KR102228640B1 - Battery exchangable charging station and operating method for battery exchangable charging station - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a battery exchange station for a mobile means. According to the present invention, the battery exchange station may comprise: a first charging unit having at least one slot in which a battery separated from a mobile means can be seated, and charging the battery carried in the slot; and a second charging unit for charging the battery mounted on the mobile means.

Description

How to operate an interchangeable battery charging station and an interchangeable battery charging station {BATTERY EXCHANGABLE CHARGING STATION AND OPERATING METHOD FOR BATTERY EXCHANGABLE CHARGING STATION}

The present invention relates to a battery exchange type charging station and a method of operating the battery exchange type charging station.

Recently, the residential environment has been seriously infringed due to fine dust, exhaust gas, and noise, and the resulting deterioration in the health of the public has emerged as a social problem. In order to improve these problems, various eco-friendly studies and policies are being promoted at the national level. In particular, eco-friendly electric mobility is in the spotlight not only domestically, but also around the world, as it can solve problems such as fine dust, greenhouse gas, and vehicle emissions unlike conventional automobiles that use fossil fuels.

However, due to the lack of a charging station infrastructure for charging the battery of the eco-friendly electric mobility, there is a great difficulty in commercialization of the eco-friendly electric mobility. Specifically, in the charging station installed in the charging station, the time it takes to charge the battery is longer than the time it takes for the gasoline station installed in the gas station to inject gasoline or the like into a vehicle. In other words, the number of immobilities that can be recharged per day at the charging station decreases due to the long stopping time at the charging station to charge the battery, which inevitably worsens the operating profitability of the charging station.

An object of the present invention is to provide a battery exchangeable charging station capable of improving the operating profitability of a charging station.

In addition, the present invention is to provide a battery-exchangeable charging station capable of shortening the stopping time of a vehicle stopping at a charging station for charging the battery by allowing the battery to be replaced immediately with the battery that has been charged. It is for work purposes.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a battery exchange-type charging station capable of expanding a charging module for charging a battery according to a charging demand for a charging station.

The object of the present invention is not limited thereto, and other objects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

The present invention provides a battery exchange station for a vehicle. The vehicle battery exchange station includes: a main charging module including at least one first slot capable of charging a battery separated from the vehicle; It may include an extended charging module including at least one or more second slots detachable from the main charging module and capable of charging a battery separated from the moving means.

According to an embodiment, a plurality of the first slot and the second slot may be provided.

According to an embodiment, the battery exchange station includes: a main control unit controlling the main charging module; And an expansion control unit for controlling the expansion charging module, wherein the main control unit is connected to the expansion control unit to control the expansion charging module.

According to an embodiment, the battery exchange station includes: a main communication unit connected to the main control unit; And an extended communication unit connected to the extended control unit, wherein the main communication unit and the extended communication unit are connected through a communication line to exchange control signals for controlling the main charging module and/or the extended charging module. I can.

According to an embodiment, the main charging module includes a first guide unit for indicating a position of the first slot in which a replaceable battery is seated, and the extended charging module includes the first guide unit in which the replaceable battery is seated. It may include a second guide for indicating the position of the two slots.

According to an embodiment, the first guide unit and the second guide unit may be provided in a number corresponding to the first slot and the second slot, respectively.

According to an embodiment, the main control unit determines the location of the first slot or the second slot in which the exchangeable battery is mounted based on a user authentication signal and/or a billing payment signal input to the main charging module. The main charging module and/or the extended charging module may be controlled to display the first guide unit or the second guide unit.

According to an embodiment, the main control unit is the first slot or the second slot in which a replaceable battery first carried into the battery exchange station among the replaceable batteries is seated when there are a plurality of replaceable batteries. It is possible to control the first guide unit or the second guide unit to display the position of.

According to an embodiment, the replaceable battery may be a battery carried in the battery exchange station and completely charged.

According to an embodiment, the expansion charging module may be provided in plural, and may be provided detachably between the expansion charging modules.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to improve operating profitability of a charging station.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to shorten the stopping time of a moving means stopping at a charging station for charging the battery by allowing a battery that has exhausted power to be immediately replaced with a charged battery.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a battery seated in the replacement station is provided with a first charging unit for charging a battery separated from the moving unit and a second charging unit for directly charging a battery installed in the moving unit. Even before charging is completed, the battery installed in the vehicle can be charged.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of charging heads capable of charging batteries mounted in different types of moving means are provided, so that batteries mounted in each of different types of moving means can be charged. .

