CN113119790A

CN113119790A - Battery replacing method and device for automatic guided transport vehicle and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN113119790A
Application number: CN201911416696.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王树森
Original assignee: Hangzhou Hikrobot Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Hangzhou Hikrobot Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-12-31
Filing date: 2019-12-31
Publication date: 2021-07-16
Anticipated expiration: 2039-12-31
Also published as: CN113119790B; WO2021136530A1

Abstract

The application discloses a battery replacement method and device of an automatic guided transport vehicle and a storage medium, and belongs to the technical field of automation equipment. The method comprises the following steps: receiving a battery replacement instruction from the control platform, wherein the battery replacement instruction comprises an identifier of a target full-charge battery and position information of a target position, and the target position is a position used for replacing the battery in the battery replacement station; moving to the target position based on the position information of the target position; and sending a battery replacement request to the battery replacement station at the target position, wherein the battery replacement request comprises an identification of a target full-charge battery, and the battery replacement request is used for instructing the battery replacement station to replace the power-shortage battery of the target automatic guided transport vehicle with the target full-charge battery. That is to say, the automated guided vehicle can move to the target location by oneself after receiving the instruction of trading the battery to trigger and trade the power station and change the battery, realize full automation, do not need artifical the participation, improved battery and changed efficiency.

Description

Battery replacing method and device for automatic guided transport vehicle and storage medium

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of automation equipment, in particular to a battery replacement method and device for an automatic guided transport vehicle and a storage medium.

Background

An automated Guided vehicle (also called agv) is equipped with an electromagnetic or optical automated guiding device, can travel along a specified guiding path, has safety protection and various moving and carrying functions, and is generally used in an intelligent warehousing system in the logistics industry. The automatic guided transporting vehicle needs the battery when the intelligent storage system runs, when the electric quantity of the battery is insufficient, the battery needs to be charged, but the working strength and the working time of the automatic guided transporting vehicle are longer, the capacity of the required battery is larger, the required charging time is longer, and the working efficiency of the automatic guided transporting vehicle is influenced. Therefore, the problem of insufficient battery capacity of the automatic guided vehicle is solved by replacing the battery in the related art, but the manual replacement of the battery is time-consuming and labor-consuming, and the battery replacement efficiency is low.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a battery replacing method and device of an automatic guided transport vehicle and a storage medium, and can solve the problems that manual battery replacement in the related art wastes time and labor, and the battery replacement efficiency is low. The technical scheme is as follows:

in one aspect, a battery replacement method for an automated guided vehicle is provided, which is applied to a target automated guided vehicle, and includes:

receiving a battery replacement instruction from a control platform, wherein the battery replacement instruction comprises an identifier of a target full-charge battery and position information of a target position, and the target position is a position used for replacing the battery in a battery replacement station;

moving to the target position based on the position information of the target position;

sending a battery replacement request to the battery replacement station at the target position, wherein the battery replacement request comprises an identifier of the target full-charge battery, and the battery replacement request is used for indicating the battery replacement station to replace the power-shortage battery of the target automatic guided transport vehicle with the target full-charge battery.

In a possible implementation manner of the present application, before receiving the battery replacement instruction from the control platform, the method further includes:

receiving a scheduling instruction of the control platform;

moving to a specified position outside the power swapping station according to the scheduling instruction;

the receiving of the battery replacement instruction from the control platform includes:

and receiving a battery replacement instruction from the control platform at the designated position, wherein the battery replacement instruction is sent by the control platform after the target automatic guided vehicle is determined to move to the designated position.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, the moving the target automated guided vehicle to the target position based on the position information of the target position, where the moving includes:

moving in the direction of the target position based on the position information of the target position;

in the moving process, the ground is scanned through the camera device to obtain a scanned image;

and when the scanning image comprises a specified identifier, correcting the moving direction according to the scanning image, wherein the specified identifier is used for guiding the target automatic guided vehicle to move from the specified position to the target position.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, the method further includes:

determining the distance from the specified position to the target position, and if the product of the wheel revolution and the wheel rotation distance is equal to the distance, determining to move to the target position, wherein the wheel rotation distance refers to the distance moved by one rotation of the wheel; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

counting the number of the scanned identifiers of the designated identifiers, and if the counted number of the identifiers is equal to the total number of the designated identifiers, determining to move to the target position; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

and when the specified identification is a two-dimensional code, identifying the scanned two-dimensional code, and if the position information is identified, determining to move to the target position.

In a possible implementation manner of the present application, before the sending, at the target location, a battery replacement request to the battery replacement station, the method further includes:

sending a first registration request to the power swapping station, wherein the first registration request is used for establishing communication connection between the target automated guided vehicle and the power swapping station;

the sending a battery swap request to the battery swap station at the target location includes:

if a first registration response message from the battery swapping station is received, sending a battery swapping request to the battery swapping station at the target position;

after the moving to the target position based on the position information of the target position, the method further includes:

sending a first notification message to the control platform indicating that the target automated guided vehicle is replacing batteries.

In a possible implementation manner of the present application, after the sending, at the target location, a battery replacement request to the battery replacement station, the method further includes:

if the target full-charge battery is detected to be installed completely, detecting whether the target full-charge battery is abnormally installed;

if the target full-charge battery is not abnormally installed, sending a normal installation message to the power change station;

and if a first task completion message fed back by the power change station based on the normal installation message is received, sending a second task completion message to the control platform.

In another aspect, a battery replacing method for an automated guided vehicle is provided, which is applied to a control platform, and comprises the following steps:

generating a battery replacement instruction of the target automatic guide transport vehicle, wherein the battery replacement instruction comprises an identification of a target full-charge battery and position information of a target position, and the target position is a position used for replacing the battery in a battery replacement station;

and sending the battery replacing instruction to the target automatic guided transport vehicle, wherein the battery replacing instruction is used for indicating the target automatic guided transport vehicle to move to the target position and triggering the battery replacing station to replace the power-shortage battery with the target full-charge battery.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, before generating the battery replacement command for the target automatic guided vehicle, the method further includes:

determining the target automatic guided vehicle with a replaced battery according to first data reported by at least one automatic guided vehicle in real time, wherein the first data of each automatic guided vehicle at least comprises the current battery capacity of the automatic guided vehicle;

receiving second data reported by at least one power exchanging station, wherein the second data of each power exchanging station at least comprises an identifier of a full-charge battery in the power exchanging station;

selecting one power exchanging station from the at least one power exchanging station;

the generating of the battery replacement instruction of the target automated guided transport vehicle includes:

and generating a battery replacement instruction of the target automatic guided transport vehicle according to the identifier of the target full-charge battery in the selected battery replacement station and the position information of the target position.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, before sending the battery replacement command to the target automated guided vehicle, the method further includes:

sending a scheduling instruction to the target automated guided vehicle, wherein the scheduling instruction is used for scheduling the target automated guided vehicle to move to a specified position outside the power exchanging station;

the sending the battery replacement instruction to the target automated guided vehicle includes:

and if the target automatic guided vehicle is determined to move to the designated position, stopping the dispatching operation and sending the battery changing instruction to the target automatic guided vehicle.

In a possible implementation manner of the present application, after the stopping of the scheduling operation, the method further includes:

sending a door opening request to the power swapping station;

polling the door opening state of the battery swapping station;

correspondingly, the sending the battery replacement instruction to the target automated guided vehicle includes:

and when the polling is that the door of the battery replacement station is in a fully opened state, sending the battery replacement instruction to the target automatic guided vehicle.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, after the sending the battery replacement command to the target automated guided vehicle, the method further includes:

and if the target automatic guided transport vehicle is determined to successfully enter the battery replacement station, sending a door closing request to the battery replacement station.

receiving a second task completion message and receiving a third task completion message;

sending a door opening request to the power conversion station which sends the third task completion message;

polling the door opening state of the battery swapping station;

and if the polling is that the door of the power swapping station is in a completely opened state, scheduling the target automatic guided vehicle which sends the second task completion message to leave the power swapping station.

In another aspect, a battery replacing method for an automated guided vehicle is provided, and is applied to a battery replacing station, and the method includes:

receiving a battery replacement request from a target automated guided vehicle, the battery replacement request including an identification of a target full charge battery;

and replacing the power-shortage battery of the target automatic guided transport vehicle with the target full-charge battery according to the battery replacement request.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, before receiving the battery replacement request from the target automated guided vehicle, the method further includes:

receiving a first registration request from the target automated guided vehicle, wherein the first registration request is used for establishing communication connection with the power swapping station;

sending a first registration response message to the target automated guided vehicle;

the receiving a battery swap request from a target automated guided vehicle includes:

receiving a battery swap request from the target automated guided vehicle after sending a first registration response message to the target automated guided vehicle.

