising a charging server, one or more mobile charging apparatuses communicable with the charging server, wherein the mobile charging apparatuses are the mobile charging apparatuses according to the first aspect of embodiments of the present invention, and wherein the charging server is configured to: determining a location of a terminal device in response to a charging request from the terminal device; one of the movable charging apparatuses is selected from currently available movable charging apparatuses and an instruction message is transmitted thereto to instruct the movable charging apparatus to move to the location of the terminal device.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the mobile charging system may further include one or more charging stations that supplement the supply of electricity to the mobile charging device.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the charging server may be further configured to send an instruction message to the movable charging apparatus that charges the terminal device to instruct the movable charging apparatus to return to a preset location or a preset charging station in response to the confirmation message from the terminal device that charging is completed.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the charging server may be further configured to issue an indication message to the removable charging device to indicate that the removable charging device is moved to a designated charging station in response to a low battery alert from the removable charging device indicating that its remaining battery capacity is below a lower threshold.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the charging server may be further configured for determining a location of each of the movable charging apparatuses and for determining a location of a terminal device to which the charging request is issued.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the charging server may be further configured to issue an alarm message or issue an indication message to the mobile charging device to indicate the mobile charging device to issue an alarm in response to determining that the current location of the mobile charging device exceeds the predetermined range.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the charging server may be further configured for determining a route of travel between a current location of the movable charging device and a designated location to which it is to reach.
According to a third aspect of embodiments of the present invention, there is also provided a mobile charging system including one or more mobile charging apparatuses according to the first aspect of embodiments of the present invention and a charging station for supplementing electricity to the mobile charging apparatuses, wherein a controller of the mobile charging apparatuses is configured to: responding to a request for establishing connection from a terminal device, and establishing communication connection with the terminal device sending the request; in response to a charging request of the terminal device received via the communication connection, a location of the terminal device is extracted therefrom and the movable charging apparatus is moved to the location.
According to a fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is also provided a movable charging method, including: s1, receiving a charging request from the terminal equipment and determining the position of the terminal equipment; s2, selecting one of one or more available movable charging devices to provide charging service for the terminal equipment; and S3, sending indication information to the selected movable charging device to indicate that it is moved to the location of the terminal equipment. Wherein the movable charging device is the movable charging device according to the first aspect of the embodiment of the present invention.
According to a fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is also provided a movable charging method, including: a1, receiving a connection request from a terminal device and establishing communication connection with the terminal device; a2, in response to receiving a charging request from a terminal device, extracting position information of the terminal device therefrom; and a3, moving the movable charging device to the position of the terminal device based on the position information of the terminal device. Wherein the movable charging device is the movable charging device according to the first aspect of the embodiment of the present invention.
The technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention has the following beneficial effects:
the mobile charging device is distributed and automatically navigated to the user requesting charging, so that the user can charge the terminal equipment at any time and any place, the flexibility and convenience of mobile office work are improved, and the efficiency of mobile office work is improved.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.
Drawings
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. It is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the invention, and that for a person skilled in the art, other drawings can be derived from them without inventive effort.
In the drawings:
fig. 1 shows a functional block schematic of a mobile charging device according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 shows a schematic structural diagram of a mobile charging system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 3 shows a schematic flow diagram of a mobile charging method according to an embodiment of the invention.
Fig. 4 shows a schematic flow diagram of a mobile charging method according to a further embodiment of the invention.
Detailed Description
In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the present invention is further described in detail by embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that the embodiments described are only a few embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.
Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, devices, steps, and so forth. In other instances, well-known methods, devices, implementations or operations have not been shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention.
The block diagrams shown in the figures are functional entities only and do not necessarily correspond to physically separate entities. I.e. these functional entities may be implemented in the form of software, or in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or in different networks and/or processor means and/or microcontroller means.