The effects of the present invention are not limited to the above-described effects, and effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art from the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective view of a battery exchange station according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a rear view of the battery exchange station of Fig. 1;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a control unit and a communication unit of the battery exchange station of FIG. 1.
4 is a flow chart showing a method of operating a battery exchange station according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a battery is carried into the battery exchange station of FIG. 1.
6 is a view showing a state in which a battery is taken out from the battery exchange station of FIG.
7 is a view showing a battery exchange station according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a control unit and a communication unit of the battery exchange station of FIG. 7.
9 is a view showing a battery exchange station according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those of ordinary skill in the art may easily implement the present invention. However, the present invention may be implemented in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. In addition, in describing a preferred embodiment of the present invention in detail, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, the same reference numerals are used throughout the drawings for parts having similar functions and functions.

"Including" a certain component means that other components may be further included rather than excluding other components unless specifically stated to the contrary. Specifically, terms such as "comprises" or "have" are intended to designate the presence of features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, but one or more other features or It is to be understood that the presence or addition of numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof does not preclude the possibility of preliminary exclusion.

Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In addition, shapes and sizes of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for clearer explanation.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The means of transportation described below may mean immobilization. Emobility may refer to eco-friendly electric mobility that uses electric energy as a driving source, such as electric motorcycles, electric vehicles, and electric personal mobility. However, the moving means is not limited thereto, and it should be understood as a concept including all of the various moving means that move using the electric energy of the battery installed in the moving means as a driving source.

1 is a perspective view of a battery exchange station according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a rear view of the battery exchange station of FIG. 1. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the battery exchange station 10 may be a battery exchange station 10 capable of charging a battery for a vehicle. For example, the battery exchange station 10 may charge the battery B carried in the battery exchange station 10 by being separated from the transportation means.

The battery exchange station 10 may include a main charging module 100 and an extended charging module 300. The main charging module 100 may charge a battery carried in the battery exchange station 10. In addition, the main charging module 100 may include a main charging unit 110, an interface unit 150, a main control unit 170, and a main communication unit 180.

The charging unit 110 may charge a battery separated from the moving means. The charging unit 110 includes a first housing 112, a first housing door 113, a first moving member 114, a first slot 115, a first slot door 116, and a first guide unit ( 117).

The first housing 112 may have an inner space. The first housing 112 may be provided in a cylindrical shape having an inner space. The first housing 112 may be provided in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped. At least one or more first moving members 114 may be coupled to the bottom surface of the first housing 112. For example, a plurality of first moving members 114 may be coupled to the bottom surface of the first housing 112. Each of the first moving members 114 may be installed in an area adjacent to the edge of the first housing 112 when viewed from above. The first moving member 114 may enable movement of the first housing 112 or may facilitate movement of the first housing 112. The first moving member 114 may be a wheel. However, the first moving member 114 is not limited thereto, and the first moving member 114 may be variously modified into a known substrate that enables the movement of the first housing 112 or facilitates the movement of the first housing 112. have.

A main control unit 170 and a main communication unit 180 to be described later may be installed in the inner space of the first housing 112. In addition, an interface line, a power line, etc. necessary for driving the battery exchange station 10 may be installed in the inner space of the first housing 112. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and known devices, modules, assemblies, circuit boards, etc. required to drive the battery exchange station 10 may be installed in the internal space of the first housing 112.

In addition, a first housing door 113 for selectively opening and closing the inner space of the first housing 112 may be installed on the rear surface of the first housing 112. For example, when a user maintains devices, modules, etc. installed in the first housing 112, the user uses the first housing door 113 installed in the first housing 112 to have the first housing 112 The interior space can be selectively opened and closed. In addition, the inner space of the first housing 112 may be selectively opened and closed through the locking device of the first housing door 113.

In addition, the charging unit 110 may have a first slot 115. The first slot 115 may be provided with a charging port (not shown) capable of charging a battery separated from the vehicle. Accordingly, when the battery separated from the moving means is seated in the first slot 115, the seated battery may be charged. In addition, the first slot 115 may be provided in the first housing 112. At least one or more first slots 115 provided in the first housing 112 may be provided. For example, a plurality of first slots 115 may be provided. For example, two or more first slots 115 may be provided. In addition, the first slots 115 may be arranged to be spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the number and arrangement of the first slots 115 may be variously modified as necessary.

In addition, first slot doors 116 may be installed in each of the first slots 115. The first slot doors 116 may selectively open the first slot 115. The first slot door 116 may receive a control signal from the main control unit 170 to be described later, and may selectively open the first slot 115 based on the control signal. When the battery is seated in the first slot 115, the main control unit 170 to be described later may measure the remaining amount of power of the seated battery and perform charging of the battery based on the measured remaining amount of power.