In a possible implementation manner of the present application, the replacing a power shortage battery of the target automated guided transport vehicle with the target full-charge battery according to the battery replacement request further includes:

according to the identification of the target full-charge battery included in the battery replacement request, replacing the battery for the target automatic guided transport vehicle;

and sending a second notification message to a control platform, wherein the second notification message is used for indicating that the battery replacement station is replacing the battery.

In a possible implementation manner of the present application, after the battery replacement for the target automated guided transportation vehicle according to the identifier of the target full-charge battery included in the battery replacement request, the method further includes:

if receiving a normal installation message from the target automated guided vehicle, sending a first task completion message to the target automated guided vehicle;

and sending a third task completion message to the control platform.

In another aspect, a battery replacement system of an automated guided vehicle is provided, the battery replacement system including a target automated guided vehicle, a control platform, and a battery replacement station, the method including:

the control platform generates a battery replacement instruction of the target automatic guided transport vehicle, wherein the battery replacement instruction comprises an identifier of a target full-charge battery and position information of a target position, and the target position is a position used for replacing the battery in the battery replacement station;

the control platform sends a scheduling instruction to the target automatic guided transport vehicle, and the scheduling instruction is used for scheduling the target automatic guided transport vehicle to move to a specified position outside the power exchanging station;

the target automatic guided vehicle receives a dispatching instruction of the control platform and moves to a specified position outside the power exchanging station according to the dispatching instruction;

if the control platform determines that the target automatic guided transport vehicle moves to the designated position, the control platform sends the battery replacement instruction to the target automatic guided transport vehicle, wherein the battery replacement instruction is used for indicating that the target automatic guided transport vehicle moves to the target position and triggering the battery replacement station to replace the power-lack battery with the target full-charge battery;

the target automatic guided vehicle receives a battery replacement command from the control platform and moves to the target position based on the position information of the target position;

the target automatic guided transport vehicle sends a battery replacement request to the battery replacement station at the target position, the battery replacement request comprises an identifier of the target full-charge battery, and the battery replacement request is used for indicating the battery replacement station to replace the power-shortage battery of the target automatic guided transport vehicle with the target full-charge battery;

and the battery replacement station receives a battery replacement request from the target automatic guided transport vehicle, and replaces the power-lack battery of the target automatic guided transport vehicle with the target full-charge battery according to the battery replacement request.

In another aspect, there is provided a battery exchange apparatus for an automated guided vehicle, which is applied to a target automated guided vehicle, the apparatus including:

the first receiving module is used for receiving a battery replacement instruction from the control platform, wherein the battery replacement instruction comprises an identifier of a target full-charge battery and position information of a target position, and the target position is a position used for replacing the battery in the battery replacement station;

a moving module for moving to the target position based on the position information of the target position;

a first sending module, configured to send a battery replacement request to the battery replacement station at the target location, where the battery replacement request includes an identifier of the target full-charge battery, and the battery replacement request is used to instruct the battery replacement station to replace a power-shortage battery of the target automated guided transport vehicle with the target full-charge battery.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, the first receiving module is further configured to:

receiving a scheduling instruction of the control platform;

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, the target automated guided vehicle is configured with a camera device, and the moving module is configured to:

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, the moving module is further configured to:

In a possible implementation manner of the present application, the first sending module is further configured to:

In another aspect, a battery replacing apparatus for an automated guided vehicle is provided, which is applied to a control platform, and includes:

the generation module is used for generating a battery replacement instruction of the target automatic guided transport vehicle, wherein the battery replacement instruction comprises an identification of a target full-charge battery and position information of a target position, and the target position is a position used for replacing the battery in a battery replacement station;

and the second sending module is used for sending the battery replacing instruction to the target automatic guided transport vehicle, wherein the battery replacing instruction is used for indicating the target automatic guided transport vehicle to move to the target position and triggering the battery replacing station to replace the power-shortage battery with the target full-charge battery.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, the generating module is further configured to:

determining the target automatic guided vehicle with a battery to be replaced according to first data reported by at least one automatic guided vehicle in real time, wherein the first data of each automatic guided vehicle at least comprises the current battery capacity of the automatic guided vehicle;

In a possible implementation manner of the present application, the second sending module is further configured to:

sending a door opening request to the power swapping station;

polling the door opening state of the battery swapping station;

and if the polling is that the door of the battery replacement station is in a fully opened state, sending the battery replacement instruction to the target automatic guided vehicle.

polling the door opening state of the battery swapping station;

In another aspect, a battery replacing method for an automated guided vehicle is provided, wherein the method is applied to a battery replacing station, and the apparatus includes:

the second receiving module is used for receiving a battery replacement request from the target automatic guided transport vehicle, wherein the battery replacement request comprises an identification of a target full-charge battery;

and the battery replacement module is used for replacing the power-shortage battery of the target automatic guided transport vehicle with the target full-charge battery according to the battery replacement request.

In a possible implementation manner of the present application, the second receiving module is further configured to:

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, the replacement battery module is further configured to:

and sending a third task completion message to the control platform.

In another aspect, an apparatus is provided, which includes a processor, a communication interface, a memory, and a communication bus, where the processor, the communication interface, and the memory complete communication with each other through the communication bus, the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to execute the program stored in the memory, so as to implement the steps of the battery replacing method for an automated guided vehicle described above.

In another aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which a computer program is stored, which, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the method for replacing a battery of an automated guided vehicle described above.

In another aspect, a computer program product containing instructions is provided, which when run on a computer causes the computer to perform the steps of the method for battery replacement of an automated guided vehicle as described above.

The technical scheme provided by the application can at least bring the following beneficial effects:

and receiving a battery replacement instruction from the control platform, wherein the battery replacement instruction comprises an identifier of a target full-charge battery and position information of a target position, and the target position is a position used for replacing the battery in the battery replacement station. The automated guided vehicle then moves to the target location based on the location information of the target location. A battery swap request including an identification of a target full-charge battery is sent to a battery swap station at a target location instructing the battery swap station to replace a power-out battery of the automated guided vehicle with the target full-charge battery. That is to say, the automated guided vehicle can move to the target location by oneself after receiving the instruction of trading the battery to trigger and trade the power station and change the battery, realize full automation, do not need artifical the participation, improved battery and changed efficiency.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments are briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain other drawings based on these drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an implementation environment shown in accordance with an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method of battery replacement for an automated guided vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method of battery replacement for an automated guided vehicle according to another exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method of battery replacement for an automated guided vehicle according to another exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method of battery replacement for an automated guided vehicle according to another exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating movement of an automated guided vehicle to a designated location in accordance with an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating movement of an automated guided vehicle from a designated location to a target location in accordance with an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a battery replacement method for an automated guided vehicle according to another exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a battery changing apparatus of an automated guided vehicle in accordance with an exemplary embodiment;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural view showing a battery exchange device of an automated guided vehicle according to another exemplary embodiment;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural view showing a battery exchange device of an automated guided vehicle according to another exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of an apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment.

Detailed Description

To make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more clear, embodiments of the present application will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Before explaining the battery replacement method of the automated guided vehicle according to the embodiment of the present application in detail, the implementation environment according to the embodiment of the present application will be described.

Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation environment in accordance with an example embodiment. The implementation environment includes a battery replacement system that includes a control platform 101, at least one automated guided vehicle 102, and at least one power conversion station 103. The control platform 101 may be communicatively connected to at least one automated guided vehicle 102 and at least one swapping station 103, respectively. The communication connection is typically a wireless connection.

The control platform 101 is configured to receive first data reported by at least one automated guided vehicle 102 in real time, receive second data reported by at least one battery replacement station 103 in real time, generate a battery replacement instruction according to the received first data and the received second data, and control the automated guided vehicle to move. The Control platform 101 may include an RCS (Robot Control System) and a web server. The RCS is responsible for sending a battery replacement instruction to the automatic guided transport vehicle and scheduling the automatic guided transport vehicle to move, and the web server is used for generating the battery replacement instruction and controlling the opening and closing of a door of the battery replacement station.

After the communication connection between the at least one automated guided vehicle 102 and the control platform 101 is established, first data such as the current battery power, the current position information, and the current operating state may be reported to the control platform 101 in real time.