The flow charts shown in the drawings are merely illustrative and do not necessarily include all of the contents and operations/steps, nor do they necessarily have to be performed in the order described. For example, some operations/steps may be decomposed, and some operations/steps may be combined or partially combined, so that the actual execution sequence may be changed according to the actual situation.
The embodiment of the invention provides a movable charging device, a system and a method which are convenient for charging terminal equipment carried by a user anytime and anywhere. In one embodiment, when a user needs to charge a terminal device carried by the user, a request can be sent to a relevant server providing a charging service, and the charging server can allocate a movable charging device for the user and automatically navigate the movable charging device to the vicinity of the user sending the request for use; when the user stops charging, the mobile device can automatically return to a preset location or a dedicated charging station to replenish power or continue to serve the next user. In another embodiment, when a user needs to charge the terminal equipment carried by the user, whether a usable movable charging device exists in the current environment of the user can be searched through a wireless network, if so, a charging request is selected to be initiated to one of the movable charging devices, and the movable charging device is moved to the vicinity of the user sending the request for use after receiving the charging request; when the user stops charging, the mobile device can automatically return to a preset location or a dedicated charging station to replenish power or continue to serve the next user.
Fig. 1 shows a functional block schematic of a mobile charging device according to one embodiment of the present invention. The mobile charging apparatus 100 includes a rechargeable battery 102 that is supplied with power via a power interface 105 and is operable to charge one or more external terminal devices via one or more charging interfaces 108a-n (collectively referred to as 108). The rechargeable battery 102 may be any storage battery, lithium battery or battery set suitable for the UPS, and the capacity and voltage may be set according to actual requirements, which is not limited herein. The removable charging device 100 can charge the rechargeable battery 102 through the power interface 105 and a charging base or charging station that is compatible with the power interface 105. For example, the power interface 105 may take the form of a metal contact that contacts a charging electrode located at a corresponding location on a charging base or charging station to which the 220V mains power is connected, and may begin charging the rechargeable battery 102. Preferably, the mobile charging device 100 may include two types of charging interfaces: the DC charging interface and the AC charging interface. The direct current charging interface can be a USB interface and/or a Type-C interface supporting quick charging. In some embodiments, the movable charging device 100 may further include a container that can be drawn out rotatably or can be popped up by pressing a button at a position near the charging interface, and a charging wire adapted to the corresponding charging interface is placed or provided therein for the convenience of the user. In embodiments where an ac charging interface is provided, the charging interface 108 also includes an inverter therein for converting the dc output from the rechargeable battery 102 to an ac output. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that fig. 1 shows only functional modules and not a circuit structure, and when the implementation is embodied, for example, a power interface for charging the rechargeable battery and a charging interface for outputting power of the rechargeable battery may include related power conversion components; for example, the power interface 105 may include an AC/DC converter that converts mains power to direct current; the direct-current type charging interface 108 may also include a DC/DC converter to be charged at various voltages (e.g., 12V, 5V, etc.); the AC-type charging interface 108 may include a DC/AC converter to convert a DC input from the battery to an AC output. Since the circuit implementation and current transformation details of these interfaces are well known in the art, they will not be described in detail here. In still other embodiments, the charging interfaces 108a-n may also include non-contact charging interfaces, such as wireless charging interfaces using electromagnetic induction, magnetic field resonance, or radio wave. Common wireless charging interfaces are, for example, interfaces supporting the Qi standard, the PMA standard, the A4WP standard, the innpofi technology or the Wi-Po technology.