In addition, the main charging module 100 may include a first guide unit 117 that displays the position of the first slot 115 in which the replaceable battery is seated. The first guide part 117 may have a slit shape. The first guide part 117 may be provided on each of the first slots 115. The first guide unit 117 may be an indicator light. For example, the first guide unit 117 may be an LED guide indicator. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the first guide unit 117 may be transformed into various substrates capable of indicating the position of the first slot 115 in which the replaceable battery is seated. In addition, the first guide unit 117 may be provided in a number corresponding to the first slot 115.

The interface unit 150 transmits operation information of the battery exchange station 10 to a user who uses the battery exchange station 10, receives a user authentication signal or a billing signal for use, and a main control to describe the received signal later. It can be transferred to the unit 170. The interface unit 150 may include a frame 152, a frame door 153, a display 155, a payment module 156, and a stop button 157.

The frame 152 may have an inner space. The frame 152 may have a cylindrical shape having an inner space. The frame 152 may have a generally hexahedral cylindrical shape having an inner space. Driving materials for driving and/or controlling the display 155, the payment module 156, and the stop button 157 to be described later may be installed in the inner space of the frame 152. However, the driving substrates installed in the inner space of the frame 152 may include an interface line, a power line, a communication device, and the like. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and known devices, modules, assemblies, circuit boards, etc. required to drive the battery exchange station 10 may be installed in the inner space of the frame 152.

In addition, a frame door 153 may be installed on the rear surface of the frame 152 to selectively open and close the inner space of the frame 152. For example, when a user maintains a device, module, etc. installed in the frame 152, the user can selectively open and close the internal space of the frame 152 using the frame door 153 installed in the frame 152. have. In addition, the internal space of the frame 152 may be selectively opened and closed through a locking device of the frame door 153.

In addition, a display 155 may be installed on the front of the frame 152. The display 155 may transmit information about the battery exchange station 10 to the user. For example, the display 155 may receive a signal from the main control unit 170 to be described later, and transmit information about the battery exchange station 10 to the user. For example, the display 155 may transmit user authentication information, billing payment information, a charge amount of batteries mounted in the battery exchange station 10, information on a slot in which a replaceable battery is mounted, and the like to the user. The display 155 may also be provided as a touch display capable of receiving a signal through a user's touch. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the display 155 may be transformed into a variety of known types of displays.

In addition, a billing payment module 156 and a stop button 157 may be installed under the display 155. The billing payment module 156 may be configured to allow a user to pay for the use of the battery exchange station 10. In FIG. 1, for example, the billing payment module 156 is a credit card billing module 156 into which a credit card or the like can be inserted, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the billing and payment module 156 is a module that receives billing and payment information through an NFC method, a module that receives billing and payment information by recognizing a QR code or barcode, a module that receives billing and payment information by recognizing biometric authentication information, Alternatively, it may be a module formed by combining these modules. In addition, the billing payment module 156 may be variously modified into a module that borrows a known billing payment method.

In addition, the stop button 157 may be a button capable of completely stopping the driving of the battery exchange station 10 when an abnormality occurs in the use of the battery exchange station 10. For example, the main control unit 170 to be described later, when the battery seated in the battery exchange station 10 overheats to a set temperature or higher, or when difficulty occurs in driving the other battery exchange station 10, the user may solve this problem. A recognizable signal may be generated (eg, by transmitting a control signal to the display 155, the display 155 transmits a danger signal to the user). At this time, the user can completely stop the operation of the battery exchange station 10 by pressing the stop button 157.

The extended charging module 300 may charge a battery carried in the battery exchange station 10. The extended charging module 300 has the battery exchange station 10 and may expand the number of slots capable of charging a battery. The extended charging module 300 may be provided detachably from the main charging module 100. When the extended charging module 300 is coupled to the main charging module 100, it may be fixed by a coupling means (not shown) provided to the extended charging module 300 and/or the main charging module 100. The coupling means may be interpreted as including all of the physical coupling means such as bolts and screws, as well as electrical coupling means such as a connection port through which electrical signals can be exchanged.

The expansion charging module 100 includes a second housing 312, a second housing door 313, a second moving member 314, a second slot 315, a second slot door 316, and a second guide unit ( 317), an extended control unit 370, and an extended communication unit 380. The second housing 312, the second housing door 313, the second moving member 314, the second slot 315, the second slot door 316, and the second guide part 317 are described above. Same as the configuration of the first housing 112, the first housing door 113, the first moving member 114, the first slot 115, the first slot door 116, and the first guide unit 117, or Since it has a similar structure/function, a repetitive description will be omitted.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a control unit and a communication unit of the battery exchange station of FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 3, the main charging module 100 and the extended charging module 300 of the battery exchange station 10 may each include a control unit and a communication unit. For example, the main charging module 100 may include a main control unit 170 and a main communication unit 180. The extended charging module 300 may include an extended control unit 370 and an extended communication unit 380.