Each of the at least one battery replacement station 103 includes a charger and a plurality of batteries, and is used for replacing the batteries for the target automated guided vehicle requiring battery replacement. After the communication connection between the at least one swapping station 103 and the control platform 101 is established, second data such as the identifier of a fully charged battery and the like may be reported to the control platform 101, or second data such as the identifiers of all batteries and the battery capacities of all batteries and the like may be reported to the control platform 101.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the control platform 101, the at least one automated guided vehicle 102, and the at least one swapping station 103 are only examples, and other existing or future control platforms, automated guided vehicles, or swapping stations may be suitable for use in the present application and are included within the scope of the present application and are hereby incorporated by reference.

After the implementation environment of the embodiment of the present application is introduced, a detailed explanation will be given to the battery replacement method of the automated guided vehicle according to the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a battery replacement method of an automated guided vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment, which is applied to a target automated guided vehicle that is an automated guided vehicle of at least one automated guided vehicle that requires battery replacement. Referring to fig. 2, the method may include the following steps.

Step 201: and receiving a battery replacement instruction from the control platform, wherein the battery replacement instruction comprises an identifier of a target full-charge battery and position information of a target position, and the target position is a position used for replacing the battery in the battery replacement station.

In one possible implementation manner of the application, after receiving the dispatching instruction of the control platform, the target automatic guided vehicle moves to a designated position outside the power exchanging station according to the dispatching instruction. And receiving a battery replacement instruction from the control platform at the designated position, wherein the battery replacement instruction is sent by the control platform after the target automatic guided transport vehicle is determined to move to the designated position.

Step 202: and moving to the target position based on the position information of the target position.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, the target automated guided vehicle is configured with an imaging device, and moving to the target position based on the position information of the target position includes: and moving the target object in the direction of the target position based on the position information of the target position. And in the moving process, scanning the ground through the camera device to obtain a scanned image, and correcting the moving direction according to the scanned image when the scanned image comprises a specified mark, wherein the specified mark is used for guiding the target automatic guided transport vehicle to move from a specified position to a target position.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, a distance from the designated position to the target position is determined, and if a product of the number of wheel revolutions and a wheel turning distance is equal to the distance, the wheel turning distance is determined to be moved to the target position, and the wheel turning distance is a distance moved by one wheel revolution. Or counting the number of scanned identifiers of the designated identifiers, and determining to move to the target position if the counted number of identifiers is equal to the total number of the designated identifiers. Or, when the designated identifier is a two-dimensional code, the scanned two-dimensional code is recognized, and if the position information is recognized, the two-dimensional code is determined to be moved to the target position.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, after moving to the target position, a first notification message may be sent to the control platform, where the first notification message is used to indicate that the target automated guided vehicle is replacing the battery.

Step 203: and sending a battery replacement request to the battery replacement station at the target position, wherein the battery replacement request comprises an identification of a target full-charge battery, and the battery replacement request is used for instructing the battery replacement station to replace the power-shortage battery of the target automatic guided transport vehicle with the target full-charge battery.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, before the battery replacement request is sent to the battery replacement station at the target location, the target automated guided vehicle may send a first registration request to the battery replacement station, where the first registration request is used to establish a communication connection between the target automated guided vehicle and the battery replacement station. And if the first registration response message from the battery swapping station is received, sending a battery swapping request to the battery swapping station at the target position.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, after a battery replacement request is sent to a battery replacement station at a target position, if it is detected that the target fully-charged battery is installed, it is detected whether the target fully-charged battery is abnormally installed. And if the target full-charge battery is not abnormally installed, sending a normal installation message to the power change station. And if a first task completion message fed back by the power change station based on the normal installation message is received, sending a second task completion message to the control platform.

In the embodiment of the application, a battery replacement instruction from a control platform is received, where the battery replacement instruction includes an identifier of a target full-charge battery and position information of a target position, and the target position is a position used for replacing a battery in a battery replacement station. The automated guided vehicle then moves to the target location based on the location information of the target location. A battery swap request including an identification of a target full-charge battery is sent to a battery swap station at a target location instructing the battery swap station to replace a power-out battery of the automated guided vehicle with the target full-charge battery. That is to say, the automated guided vehicle can move to the target location by oneself after receiving the instruction of trading the battery to trigger and trade the power station and change the battery, realize full automation, do not need artifical the participation, improved battery and changed efficiency.

Fig. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a battery replacement method of an automated guided vehicle, which is applied to the control platform shown in fig. 1, according to an exemplary embodiment. Referring to fig. 3, the method may include the following steps.

Step 301: and generating a battery replacement instruction of the target automatic guide transport vehicle, wherein the battery replacement instruction comprises an identifier of a target full-charge battery and position information of a target position, and the target position is a position used for replacing the battery in the battery replacement station.

In a possible implementation manner of the present application, before the battery replacement instruction is generated, the control platform may determine, according to first data reported in real time by at least one automated guided vehicle, a target automated guided vehicle for which a battery is to be replaced, where the first data of each automated guided vehicle at least includes a current battery capacity of the automated guided vehicle. And receiving second data reported by at least one power change station, wherein the second data of each power change station at least comprises an identifier of a full-charge battery in the power change station. And selecting one power changing station from at least one power changing station, and generating a power changing command of the target automatic guided transport vehicle according to the identification of the target full-charge battery in the selected power changing station and the position information of the target position.

Step 302: and sending a battery replacing instruction to the target automatic guided transport vehicle, wherein the battery replacing instruction is used for indicating the target automatic guided transport vehicle to move to a target position and triggering a battery replacing station to replace the power-lack battery with a target full-charge battery.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, before the battery replacement instruction is sent to the target automated guided vehicle, the control platform may send a scheduling instruction to the target automated guided vehicle, where the scheduling instruction is used to schedule the target automated guided vehicle to move to a specified position outside the battery replacement station. And if the target automatic guided vehicle is determined to move to the designated position, stopping the dispatching operation and sending a battery changing instruction to the target automatic guided vehicle.

In a possible implementation manner of the present application, after the scheduling operation is stopped, the control platform may send a door opening request to the power swapping station; and polling the door opening state of the power swapping station. And if the door polled to the battery replacement station is in a fully opened state, sending a battery replacement instruction to the target automatic guided vehicle.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, after the battery replacement instruction is sent to the target automated guided vehicle, if it is determined that the target automated guided vehicle successfully enters the battery replacement station, a door closing request is sent to the battery replacement station.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, after sending a battery replacement command to the target automated guided vehicle, a second task completion message is received, and a third task completion message is received; sending a door opening request to the power conversion station which sends the third task completion message; polling the door opening state of the battery replacement station; and if the door polled to the power swapping station is in a fully opened state, scheduling the target automatic guided vehicle sending the second task completion message to leave the power swapping station.

In the embodiment of the application, the control platform generates a battery replacement instruction of the target automatic guided transport vehicle, the battery replacement instruction includes an identifier of a target full-charge battery and position information of a target position, the target position is a position used for replacing the battery inside the battery replacement station, and then the battery replacement instruction is sent to the target automatic guided transport vehicle and used for indicating the target automatic guided transport vehicle to move to the target position and triggering the battery replacement station to replace the battery short of the battery with the target full-charge battery. That is to say, after the control platform generates the battery replacement instruction, only the battery replacement instruction needs to be sent to the target automated guided transporting vehicle, and then the target automated guided transporting vehicle automatically moves to the target position and triggers the battery replacement station to replace the battery, so that the full-process automation of replacing the battery by the target automated guided transporting vehicle is realized, and the battery replacement efficiency is improved.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a battery replacing method for an automated guided vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment, where the method is applied to a battery replacing station that replaces a battery for a target automated guided vehicle in at least one battery replacing station. Referring to fig. 4, the method may include the following steps.

Step 401: a battery swap request is received from the target automated guided vehicle, the battery swap request including an identification of a target full charge battery.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, before receiving a battery replacement request from a target automated guided vehicle, a battery replacement station may receive a first registration request from the target automated guided vehicle, where the first registration request is used to establish a communication connection with the battery replacement station. And sending a first registration response message to the target automated guided vehicle, and receiving a battery replacement request from the target automated guided vehicle after sending the first registration response message to the target automated guided vehicle.

Step 402: and replacing the power-lack battery of the target automatic guided transport vehicle with the target full-charge battery according to the battery replacement request.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, the battery is replaced for the target automated guided vehicle according to the identifier of the target fully charged battery included in the battery replacement request, and a second notification message is sent to the control platform, where the second notification message is used to indicate that the battery replacement station is replacing the battery.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, after the battery of the target automated guided vehicle is replaced, if a normal installation message from the target automated guided vehicle is received, a first task completion message is sent to the target automated guided vehicle, and a third task completion message is sent to the control platform.