With continued reference to fig. 1, the mobile charging device 100 also includes a controller 101 that can control and manage the operation and operation of the remaining components of the mobile charging device 100. The controller 101 can be connected to a wireless network through a communication section 106 and communicate with a computing device (e.g., a charging server or a terminal device carried by a user, etc.) deployed in the network. The communication component 106 may use bluetooth, wireless local area network ieee802.11b (i.e. Wi-Fi), ZigBee, Ultra Wideband (Ultra Wideband) UWB, or other wireless communication protocols to communicate with the corresponding computing devices in its surrounding environment according to actual requirements, and may also use mobile communication technologies such as internet of things communication protocol or 4G, 5G, etc. to communicate with external devices, which is not limited herein. The movable charging apparatus 100 further includes a moving part 103 that can move the movable charging apparatus 100 to a specified position under the control of the controller 101. For example, the controller 101 may receive a command, instruction, or request information from an external device, and move the movable charging device 100 to the user to be charged or a dedicated charging station through the moving part 103. Also for example, the controller 101 may control the moving member 103 to move the movable charging device 100 to a dedicated charging station or charging base to replenish power in response to a condition trigger or threshold trigger mechanism. The moving member 103 may be integrated with or coupled to the housing of the mobile charging device 100 to move the mobile charging device. The specific type of the moving component 103 is not limited in the embodiments herein, and those skilled in the art can select the corresponding moving component according to actual needs. In some embodiments, the moving component 103 may employ, for example, a roller-type moving mechanism, a track-type moving mechanism, an omni-wheel based moving chassis such as an omni-three-wheel chassis, an omni-four-wheel chassis, a car-type moving chassis based on the ackermann principle, or any other moving device or moving mechanism that can move the movable charging device 100 along a route under the control of a controller. In still other embodiments, moving member 103 may also employ a moving device or moving mechanism that supports a roller-skating type of movement or a movement in flight. In other embodiments, the moving part 103 may even take the form of a joint walking multi-function robot, for example.
The mobile charging device 100 also includes a positioning component 107 that can cooperate with a positioning system deployed in the surrounding environment to determine the current location of the mobile charging device 100. Currently, positioning technologies have been developed, for example, outdoor positioning generally depends on a Global Positioning System (GPS), and indoor positioning technologies generally include Wifi positioning, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) positioning, bluetooth positioning, Zigbee positioning, and ultrasonic positioning. An indoor positioning system generally includes a positioning server and a positioning base station deployed at a plurality of set positions in an indoor environment. Taking RFID positioning as an example, feature information (such as identity ID, received signal strength, and the like) of an RFID tag of an object to be positioned is read by a plurality of readers deployed in an indoor situation, and the position of the object is determined by using a neighbor method, a multilateral positioning method, received signal strength, and the like. For example, in a positioning system based on bluetooth, a plurality of beacon nodes are deployed indoors, when a terminal device to be positioned enters a Signal coverage area of the beacon node, the terminal device calculates a value of a Signal field Strength indicator (RSSI) under a certain beacon node and transmits the value to a positioning server, and the positioning server can determine a specific position of the terminal device. The RFID reader and the beacon node, which are pre-arranged at fixed positions in the indoor environment, may be collectively referred to as a positioning base station, which assists the positioning server in determining the position of the target to be positioned entering the indoor environment. In the embodiments herein, there is no limitation as to which specific positioning technique is employed, and it should be understood that the corresponding positioning component 107 may be selected or provided according to the positioning technique employed in a specific application; for example, if RFID location is employed, the mobile charging device 100 includes a location component 107 that is an RFID tag; if bluetooth positioning technology is employed, the positioning section 107 is a module for detecting a signal transmitted by a beacon node and calculating its RSSI value.
The mobile charging device 100 also includes a sensing component 104 for detecting the usage status of the mobile charging device and the status related to the environment in which it is located. For example, it is possible to detect the charging time, the charge level, the remaining charge amount, the usage mode (traveling mode, charged mode, power supply mode, standby mode, etc.) of the movable charging device, whether there is an obstacle in front of the traveling of the movable charging device, and the like. The sensing component 104 may include one or more sensors; for example, a current sensor for detecting the charge level of the rechargeable battery 102, a direction sensor for detecting the orientation thereof, an obstacle avoidance sensor for detecting whether there is an obstacle in front of the travel, an acceleration sensor for detecting the travel speed and orientation thereof, an angle sensor, and the like. The obstacle avoidance sensor can be a visual sensor (such as a camera), a laser sensor, an infrared sensor or an ultrasonic sensor.
In yet another embodiment, the mobile charging device 100 further comprises one or more alert components (not shown in fig. 1), such as a speaker or LED lights, etc. For example, when the controller 101 detects an obstacle in front of the travel through the sensing part 104, a warning may be issued through a speaker or an LED lamp may blink for reminding the relevant person in front of avoiding the route of the movable charging device. When the controller 101 detects that the amount of electricity remaining in the rechargeable battery 102 is lower than the predetermined lower threshold through the sensing part 104, an alarm is given through a speaker or an LED lamp to remind a user who is currently using the mobile charging device 100 to charge that the charging is about to stop. The predetermined lower threshold is typically set based on the level of power required by the mobile charging device 100 to return from the current location to a dedicated charging station.
Still referring to fig. 1, the controller 101 of the movable charging apparatus 100 may be configured or designed to respond to a request, command or instruction information inputted or received from the outside by controlling the moving part 103 to move the movable charging apparatus 100 to a specified location, for example, to a charging station near a user terminal device waiting for charging or to return to a predetermined location to supplement power. The controller 101 may also generate and send a low charge alert to indicate that charging is about to stop in response to the sensing component 104 detecting that the charge of the rechargeable battery 102 is below the lower threshold. In yet another embodiment, the controller 101 may also instruct or control the moving means 103 to move the movable charging apparatus 100 back to a designated location or a preset charging station to wait or replenish electric power in response to the sensing means 104 detecting that the terminal device has been disconnected (i.e., charging is stopped). It should be understood that the mobile charging device 100 described above in connection with fig. 1 further has a housing or casing that can accommodate the modules in fig. 1, and the shape and material of the housing or casing are not limited herein as long as the housing or casing can accommodate the above components and facilitate the above components to perform the above functions; for example, it may be made in the form of a mobile robot comprising the above-mentioned components.
It should be appreciated that while the embodiment of the mobile charging device described above in connection with fig. 1 includes a rechargeable battery, in other embodiments the mobile charging device may be in the form of a separate product from the rechargeable battery, and for such mobile charging devices, the rechargeable battery may be removable or replaceable and need not be included as part of the mobile charging device itself.
Fig. 2 shows a schematic structural diagram of a mobile charging system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system 200 includes a charging server 201, one or more removable charging devices 202a-202n (which may be collectively referred to as 202) that may communicate with the charging server 201, and charging stations 203a-m (which may be collectively referred to as 203) for charging the removable charging devices 202 (i.e., for replenishing the removable charging devices with electricity). Wherein the mobile charging device 202 may be the mobile charging device 100 described above with reference to fig. 1, the input port of the charging station 203 is connected to the commercial power or the uninterruptible power supply, and the output port thereof may adopt an interface component adapted to the power interface of the mobile charging device 202; for example, if the power interface is in the form of a metal contact, the outlet of the charging station 203 may be in the form of a spring-loaded charging electrode that can begin charging the mobile charging device 202 after it comes into contact with its power interface. It should be understood that the shape and size of the charging station 203 is typically specifically tailored and adapted for the mobile charging device 202 currently in use, so that the two automatically contact and charge.