In the embodiment of the application, the battery replacement station receives a battery replacement request from the target automated guided vehicle, the battery replacement request includes an identifier of a target full-charge battery, and then the power-shortage battery of the target automated guided vehicle is replaced by the target full-charge battery according to the battery replacement request. That is to say, the battery replacing station can replace the battery for the target automatic guided transporting vehicle by itself only after receiving the battery replacing request of the target automatic guided transporting vehicle, and does not need a control platform and manual participation, thereby realizing the full-process automation of replacing the battery for the target automatic guided transporting vehicle and improving the battery replacing efficiency.

Fig. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method for battery replacement of an automated guided vehicle, according to an exemplary embodiment, as applied to the implementation environment shown in fig. 1. Referring to fig. 5, the method may include the following steps.

Step 501: and the control platform generates a battery replacement instruction of the target automatic guided transport vehicle, wherein the battery replacement instruction comprises the identification of the target full-charge battery and the position information of the target position, and the target position is the position used for replacing the battery in the battery replacement station.

Wherein the identification of the target full battery may be used to uniquely indicate a full battery.

As an example, a battery can be placed in one battery bin, and the identifier of the target fully charged battery can also be a bin number of the target fully charged battery, so that the battery changing station can take the target fully charged battery out of the bin of the target fully charged battery according to the bin number of the target fully charged battery.

In implementation, before the control platform generates the battery replacement instruction, the target automated guided vehicle for replacing the battery can be determined according to the first data reported by the at least one automated guided vehicle in real time.

The first data of each automated guided vehicle at least comprises the current battery capacity of the automated guided vehicle, and the current battery capacity is used for determining whether the automated guided vehicle needs to replace the battery, namely whether the current battery is a power-shortage battery. The target automated guided vehicle is an automated guided vehicle that requires battery replacement in at least one automated guided vehicle.

As an example, after the automated guided vehicle completes the initialization start, a second registration request may be sent to the control platform, where the second registration request includes at least an identifier of the automated guided vehicle, and then a second registration response message sent by the control platform is received, and a communication connection with the control platform is established. The automatic guided vehicle can report first data to the battery replacement station in real time, and the first data at least can comprise the current battery capacity of the automatic guided vehicle, so that the control platform can timely know when the battery capacity is insufficient, and the battery replacement station can be rapidly distributed to replace the battery of the automatic guided vehicle needing to replace the battery.

In some embodiments, when determining the target automated guided vehicle that needs to replace the battery, a battery power threshold may be preset, and the target automated guided vehicle that needs to replace the battery may be determined according to a magnitude relationship between the current battery power and the battery power threshold.

It should be noted that the battery power threshold may be set by a user or may be set by default by the control platform, and may be modified according to an actual situation, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

In a possible implementation manner, when the control platform receives first data of an automated guided vehicle, the current battery power in the first data may be compared with a battery power threshold, and if the current battery power is smaller than the battery power threshold, the automated guided vehicle may be determined to be the target automated guided vehicle. When the current battery charge is greater than or equal to the battery charge threshold, it may be determined that there is no automated guided vehicle currently requiring battery replacement.

In another possible implementation manner, when the control platform receives first data of a plurality of automated guided vehicles, current battery capacities in the plurality of first data may be respectively compared with a battery capacity threshold, when a current battery capacity smaller than the battery capacity threshold exists in the plurality of current battery capacities, first data corresponding to the current battery capacity smaller than the battery capacity threshold may be determined as target first data, and when the number of the target first data is one, an automated guided vehicle corresponding to the target first data is determined as a target automated guided vehicle. When the number of the target first data is multiple, determining the first data with the minimum current battery power in the target first data, and determining the automatic guided vehicle corresponding to the first data with the minimum current battery power as the target automatic guided vehicle. In addition, after the target automated guided vehicle finishes replacing the battery, the control platform may continue to determine the next target automated guided vehicle in the manner described above.

Of course, in other embodiments, the battery charge threshold may not be set when determining a target automated guided vehicle that requires battery replacement. When the control platform receives the first data of the automatic guided vehicles, the first data with the minimum current battery electric quantity in the first data can be determined, and the automatic guided vehicle corresponding to the first data with the minimum current battery electric quantity is determined as the target automatic guided vehicle.

Further, the first data may also include identification and status information of the automated guided vehicle.

The identifier of the automated guided vehicle may be used to uniquely indicate one automated guided vehicle, and the state information of the automated guided vehicle is used to indicate the current operation state of the automated guided vehicle, which may include but is not limited to idle, performing a task, changing a battery, completing a battery change, and being abnormal.

As an example, when determining a target automated guided vehicle for a battery to be replaced, the determination may be based on the current battery charge and the current operating state. For example, the automated guided vehicle whose current operation state is idle may be determined in the at least one automated guided vehicle according to the current operation state, and then the target automated guided vehicle may be determined from the automated guided vehicles whose current operation state is idle according to the battery power.

In implementation, before the control platform generates the battery replacement instruction, second data reported by at least one battery replacement station may be received, and one battery replacement station is selected from the at least one battery replacement station. The second data of each power swapping station at least comprises an identifier of a fully charged battery in the power swapping station.

The full-charge battery is a battery which can be used for replacing the battery of the target automatic guided transport vehicle in each battery replacement station.

In some embodiments, after the power swapping station completes initialization start, a third registration request may be sent to the control platform, where the third registration request includes at least an identifier of the power swapping station, and then a third registration response message sent by the control platform is received, so as to establish a communication connection with the control platform.

In a possible implementation manner, the battery replacement station may report second data to the control platform, where the second data may include an identifier of a fully charged battery in the battery replacement station, so that the control platform can know a condition in the battery replacement station, and when a battery needs to be replaced for a target automated guided vehicle, a target fully charged battery for replacing a power shortage battery of the target automated guided vehicle may be determined.

In another possible implementation manner, the swapping station may report the second data to the control platform, and since some swapping stations may not have a fully charged battery and cannot send the identifier of the fully charged battery, the second data may include the identifiers of all the batteries and the battery capacities of all the batteries in the swapping station, so that the identifier of the target fully charged battery may be determined according to the battery capacities of all the batteries and the identifiers of all the batteries in each swapping station.

As an example, the second data of each power swapping station may further include state information of the power swapping station and position information of the target position.

The state information of the battery replacement station is used for indicating the current operation state of the battery replacement station, and may include, but is not limited to, idle, in battery replacement, battery replacement completion, and abnormal.

As an example, a specific implementation of selecting one swapping station from the at least one swapping station may be: the control platform may determine, according to the state information of each power swapping station in the second data, a power swapping station in an idle state from the at least one power swapping station. If the number of the battery replacement stations in the idle state is one, the battery replacement station can be determined as a battery replacement station for replacing the battery of the target automatic guided transport vehicle. If the number of the battery replacement stations in the idle state is multiple, one battery replacement station can be randomly determined from the battery replacement stations in the idle state for replacing the battery of the target automatic guided transport vehicle; or, the power exchanging station with the maximum total amount of battery power can be determined as the power exchanging station for exchanging the battery for the target automatic guided transport vehicle according to the battery power of all the batteries in the power exchanging station.

The specific implementation of selecting one swapping station from the at least one swapping station is only an example, and in implementation, one swapping station may also be selected from the at least one swapping station by another method, which is not limited in this embodiment of the application.

Further, after one power exchanging station is selected from the at least one power exchanging station, a power exchanging command of the target automated guided transport vehicle can be generated according to the identifier of the target full-charge battery in the selected power exchanging station and the position information of the target position.

As an example, since the position information of the target position corresponds to the swapping station in a one-to-one relationship, after one swapping station is selected, the position information of the target position may be determined according to the second data reported by the swapping station, or the position information of the target position corresponding to the swapping station may also be stored in the control platform in advance.

In a possible implementation manner, if the second data includes an identifier of a fully charged battery, the control platform may randomly select a fully charged battery from fully charged batteries corresponding to the identifier of the fully charged battery, and determine the identifier of the fully charged battery as the identifier of the target fully charged battery.

In another possible implementation manner, if the second data includes the identifiers of all the batteries and the battery capacities of all the batteries, the control platform may determine, according to the identifiers of all the batteries in the selected power conversion station and the battery capacities of all the batteries, the battery with the maximum battery capacity, determine the battery with the maximum battery capacity as the target fully charged battery, and further determine the identifier of the target fully charged battery.

In an implementation, after determining the identifier of the target full-charge battery and the position information of the target position, a battery replacement command may be generated for the target automated guided vehicle, where the battery replacement command includes the identifier of the target full-charge battery and the position information of the target position.