With continued reference to fig. 2, charging server 201 may, in response to a request from a user-carried terminal device 204a-204w (which may be collectively referred to as 204), determine the location of the terminal device that issued the request; one of the currently available movable charging apparatuses is selected, and an instruction message is issued to the selected movable charging apparatus to instruct the movable charging apparatus to move to a location where the terminal device is located. In yet another embodiment, the charging server 201 may also send an instruction message to the movable charging device 202 that charges the terminal device 204 in response to a confirmation message from the terminal device 204 that the charging has been completed, to instruct the movable charging device to return to a preset location to wait or to a preset charging station to replenish electric power. In yet another embodiment, the charging server 201 may also issue a stop charging alert to the terminal device 204 being serviced by the mobile charging apparatus in response to receiving a low battery alert from the mobile charging apparatus 202 to alert the terminal device that charging is about to stop; and in response to the confirmation information that the charging has been stopped sent from the terminal device, sending an instruction message to the corresponding movable charging device to instruct the movable charging device to travel to the specified charging station to replenish the electric power. Wherein the mobile charging device 202 may be configured to issue a low battery alert to the charging server upon detecting a condition in which the rechargeable battery remaining capacity reaches some predetermined lower threshold. The predetermined lower threshold is typically set based on the level of power required by the mobile charging device to return from the current location to the dedicated charging station. Preferably, the charging server 201 can instruct the mobile charging device that needs to be replenished with power to travel to some available charging station closest to its current location for charging.
More specifically, when a user needs to charge a terminal device carried by the user, a connection may be established with a server providing a charging service and a charging request may be issued thereto. For example, a user may scan a nearby two-dimensional code or search an application store through his smartphone to download and install a charging client, through which to connect to a charging server. For another example, the user may log in a corresponding website providing the charging service through a personal computer carried by the user to connect to the charging server to request charging. When receiving a charging request from terminal device 204, charging server 201 first determines the location of the terminal device that issued the request. In one embodiment, the charging server 201 itself may also act as a positioning server, determining the location of each terminal device and the location of each movable charging apparatus by positioning base stations deployed in the environment. In yet another embodiment, the charging server 201 may be independent of a pre-deployed positioning system in the surrounding environment. The terminal device 204 may locate its current location using a positioning system that has been previously arranged in the surrounding environment and transmit the current location to the charging server 201 as being included in the charging request. Still alternatively, the terminal device 204 may include its associated positioning data (e.g., measurement data of the terminal device relative to surrounding positioning base stations) in the charging request to the charging server 201, and the charging server 201 transmits the associated positioning data of the terminal device to a preset or associated positioning server (not shown) to determine the current position of the terminal device.
After determining the current location of the terminal device, charging server 201 selects or assigns one of the mobile charging apparatuses 202 for that terminal device 204 to provide a service from the list of currently available mobile charging apparatuses it manages. For example, the mobile charging device closest to the terminal device 204 may be selected, or the mobile charging device with the longest idle time may be selected, or any available mobile charging device that is fully charged may be randomly selected. Each removable charging device 202 in the system may periodically or in response to a request send data regarding its status and location to the charging server 201 to facilitate monitoring and management by the charging server 201. In one embodiment, the mobile charging device 202 may locate its current location by its own locating means and using a locating system already pre-arranged in its surroundings, and send the current location to the charging server 201. In yet another embodiment, the mobile charging device 202 may transmit the relevant location data measured by its own location components to the charging server 201, the charging server 201 may determine the location of the mobile charging device 202 based on these data, or may transmit these relevant location data to a preset or associated location server (not shown) to determine the current location of the mobile charging device. Next, the charging server 201 issues a charging instruction message to the selected movable charging device 202. The charging instruction message includes location information of the terminal device 204 that issued the charging request. When the movable charging apparatus 202 receives the charging instruction message, the controller thereof may extract the location information of the terminal device 204 from the charging instruction message to set as a destination, determine a travel route from the current location to the destination using a navigation service or a built-in navigation map that has been designated or set in advance, and control the moving means to move the movable charging apparatus 202 to the destination. In yet another embodiment, the charging server 201 may also charge the navigation server, plan or determine a travel route for the mobile charging device 202 from its current location to a specified location, and send it to the mobile charging device in the charging instruction information. Since indoor and outdoor positioning and navigation technologies have become popular, detailed details of how to determine the positions of the terminal device and the movable charging apparatus and how to navigate or move the movable charging apparatus to a specific position are not described in the embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that the charging server may have both positioning and navigation functions; or may exist as a separate stand-alone module from the location and navigation service system; the charging service, the positioning service, and the navigation service may run on the same computing device as a single integrated control platform or control server, or may run on multiple computing devices as separate modules.