Further, the second data may further include charging machine information and energy state information of the charging station. The charging information of the battery changing station comprises the highest temperature, the lowest temperature, the total voltage, the input current, the output current, the number of recycling times, the residual electric quantity, the current alarm information and whether each battery is being charged or not of all the batteries. The energy status information includes whether each branch of the charger is charging, the output current of each branch, the voltage of each branch, and the temperature of each branch.

Step 502: and the control platform sends a battery replacing instruction to the target automatic guided transport vehicle, wherein the battery replacing instruction is used for indicating the target automatic guided transport vehicle to move to a target position and triggering the battery replacing station to replace the power-shortage battery with the target full-charge battery.

As an example, the target automated guided vehicle needs to go to a battery replacement station to replace a battery, but the current position of the target automated guided vehicle may be far away from the battery replacement station, and the target automated guided vehicle needs to move to a position close to the battery replacement station first, so the target automated guided vehicle needs to report the current position information to the control platform, and the control platform needs to determine the position information of the designated position outside the battery replacement station. Therefore, the control platform can control the target automatic guided transport vehicle to move to the designated position outside the power exchanging station according to the current position information of the target automatic guided transport vehicle and the position information of the designated position outside the power exchanging station.

The position information outside the power swapping station can be acquired in two ways. The first mode is as follows: the second data reported by the power swapping station may include location information of a designated location outside the power swapping station. The second mode is as follows: the position information of the power swapping station can be stored in the control platform in advance, and the control platform can determine the position information of the designated position outside the power swapping station according to the position information of the power swapping station.

In implementation, the control platform may send a scheduling instruction to the target automated guided vehicle, the target automated guided vehicle receives the scheduling instruction of the control platform, moves to a designated position outside the battery replacement station according to the scheduling instruction, and receives a battery replacement instruction from the control platform at the designated position, where the battery replacement instruction is sent by the control platform after it is determined that the target automated guided vehicle moves to the designated position.

That is to say, the target automated guided vehicle may also report the current position information to the control platform in real time, and the control platform may dispatch the target automated guided vehicle to a specified position outside the battery replacement station according to the current position information and the position information of the specified position, and then send a battery replacement instruction to the target automated guided vehicle.

As an example, before the control platform sends the battery replacement instruction to the target automated guided vehicle, the target automated guided vehicle may be scheduled to move to the designated location according to the current location information and the location information of the designated location reported by the target automated guided vehicle in real time. Correspondingly, the target automated guided vehicle receives a scheduling instruction sent by the control platform based on the current position information reported in real time, the scheduling instruction comprises scheduling position information, the scheduling position information is used for indicating a position point which the target automated guided vehicle needs to reach at the next moment, and the target automated guided vehicle can move to an appointed position according to the scheduling instruction. In the moving process, the target automatic guided vehicle can report the current position information to the control platform in real time, and the control platform can receive the current position information reported by the target automatic guided vehicle in real time. And if the control platform determines that the target automatic guided transport vehicle moves to the designated position outside the battery replacement station according to the current position information reported by the target automatic guided transport vehicle in real time, stopping the scheduling operation, sending a battery replacement instruction to the target automatic guided transport vehicle, and receiving the battery replacement instruction sent by the control platform by the target automatic guided transport vehicle.

For example, referring to fig. 6, assuming that the position indicated by the current position information of the target automated guided transportation vehicle is a, the designated position outside the power change station is E, the scheduling instruction sent by the control platform to the power change station for the first time is position information of point B, indicating that the target automated guided transportation vehicle moves to point B, then the target automated guided transportation vehicle arrives at point B, sending the current position information to the control platform, after receiving the current position information of the target automated guided transportation vehicle, the control platform continues to issue the scheduling instruction moving to point C, after the target automated guided transportation vehicle arrives at point C, the scheduling instruction moving to point D continues to issue, when the target automated guided transportation vehicle arrives at point E, the current position information is reported to the control platform, and the control platform determines that the current position information reported by the target automated guided transportation vehicle this time is position information of the designated position outside the power change station, the scheduling operation is stopped so that the target automated guided vehicle stays at the current position for a while, and then a battery change instruction is transmitted to the target automated guided vehicle.

It should be noted that, when the target automated guided vehicle reaches the designated position outside the battery replacement station, the control platform stops the scheduling operation of the target automated guided vehicle, and if the control platform directly sends a battery replacement instruction to the target automated guided vehicle at this time, the automated guided vehicle will automatically move to the target position based on the battery replacement instruction, and if the battery replacement station has a door, the target automated guided vehicle will enter the battery replacement station, and the door of the battery replacement station needs to be opened first.

In some embodiments, after the scheduling operation is stopped, the control platform may send a door opening request to the power swapping station and poll a door opening state of the power swapping station. And when the door polled to the battery replacement station is in a fully opened state, sending a battery replacement instruction to the target automatic guided vehicle.

As an example, the control platform may send a door opening request to the battery swapping station, the battery swapping station executes a door opening operation after receiving the door opening request, in the process of opening the door, the control platform continuously sends a request for inquiring a door opening state to the battery swapping station, the battery swapping station returns the current door opening state to the control platform according to the door opening progress, until the door is completely opened, the battery swapping station returns a message that the door is completely opened to the control platform, the control platform determines that the door of the current battery swapping station is in the completely opened state according to the received message, determines that a target automatic guided transport vehicle can enter, and at this time, may send a battery swapping instruction to the target automatic guided transport vehicle.

For example, assuming that the door of the power switching station needs to be fully opened for 3 seconds, the control platform sends a request for inquiring the door opening state to the power switching station once every second, the first time the control platform receives a reply that the door is opened 1/3, the second time the control platform receives a reply that the door is opened 2/3, and the third time the control platform receives a reply that the door is fully opened, at which time the control platform can determine that the door is in the fully opened state, and can send a battery change instruction to the target automated guided vehicle.

Step 503: and the target automatic guided transport vehicle receives a battery replacement command from the control platform and moves to the target position based on the position information of the target position.

That is to say, after the target automated guided vehicle receives the battery replacement command, the control platform does not need to send a scheduling command to perform scheduling, and the target automated guided vehicle can move to the target position based on the position information of the target position. Therefore, interaction between the control platform and the target automatic guided vehicle is reduced, the burden of the control platform is reduced under the condition that the control platform is busy and dispatching instructions are possibly delayed, and battery replacement of the target automatic guided vehicle is not delayed. In addition, communication interaction between the control platform and the battery replacement station is reduced, so that the process is simpler, and the battery replacement efficiency is improved.

In an implementation, the target automated guided vehicle may be configured with a camera device, and the specific implementation of moving to the target position based on the position information of the target position may include: and moving the target object in the direction of the target position based on the position information of the target position. In the moving process, the ground is scanned through the camera device to obtain a scanned image. When the scanned image includes a specified mark for guiding the target automated guided vehicle to move from the specified position to the target position, the moving direction is corrected according to the scanned image.

When the scanned image does not include the specified mark, the forward movement in the current moving direction is continued, and when the scanned image includes the specified mark, the moving direction may be corrected based on the scanned image.

The designated identifier may be an arrow, a graphic identifier, a lane line, a character, etc., for example, the graphic identifier may be a two-dimensional code, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

As an example, referring to fig. 7, the ground may be provided with a plurality of designated marks at even intervals, after the target automated guided vehicle moves a certain distance, the camera of the target automated guided vehicle may scan the designated mark at the current position, and when the designated mark is located in the middle of the scanned image, it may be determined that the current moving direction is correct. When the designated mark is positioned at the position to the left of the scanned image, the current moving direction can be determined to be slightly to the right, and the correction module of the target automatic guiding device can correct the moving direction to be slightly to the left in time. When the designated mark is positioned at the position on the right side of the scanned image, the current moving direction can be determined to be a little to the left, and the correction module of the target automatic guiding device can correct the moving direction to be a right side in time.

In an implementation, determining that the target automated guided vehicle is moving to the target location may include three implementations.

The first implementation mode comprises the following steps: and determining the distance from the specified position to the target position, and if the product of the wheel revolution and the wheel rotation distance is equal to the distance, determining that the vehicle moves to the target position, wherein the wheel rotation distance refers to the distance moved by one rotation of the wheel.

That is, the target automated guided vehicle may determine the distance to move from the designated position to the target position based on the position information of the designated position and the position information of the target position, determine the moving distance of the target automated guided vehicle based on the product of the number of revolutions of the wheel and the turning distance of the wheel, and may determine that the target automated guided vehicle has moved to the target position if the moving distance of the target automated guided vehicle and the distance from the designated position to the target position are equal.

The second implementation mode comprises the following steps: and counting the number of the scanned identifiers of the designated identifiers, and determining to move to the target position if the counted number of the identifiers is equal to the total number of the designated identifiers.

As an example, the ground may be provided with a plurality of designated identifiers at uniform intervals, and the last designated identifier is at the target position, and the target automated guided vehicle may scan the ground during moving, and count the number of scanned designated identifiers during moving, and when the counted number of identifiers is equal to the total number of designated identifiers, it may be determined that the vehicle has moved to the target position.

As another example, the ground may be provided with a plurality of designated identifiers at uniform intervals, after the target automated guided vehicle moves a specific distance, the camera of the target automated guided vehicle may scan the designated identifier of the current position, the target automated guided vehicle may determine the moving distance according to the number of the scanned designated identifiers and the distance between every two designated identifiers, and then determine the current position information according to the moving distance and the position information of the designated position. When it is determined to move to the target position based on the current position information, the designated mark at the target position may be scanned, and if the designated mark is located in the middle of the scanned image, it may be determined that the target position has been reached. If the designated mark is not located in the middle of the scanned image, the position of the target automated guided vehicle can be corrected according to the position of the designated mark in the scanned image until the designated mark in the scanned image captured at the target position is located in the middle of the scanned image, and the target position can be reached.

The third implementation mode comprises the following steps: and when the designated identifier is a two-dimensional code, identifying the scanned two-dimensional code, and if the position information is identified, determining to move to the target position.

As an example, the camera configured for the target automated guided vehicle may be a code scanning camera, and the designation identifier may be a two-dimensional code. The ground may be provided with a plurality of two-dimensional codes uniformly spaced, and the two-dimensional code at the target position may contain position information. In the process that the target automatic guided vehicle moves to the target position, the two-dimensional code can be scanned through the camera device, and if the scanned two-dimensional code contains position information, the position where the target position is reached can be determined.

In addition to the above several implementation manners, the specific implementation of moving the target automated guided vehicle to the target position based on the position information of the target position may also be: the ground may be provided with a plurality of two-dimensional codes spaced uniformly, and the two-dimensional codes may contain position information. In the process that the target automatic guided vehicle moves to the target position, the current position information of the target automatic guided vehicle can be determined through the positioning device configured by the target automatic guided vehicle, the two-dimensional code can be scanned through the camera device, the position information in the two-dimensional code is obtained, and then the moving direction of the target automatic guided vehicle is corrected according to the difference value between the current position information and the obtained position information.

In addition, the target automatic guided vehicle can continuously scan the two-dimensional code in the moving process, and whether the target position is reached is determined according to the position information obtained by scanning. When the position information obtained by scanning the two-dimensional code, the current position information of the target automatic guided vehicle and the position information of the target position are the same, it can be determined that the target position is reached.

The above description is only given by taking the designation marks on the ground as an example of a straight line distribution. In a possible implementation manner, the designated marks on the ground may also be distributed in a curved shape, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

Further, in the process that the target automatic guided transport vehicle moves from the power station door to the target position, current position information can be sent to the control platform in real time, and when the control platform determines that the target automatic guided transport vehicle enters the power station based on the current position information, a door closing request can be sent to the power station to indicate the power station to close the door.

In a possible implementation manner, if the control platform determines that the position indicated by the current position information is located inside the battery replacement station based on the current position information reported by the target automated guided vehicle in real time, it may be determined that the target automated guided vehicle has successfully entered the battery replacement station, and then a door closing request may be sent to the battery replacement station.

In another possible implementation manner, once the target automated guided transport vehicle enters the inside of the battery swapping station, a first registration request may be sent to the battery swapping station, and if the battery swapping station receives the first registration request, it may be considered that the target automated guided transport vehicle has entered the inside of the battery swapping station, and the battery swapping station may send a message that the target automated guided transport vehicle has successfully entered the battery swapping station to the control platform. The control platform can determine that the target automatic guided vehicle has successfully entered the interior of the battery replacement station based on the message, and can send a door closing request to the battery replacement station.

The first registration request may include at least an identification of the target automated guided vehicle, so that the swap station may determine which target automated guided vehicle to establish a communication connection with.

For example, the control platform may send a door closing request to the battery replacement station, the battery replacement station executes a door closing operation after receiving the door closing request, in a door closing process, the control platform continuously sends a request for inquiring a door closing state to the battery replacement station, the battery replacement station replies a current door closing state to the control platform according to a door closing progress, until the door is completely closed, the battery replacement station replies information that the door is completely closed to the control platform, and the control platform determines that the door of the current battery replacement station is in the completely closed state according to the received information that the door is completely closed.

It should be noted that, after the target automatic guided transport vehicle enters the power exchanging station, closing the door of the power exchanging station can improve the condition that rainwater, mice and the like entering the power exchanging station can cause damage to the power exchanging station. In addition, since the charging temperatures of the plurality of batteries in the battery replacement station cannot be excessively high, an air conditioner is generally disposed in the battery replacement station, and it is necessary to close the door of the battery replacement station in order to maintain the temperature in the battery replacement station.

Further, after the target automated guided vehicle moves to the target location, a first notification message may be sent to the control platform indicating that the target automated guided vehicle is replacing the battery. That is to say, the target automated guided vehicle may notify the control platform of its own status information, and thus, the control platform is prevented from issuing a task to the target automated guided vehicle in the process of replacing the battery of the target automated guided vehicle, which not only affects the operation of replacing the battery, but also may delay the execution of the issued task.

Step 504: the target automatic guided transport vehicle sends a battery replacement request to the battery replacement station at the target position, the battery replacement request comprises an identification of a target full-charge battery, and the battery replacement request is used for indicating the battery replacement station to replace the power-shortage battery of the target automatic guided transport vehicle with the target full-charge battery.

In some embodiments, the target automated guided vehicle may send a first registration request to the swap station before sending a battery swap request to the swap station at the target location, the first registration request for establishing a communication connection between the target automated guided vehicle and the swap station. And if the first registration response message from the battery swapping station is received, sending a battery swapping request to the battery swapping station at the target position.

The first registration response message may include at least an identification of the power swapping station, so that the target automated guided vehicle may determine which power swapping station the communication connection is established with.

The communication connection between the target automated guided vehicle and the power conversion station is usually a UDP (User Datagram Protocol) communication connection.

In one possible implementation, the target automated guided vehicle may send a first registration request to the swap station after reaching the target location. And if receiving a first registration response message from the battery swapping station, directly sending a battery swapping request to the battery swapping station at the target position.

In another possible implementation manner, the target automated guided vehicle may send the first registration request to the swapping station after entering the inside of the swapping station, that is, once entering the inside of the swapping station, the first registration request is sent to the swapping station. And if the first registration response message from the battery replacement station is received, judging the current position information of the target automatic guided transport vehicle, and sending a battery replacement request to the battery replacement station when the target automatic guided transport vehicle is determined to reach the target position.

It should be noted that, when the target automated guided vehicle arrives at the target position, there is no sequence between sending the first notification message to the control platform at the target position and sending the first registration request to the power swapping station at the target position.

In implementation, after the communication connection is established, the target automated guided vehicle may perform data communication with the battery replacement station, and the target automated guided vehicle may send a battery replacement request to the battery replacement station.

Step 505: and the battery replacement station receives a battery replacement request from the target automatic guided transport vehicle, and replaces the power-shortage battery of the target automatic guided transport vehicle with the target full-charge battery according to the battery replacement request.

In implementation, after receiving the battery replacement request, the battery replacement station automatically guides the transport vehicle to replace the battery for the target according to the identifier of the target full-charge battery included in the battery replacement request.

As an example, the target automated guided vehicle may be lifted by a lifting device in the battery replacement station, the power-shortage battery in the target automated guided vehicle may be taken out, the target full-charge battery may be obtained based on the identifier of the target full-charge battery, the target full-charge battery may be installed in the target automated guided vehicle, and the power-shortage battery may be placed in a bin of the charger for charging.

As an example, after receiving the battery replacement request, the battery replacement station may send a second notification message to the control platform, where the second notification message is used to indicate that the battery replacement station is replacing the battery. That is to say, the battery replacement station can notify the state information of the control platform, so that the control platform is prevented from allocating another automatic guided vehicle to the battery replacement station to replace the battery in the battery replacement process of the battery replacement station, the current battery replacement operation is influenced, and the battery replacement of another automatic guided vehicle can be delayed.

Further, if the target automated guided vehicle detects that the installation of the target full charge battery is completed, it may be detected whether the installation of the target full charge battery is abnormal. And if the target full-charge battery is not abnormally installed, sending a normal installation message to the power change station. And if a first task completion message fed back by the power change station based on the normal installation message is received, sending a second task completion message to the control platform. Correspondingly, if the power conversion station receives the normal installation message of the coming target automatic guided vehicle, a first task completion message is sent to the target automatic guided vehicle, and a third task completion message is sent to the control platform.