Preferably, when the movable charging apparatus 202 moves to the designated location, information confirming the arrival may be sent to the charging server 201, and the charging server 201 may push prompt information to the corresponding terminal device 204 to prompt the user of the terminal device that charging may be started. When the movable charging device 202 is moved to a specified position, the attention of the user may also be attracted by a prompting means such as a speaker or an LED lamp. When the terminal device is charged, the user pulls out the charging cord, and the connection with the movable charging device 202 is disconnected, as mentioned above, the controller of the movable charging device 202 may instruct or control its moving means to move the movable charging device back to a designated location or a preset charging station to wait or replenish electric power in response to the sensing means detecting that the connection with the terminal device has been disconnected (i.e., charging is stopped). In some embodiments, the charging server 201 may be further configured to issue an alarm message or issue an indication message to the mobile charging device to indicate the mobile charging device to issue an alarm in response to determining that the current location of the mobile charging device exceeds a predetermined range.
Preferably, when the mobile charging apparatus 202 charges the corresponding terminal device 204, the controller monitors the charge level of the rechargeable battery through the sensing unit, and if the remaining charge is lower than a predetermined lower threshold, an alarm is issued through a speaker or an LED lamp to remind the user currently using the mobile charging apparatus that the charging is about to be stopped, and simultaneously, a low charge alarm is generated and sent to the charging server 201 to prompt that the charging is about to be stopped. The charging server 201, in response to receiving a low battery alarm from the mobile charging apparatus, issues an alarm to stop charging to the terminal device that the mobile charging apparatus is serving; and in response to the confirmation information from the terminal device that charging has been stopped, sends an instruction message to the corresponding movable charging device 202 instructing the movable charging device to move to the specified charging station to replenish electric power. The charging instruction message may include location information of the designated charging station.
In this system, the position of each charging station 203 is set in advance. In some embodiments, each movable charging device 202 in the system has a charging station 203 fitted to it at an associated designated location. When supplemental power is needed, the mobile charging device 202 may automatically return to its adapted charging station 203 for charging. In still other embodiments, each charging station 203 may be shared by multiple movable charging devices 202. Each charging station 203 may comprise, in addition to a power supply interface for connection to mains electricity and a charging interface for charging the removable charging device 202, a controller and a communication component, via which the controller transmits its usage status, for example, an in-use or idle status, to the charging server 201. The charging server 201 performs centralized management and distribution of the charging stations 203. For example, the charging server 201 may instruct a movable charging device that needs supplemental power to travel to some idle charging station closest to its current location for charging.
It should be understood that although the embodiment of the mobile charging system described above with reference to fig. 2 includes a charging station for supplementing the mobile charging device with electricity, in other embodiments, the mobile charging system may not include a charging station, but may replace the rechargeable battery to a designated location when the power is insufficient.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, another mobile charging system is also provided, which differs from the system 200 shown in fig. 2 in that a dedicated charging server 201 is not included, but the mobile charging apparatus 202 communicates and interacts directly with the terminal device 204. Wherein each of the mobile charging apparatuses 202 is configured to establish a wireless network connection directly with the terminal device 204 and, in response to receiving a charging request from the terminal device 203, move to the location of the terminal device specified in the charging request. When a user needs to charge the terminal device 204 carried by the user, the wireless communication section of the terminal device discovers or searches the removable charging apparatuses 202 connectable in the current environment, and one of them is selected by the user or randomly selected to send a request for establishing a connection thereto. The selected removable charging apparatus 202, if idle, may return a response to the terminal device 204 confirming the connection. When a connection is established between terminal device 204 and removable charging apparatus 202, a charging request may be issued thereto, the charging request including location information of terminal device 204. As mentioned above, the terminal device 204 may determine and acquire its current location using a positioning system that has been pre-arranged in its surroundings. When the movable charging apparatus 202 receives a charging request, its controller extracts position information of the terminal device 204 from the charging request as a destination, and controls the moving part to move to the corresponding destination. When the terminal device is charged and the user pulls out the charging cord, disconnecting the mobile charging device 202, as mentioned above, the controller of the mobile charging device 202 may instruct or control its moving means to move the mobile charging device back to a designated location or a pre-set charging station to wait or replenish power in response to detecting that the mobile charging device has been disconnected from the terminal device. Preferably, when the mobile charging apparatus 202 charges the corresponding terminal device, the controller monitors the charge level of the rechargeable battery through the sensing unit, and if the remaining charge is lower than a predetermined lower threshold, an alarm is given through a speaker or an LED lamp to remind the user who is currently using the mobile charging apparatus that the charging is about to be stopped.