Wherein the second task completion message may include at least an identification of the target automated guided vehicle so that the control platform may determine which target automated guided vehicle completed the task.

The third task completion message may include an identifier of the battery swapping station, so that the control platform may determine which battery swapping station completes the battery swapping task.

That is to say, after detecting that the target full-charge battery is installed, the target automated guided vehicle can detect whether the installation is normal, if the installation is normal, the target automated guided vehicle can send an installation normal message to the battery replacement station, and after receiving the installation normal message, the battery replacement station sends a first task completion message to the target automated guided vehicle and sends a third task completion message to the control platform. And after receiving the first task completion message, the target automatic guided vehicle sends a second task completion message to the control platform.

As an example, when the target automated guided vehicle detects that the target fully charged battery is installed, relevant data of the target fully charged battery, including battery level, voltage, etc., may be obtained, and if the relevant data can be obtained normally, it indicates that the target fully charged battery is in normal communication. And then, the voltage of the battery is acquired by ADC sampling, whether the voltage is normal or not is judged, and if the voltage is normal, the target full-charge battery can be determined to be normally powered. When the target full-charge battery is determined to be in normal communication and normal power supply, the target full-charge battery can be determined to be normally installed, and a normal installation message is sent to the power conversion station. And when the power change station receives the normal installation message, the target automatic guided transport vehicle is put down, then a first task completion message is sent to the target automatic guided transport vehicle, and a third task completion message is sent to the control platform, wherein the third task completion message is used for informing the control platform that the power change station has completed the power change task, and the power change station is in an idle state at the moment. After receiving the first task completion message sent by the battery replacement station, the target automated guided vehicle may send a second task completion message to the control platform, where the second task completion message is used to inform the control platform that the target automated guided vehicle has completed the battery replacement task.

In addition, for example, the target automated guided vehicle may send a disconnection request to the power swapping station, and if a disconnection response message of the power swapping station is received, it indicates that the connection with the power swapping station has been disconnected. Or, the disconnection request may not be sent, and when data interaction is not performed between the target automated guided vehicle and the power swapping station, it may be considered that the communication connection between the target automated guided vehicle and the power swapping station is disconnected.

Further, the control platform receives the second task completion message and the third task completion message, can send a door opening request to the power exchanging station which sends the third task completion message, polls the door opening state of the power exchanging station, and schedules the target automatic guided vehicle which sends the second task completion message to leave the power exchanging station if the door which polls the power exchanging station is in the completely opened state.

As an example, after receiving the second task message and the third task message, the control platform determines that both the battery replacement station that sends the third task completion message and the target automated guided vehicle that sends the second task completion message have completed the battery replacement task and are currently in an idle state. In this case, the control platform may send a door opening request to the power exchanging station, poll a door opening state, and dispatch the target automated guided transport vehicle to leave the power exchanging station when it is determined that the door of the power exchanging station is completely opened. And when the target automatic guided transport vehicle is determined to leave based on the current position information reported by the target automatic guided transport vehicle, sending a door closing request to the power exchanging station, and polling the door closing state of the power exchanging station to confirm that the door is completely closed.

In the embodiment of the application, a battery replacement instruction from a control platform is received, wherein the battery replacement instruction comprises an identifier of a target full-charge battery and position information of a target position, and the target position is a position used for replacing the battery in a battery replacement station. The automated guided vehicle then moves to the target location based on the location information of the target location. A battery swap request including an identification of a target full-charge battery is sent to a battery swap station at a target location instructing the battery swap station to replace a power-out battery of the automated guided vehicle with the target full-charge battery. That is to say, the automated guided vehicle can move to the target location by oneself after receiving the instruction of trading the battery to trigger and trade the power station and change the battery, realize full automation, do not need artifical the participation, improved battery and changed efficiency.

For convenience of understanding, the following description, with reference to fig. 8, illustrates a battery replacement method for an automated guided vehicle according to an embodiment of the present application, which may specifically include:

a. and the target automatic guided vehicle reports the first data to the control platform.

b. And the power swapping station reports the second data to the control platform.

c. And the control platform generates a battery replacement instruction of the target automatic guided transport vehicle according to the first data and the second data.

d. And the control platform issues a dispatching instruction, and dispatches the target automatic guided transport vehicle to a specified position outside the power exchanging station.

e. And the control platform sends a door opening request to the power swapping station.

f. And the control platform sends a request for acquiring the door state to the power swapping station.

g. And when the door is determined to be opened, the control platform sends a battery replacing instruction to the target automatic guided vehicle, wherein the battery replacing instruction comprises the identification of the target full-charge battery and the position information of the target position.

h. And the target automatic guided vehicle moves to the target position according to the position information of the target position.

i. And the control platform sends a door closing request to the battery replacement station after determining that the target automatic guided transport vehicle enters the battery replacement station according to the current position information reported by the target automatic guided transport vehicle.

j. The control platform sends a request for acquiring the door state to determine that the door of the power change station is completely closed.

k. And after the target automatic guided transport vehicle reaches the target position, sending a first registration request to the power swapping station.

And l, the target automatic guided vehicle sends a first notification message to the control platform.

And m, after the registration is successful, the target automatic guided transport vehicle sends a battery replacement request to the battery replacement station.

And n, the power swapping station sends a second notification message to the control platform.

And o, replacing the power shortage battery in the target automatic guided transport vehicle with the target full-charge battery by the power replacement station.

And p, when the target automatic guided vehicle detects that the target full-charge battery is replaced and normally installed, sending a normal installation message to the battery replacement station.

And q, the power swapping station sends a first task completion message to the target automatic guided vehicle.

And r, the battery replacement station sends a third task completion message to the control platform.

And s, after receiving the first task completion message sent by the battery swapping station, the target automatic guided transport vehicle sends a second task completion message to the control platform.

And t, after the control platform confirms that the task is completed, sending a door opening request to the power exchanging station.

u, the control platform sends a request for acquiring the door state.

And v, when the door is determined to be completely opened, the control platform dispatches the target to automatically guide the transport vehicle to leave the battery replacement station.

And w, after the target automatic guided vehicle is determined to leave, the control platform sends a door closing request to the power exchanging station.

And x, the control platform sends a request for acquiring the door state to the power swapping station to determine that the door of the power swapping station is completely closed.

Fig. 9 is a schematic structural view illustrating a battery exchange apparatus of an automated guided vehicle, which is applied to a target automated guided vehicle, according to an exemplary embodiment. Referring to fig. 9, the apparatus includes: a receiving module 901, a moving module 902 and a sending module 903.

A first receiving module 901, configured to receive a battery replacement instruction from a control platform, where the battery replacement instruction includes an identifier of a target fully charged battery and position information of a target position, and the target position is a position in a battery replacement station for replacing a battery;

a moving module 902, configured to move to the target location based on the location information of the target location;

a first sending module 903, configured to send a battery replacement request to the battery replacement station at the target location, where the battery replacement request includes an identifier of a target full-charge battery, and the battery replacement request is used to instruct the battery replacement station to replace a power-shortage battery of the target automated guided transport vehicle with the target full-charge battery.

In a possible implementation manner of the present application, the first receiving module 901 is further configured to:

receiving a scheduling instruction of a control platform;

and receiving a battery replacement instruction from the control platform at the designated position, wherein the battery replacement instruction is sent by the control platform after the target automatic guided transport vehicle is determined to move to the designated position.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, the target automated guided vehicle is configured with a camera device, and the moving module 902 is configured to:

in the moving process, scanning the ground of the power exchange station through a camera device to obtain a scanned image;

when the scanned image comprises a designated mark, correcting the moving direction according to the scanned image, wherein the designated mark is used for guiding the target automatic guided vehicle to move from a designated position to a target position;

when the mobile terminal moves to the target position, the position is corrected according to the designated mark at the target position.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, the moving module 902 is further configured to:

and sending a first notification message to the control platform, wherein the first notification message is used for indicating that the target automated guided vehicle is replacing the battery.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, the first sending module 903 is further configured to:

sending a first registration request to a power swapping station, wherein the first registration request is used for establishing communication connection between a target automatic guided transport vehicle and the power swapping station;

and if the first registration response message from the battery swapping station is received, sending a battery swapping request to the battery swapping station at the target position.

It should be noted that: in the battery replacing device for an automated guided vehicle according to the above embodiment, when the battery of the automated guided vehicle is replaced, only the division of the above functional modules is taken as an example, and in practical applications, the above functions may be distributed to different functional modules according to needs, that is, the internal structure of the device may be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the above described functions. In addition, the battery replacing device of the automated guided vehicle and the battery replacing method embodiment of the automated guided vehicle provided by the above embodiments belong to the same concept, and specific implementation processes thereof are detailed in the method embodiment and are not described herein again.