Fig. 3 shows a schematic flow diagram of a mobile charging method according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 3, the method includes: step 301, receiving a charging request from a terminal device and determining the position of the terminal device; step 302, selecting one of one or more available charging devices to provide a charging service for the terminal equipment; step 303, sending charging indication information to the selected charging device to indicate that the selected charging device moves to the position of the terminal equipment. Wherein the charging device is a mobile charging device as described in connection with fig. 1 and 2. The execution subject of the method is, for example, the charging server described in conjunction with fig. 2.
In one embodiment, the method may further include transmitting an indication to the selected charging device to move to a specific location in response to a confirmation message from the terminal device that charging is completed, the specific location may be a location of a charging station associated with the charging device or a location preset for use when the charging device is in standby. In yet another embodiment, the method may further include sending a charging indication message to the charging device to indicate that the charging device is charging to a designated charging station in response to a low battery alert from the charging device; and sending prompt information to the terminal equipment to prompt that the charging is to be stopped.
Fig. 4 shows a schematic flow diagram of a mobile charging method according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 4, the method includes: step 401, receiving a connection request from a terminal device and establishing communication connection with the terminal device; step 402, in response to receiving a charging request from a terminal device, extracting position information of the terminal device from the charging request; in step 403, the charging device is moved to the location of the terminal device based on the location information of the terminal device. Wherein the charging device is a mobile charging device as described in connection with fig. 1 and 2. The method is performed by the mobile charging device described in connection with fig. 1 and 2.
In one embodiment, the method may further include moving the charging device back to a designated location or a pre-set charging station for waiting or replenishing power in response to detecting that the terminal device has been disconnected. In yet another embodiment, an alarm is issued in response to detecting that the amount of charge remaining in the rechargeable battery in the charging device is below a predetermined lower threshold to alert that charging is about to stop.
In the technical scheme of the embodiment of the invention, the movable charging device is distributed and automatically navigated to the user requesting charging, so that the user can charge the terminal equipment at any time and any place, the flexibility and convenience of mobile office work are improved, and the efficiency of mobile office work is improved.
Reference in the specification to "various embodiments," "some embodiments," "one embodiment," or "an embodiment," etc., means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in various embodiments," "in some embodiments," "in one embodiment," or "in an embodiment," or the like, in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Thus, a particular feature, structure, or characteristic illustrated or described in connection with one embodiment may be combined, in whole or in part, with a feature, structure, or characteristic of one or more other embodiments without limitation, as long as the combination is not logical or operational.
The terms "comprises," "comprising," and "having," and similar referents in this specification, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, such that a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not limited to only those steps or elements but may alternatively include other steps or elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. The word "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. Additionally, the various elements of the drawings of the present application are merely schematic illustrations and are not drawn to scale.
Although the present invention has been described by the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein, and various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Claims (16)
1. A movable charging device comprising a power supply interface for charging a rechargeable battery, a charging interface for the rechargeable battery to output electric power, moving means for moving the movable charging device, communication means, and a controller, wherein the controller controls the moving means to move the movable charging device to a position specified in indication information in response to the indication information received via the communication means.
2. The removable charging device of claim 1, the charging interface comprising a combination of at least one or more of: the system comprises an alternating current charging interface, a direct current charging interface and a non-contact charging interface.
3. The mobile charging device of claim 1, further comprising sensing means for detecting a state of use of the mobile charging device and/or a state related to the environment in which the mobile charging device is located.
4. The mobile charging device of claim 3, wherein the sensing means comprises at least a current sensor for detecting a charge level of the rechargeable battery and an obstacle avoidance sensor for detecting whether there is an obstacle in front of the mobile charging device.
5. The mobile charging device of claim 4, wherein the controller is further configured to generate and send a low charge alert to alert that charging is about to stop in response to the sensing component detecting that the charge of the rechargeable battery is below the lower threshold.
6. The mobile charging device of claim 5, wherein the controller is further configured to control the moving means to move the mobile charging device to a preset position in response to the sensing means detecting that the charge level of the rechargeable battery is below a lower threshold.
7. The mobile charging device of any of claims 1-6, further comprising a rechargeable battery.
8. The mobile charging device of any of claims 1-6, further comprising a positioning component for determining a position of the mobile charging device.
9. The removable charging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, the controller being further configured to establish a communication connection with a device issuing a request to establish a connection in response to receiving the request from the external device via the communication means.
10. A mobile charging system comprising a charging server and one or more mobile charging devices that can communicate with the charging server, wherein the mobile charging device is the mobile charging device of any one of claims 1-9, and wherein the charging server is configured to:
determining a location of a terminal device in response to a charging request from the terminal device;
one of the movable charging apparatuses is selected from currently available movable charging apparatuses and an instruction message is transmitted thereto to instruct the movable charging apparatus to move to the location of the terminal device.
11. The mobile charging system of claim 10, further comprising one or more charging stations for supplementing the mobile charging device with electricity.
12. The mobile charging system of claim 11, wherein the charging server is further configured to send an instruction message to the mobile charging device that charges the terminal device to instruct the mobile charging device to return to a preset location or a preset charging station in response to a confirmation message from the terminal device that charging is completed.
13. The removable charging system of claim 11, wherein the charging server is further configured to issue an indication message to the removable charging device to indicate that the removable charging device is moved to a designated charging station in response to a low battery alert from the removable charging device indicating that its remaining battery capacity is below a lower threshold.
14. A mobile charging system comprising one or more mobile charging devices according to claim 9 and a charging station for supplementing the mobile charging devices with electricity, wherein the controller of the mobile charging devices is configured to:
responding to a request for establishing connection from a terminal device, and establishing communication connection with the terminal device sending the request;
in response to a charging request of the terminal device received via the communication connection, a position of the terminal device is extracted therefrom, and the moving means is controlled to move the movable charging apparatus to the position.
15. A mobile charging method using the mobile charging device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, the method comprising
S1, receiving a charging request from the terminal equipment and determining the position of the terminal equipment;
s2, selecting one of one or more available movable charging devices to provide charging service for the terminal equipment;
s3, sending indication information to the selected movable charging device to indicate that it is moved to the location of the terminal equipment.
16. A movable charging method using the movable charging device according to claim 9, the method comprising:
a1, receiving a connection request from a terminal device and establishing communication connection with the terminal device;
a2, in response to receiving a charging request from a terminal device, extracting position information of the terminal device therefrom;
a3, moving the movable charging device to the position of the terminal device based on the position information of the terminal device.
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| CN201911017014.3A CN110729787A (en) | 2019-10-24 | 2019-10-24 | Movable charging device, system and method |
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| CN201911017014.3A CN110729787A (en) | 2019-10-24 | 2019-10-24 | Movable charging device, system and method |
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Cited By (1)
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| WO2023029224A1 (en) * | 2021-09-03 | 2023-03-09 | 博泰车联网科技(上海)股份有限公司 | Charging control method and apparatus |
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