Fig. 10 is a schematic structural view illustrating a battery exchange apparatus of an automated guided vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment, which is applied to a control platform. Referring to fig. 10, the apparatus includes: a generating module 1001 and a sending module 1002.

The generation module 1001 is configured to generate a battery replacement instruction of the target automatic guided transport vehicle, where the battery replacement instruction includes an identifier of a target full-charge battery and position information of a target position, and the target position is a position used for replacing a battery in a battery replacement station;

the second sending module 1002 is configured to send a battery replacement instruction to the target automated guided vehicle, where the battery replacement instruction is used to instruct the target automated guided vehicle to move to a target position and trigger a battery replacement station to replace an out-of-power battery with a full-power target battery.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, the generating module 1001 is further configured to:

determining a target automatic guided vehicle with a battery to be replaced according to first data reported by at least one automatic guided vehicle in real time, wherein the first data of each automatic guided vehicle at least comprises the current battery capacity of the automatic guided vehicle;

receiving second data reported by at least one power change station, wherein the second data of each power change station at least comprises state information of the power change station, and identification of a full-charge battery in the power change station and position information of a target position;

selecting one power swapping station from at least one power swapping station based on the state information of each power swapping station;

In a possible implementation manner of the present application, the second sending module 1002 is further configured to:

sending a scheduling instruction to the target automatic guided transport vehicle, wherein the scheduling instruction is used for scheduling the target automatic guided transport vehicle to move to a specified position outside the power exchanging station;

and if the target automatic guided vehicle is determined to move to the designated position, stopping the dispatching operation and sending a battery changing instruction to the target automatic guided vehicle.

sending a door opening request to the battery swapping station;

polling the door opening state of the battery replacement station;

and if the door polled to the battery replacement station is in a fully opened state, sending a battery replacement instruction to the target automatic guided vehicle.

polling the door opening state of the battery replacement station;

and if the door polled to the power swapping station is in a fully opened state, scheduling the target automatic guided vehicle sending the second task completion message to leave the power swapping station.

Fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating a battery exchange device of an automated guided vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment, which is applied to a battery exchange station. Referring to fig. 11, the apparatus includes: a receiving module 1101 and a replacement battery module 1102.

A second receiving module 1101, configured to receive a battery replacement request from the target automated guided vehicle, where the battery replacement request includes an identifier of a target full-charge battery;

and a battery replacement module 1102, configured to replace the power-shortage battery of the target automated guided transport vehicle with the target full-charge battery according to the battery replacement request.

In a possible implementation manner of the present application, the second receiving module 1101 is further configured to:

receiving a first registration request from a target automatic guided vehicle, wherein the first registration request is used for establishing communication connection with a power swapping station;

after sending the first registration response message to the target automated guided vehicle, a battery swap request is received from the target automated guided vehicle.

In one possible implementation manner of the present application, the replacement battery module 1102 is further configured to:

and sending a second notification message to the control platform, wherein the second notification message is used for indicating that the battery replacement station is replacing the battery.

if receiving a normal installation message from the target automatic guided vehicle, sending a first task completion message to the target automatic guided vehicle;

and sending a third task completion message to the control platform.

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application, where the apparatus may be a control platform. The device 1200 includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU)1201, a system memory 1204 including a Random Access Memory (RAM)1202 and a Read Only Memory (ROM)1203, and a system bus 1205 connecting the system memory 1204 and the central processing unit 1201. The device 1200 also includes a basic input/output system (I/O system) 1206 for facilitating information transfer between various devices within the computer, and a mass storage device 1207 for storing an operating system 1213, application programs 1214, and other program modules 1215.

The basic input/output system 1206 includes a display 1208 for displaying information and an input device 1209, such as a mouse, keyboard, etc., for user input of information. Wherein a display 1208 and an input device 1209 are connected to the central processing unit 1201 through an input-output controller 1210 coupled to the system bus 1205. The basic input/output system 1206 may also include an input/output controller 1210 for receiving and processing input from a number of other devices, such as a keyboard, mouse, or electronic stylus. Similarly, input-output controller 1210 also provides output to a display screen, a printer, or other type of output device.

The mass storage device 1207 is connected to the central processing unit 1201 through a mass storage controller (not shown) connected to the system bus 1205. The mass storage device 1207 and its associated computer-readable media provide non-volatile storage for the device 1200. That is, the mass storage device 1207 may include a computer-readable medium (not shown) such as a hard disk or CD-ROM drive.

Without loss of generality, computer readable media may comprise computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other solid state memory technology, CD-ROM, DVD, or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices. Of course, those skilled in the art will appreciate that computer storage media is not limited to the foregoing. The system memory 1204 and mass storage device 1207 described above may be collectively referred to as memory.

According to various embodiments of the present application, device 1200 may also operate as a remote computer connected to a network through a network, such as the Internet. That is, the device 1200 may be connected to the network 1212 through a network interface unit 1211 connected to the system bus 1205, or the network interface unit 1211 may be used to connect to other types of networks or remote computer systems (not shown).

The memory further includes one or more programs, and the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the CPU.

In some embodiments, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, in which a computer program is stored, which, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the method for changing a battery of an automated guided vehicle according to the above embodiments. For example, the computer readable storage medium may be a ROM, a RAM, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, an optical data storage device, and the like.

It is noted that the computer-readable storage medium referred to herein may be a non-volatile storage medium, in other words, a non-transitory storage medium.

It should be understood that all or part of the steps for implementing the above embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. The computer instructions may be stored in the computer-readable storage medium described above.

That is, in some embodiments, there is also provided a computer program product containing instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the steps of the method for battery replacement of an automated guided vehicle as described above.

The above-mentioned embodiments are provided not to limit the present application, and any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application should be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A battery replacement method for an automated guided vehicle, the method being applied to a target automated guided vehicle, the method comprising:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein prior to receiving the battery swap instruction from the control platform, further comprising:

receiving a scheduling instruction of the control platform;

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the target automated guided vehicle is configured with a camera, and the moving to the target location based on the location information of the target location comprises:

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the method further comprises:

5. The method of claim 1, wherein prior to sending a battery swap request to the battery swap station at the target location, further comprising:

6. The method of claim 1, wherein after sending a battery swap request to the battery swap station at the target location, further comprising:

7. A battery replacement method of an automated guided vehicle, applied to a control platform, the method comprising:

8. The method of claim 7, wherein prior to generating the battery swap instruction for the target automated guided vehicle, further comprising:

9. The method of claim 7, wherein prior to sending the battery change instruction to the target automated guided vehicle, further comprising:

10. The method of claim 9, wherein after stopping the scheduling operation, further comprising:

sending a door opening request to the power swapping station;

polling the door opening state of the battery swapping station;

11. The method of claim 7, wherein after sending the battery change instruction to the target automated guided vehicle, further comprising:

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the method further comprises:

polling the door opening state of the battery swapping station;

13. A battery replacing method of an automatic guided transport vehicle is characterized by being applied to a battery replacing station, and the method comprises the following steps:

14. The method of claim 13, wherein prior to receiving the battery swap request from the target automated guided vehicle, further comprising:

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the replacing the low battery of the target automated guided vehicle with the full battery of the target in response to the battery replacement request comprises:

16. The method of claim 15, wherein after the battery replacement for the target automated guided vehicle based on the identification of the target full battery included in the battery replacement request, further comprising:

and sending a third task completion message to the control platform.

17. A battery exchange system for an automated guided vehicle, the battery exchange system comprising a target automated guided vehicle, a control platform, and a power change station, the method comprising:

18. A battery exchange apparatus for an automated guided vehicle, for use in a target automated guided vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

19. A battery changing device for an automated guided vehicle, for use in a control platform, the device comprising:

20. A battery replacing device of an automatic guided transport vehicle is applied to a battery replacing station, and comprises:

21. An apparatus comprising a processor, a communication interface, a memory, and a communication bus, the processor, the communication interface, and the memory being configured to communicate with each other via the communication bus, the memory being configured to store computer programs, and the processor being configured to execute the programs stored on the memory to perform the steps of the method of any of claims 1-6, or to perform the steps of the method of any of claims 7-12, or to perform the steps of the method of any of claims 13-16.

22. A computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored which, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the method of any one of claims 1 to 6, or carries out the steps of the method of any one of claims 7 to 12, or carries out the steps of the method of any one of claims 13 to 16.