The main control unit 170 may control the main charging module 100. In addition, the expansion control unit 370 may control the expansion charging module 300. In addition, the main control unit 170 may control the extended charging module 300. Specifically, the main control unit 170 and the extended control unit 370 may communicate and/or be electrically connected to each other. For example, the main control unit 170 may communicate and/or be electrically connected to the main communication unit 180 with each other. The extended control unit 370 may communicate and/or be electrically connected to each other with the extended communication unit 380. The main communication unit 180 and the extended communication unit 380 exchange control signals generated by the main control unit 170 or the extended control unit 370 between the main control unit 170 or the extended control unit 370 To be able to do it. In addition, the main communication unit 180 and the extended communication unit 380 may be connected to each other through a communication line such as a LAN cable. That is, the main control unit 170 may transmit a control signal to the extended control unit 370 via the main communication unit 180 and/or the extended communication unit 380, and the main control unit 170 It is possible to control not only the charging module 100 but also the extended charging module 300.

Hereinafter, a method of operating a battery exchange station according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. In order to perform the operation method of the battery exchange station described below, the main control unit 170 and/or the extended control unit 370 may control the main charging module 100 and/or the extended charging module 300. have.

First, the battery exchange station 10 may receive a user authentication signal and/or a billing payment signal. The user authentication signal and/or the billing payment signal may be input to the interface unit 150 of the main charging module 100. The user authentication signal may be a signal identifying a user who can use the battery exchange station 10. The user authentication signal may be an authentication signal capable of identifying a user who can use the battery exchange station 10, such as a user's name, phone number, date of birth, member number, and QR code. The billing payment signal may be a signal received by the battery exchange station 10 when a user pays for billing using the battery exchange station 10 through the above-described billing payment module 156 of the battery exchange station 10.

When the battery exchange station 10 receives a user authentication signal and/or a billing payment signal, the interface unit 150 displays the first slot 115 or the second slot 115 in which the battery is not seated (emptied) through the display 155. Information about the slots 315 may be displayed. At this time, when the user selects one of the emptied slots, the first slot 115 through the display 155, the first slot door 116 of the selected first slot 115 as shown in FIG. Is opened, and the first slot door 116 corresponds to the first slot 115 in which the first slot door 116 is opened so that the user can recognize the position of the first slot 115 in which the first slot door 116 is opened. The guide unit 117 may be lit.

Referring back to FIG. 4, when the battery B separated from the vehicle by the user is seated in the opened first slot 115, charging of the seated battery B may be started. For example, the battery exchange station 10 measures the total amount of power of the seated battery B, and the charging time of the battery B seated in the first slot 115 based on the measured power remaining amount of the battery B. Can be set.

Based on the user authentication signal and/or the billing payment signal input to the main charging module 100, the main control unit 170 includes an exchangeable battery B, and more specifically, a first slot in which a charged battery is seated ( 115) Alternatively, information about the location of the second slot 315 may be transmitted to the user through the display 155. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, the main control unit 170 determines the location of the first slot 115 or the second slot 315 in which the charged battery is seated, with the first guide unit 117 or the second guide. The main charging module 100 and the extended charging module 300 may be controlled to be displayed by any one of the units 118. At this time, when there are a plurality of batteries that have been charged, the main control unit 170 may be configured to the first slot 115 or the second slot ( A control signal for controlling the first guide unit 117 or the second guide unit 317 may be generated to indicate the position of the 315.

In the above-described example, the battery exchange station 10 is illustrated as having one main charging module 100 and one extended charging module 300, but is not limited thereto. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the expansion charging module 300 may include a first expansion charging module 300a and a second expansion charging module 300b. That is, the expansion charging module 300 may be provided in plural, and may be provided detachably between the expansion charging modules 300.

In addition, when a plurality of expansion charging modules 300 are provided, each of the expansion charging modules 300 includes expansion control units 370a and 370b and expansion communication units 380a and 380b as shown in FIG. 8. Can include. For example, the first expansion charging module 300a may include a first expansion control unit 370a and a first expansion communication unit 380a. In addition, the second extended charging module 300b may include a second extended control unit 370b and a second extended communication unit 380b. The functions of the first expansion control unit 370a, the first expansion communication unit 380a, the second expansion control unit 370b, and the second expansion communication unit 380b are the aforementioned expansion control unit 370 and expansion communication. Since it is the same or similar to the unit 380, repeated description will be omitted.

In addition, in FIG. 7, the expansion charging module 300 includes a first expansion charging module 300a and a second expansion charging module 300b as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Likewise, the extended charging module 300 may further include a third extended charging module 300c. That is, the number of expansion charging modules 300 may vary in various ways according to the charging demand of the charging station.

A typical charging station takes a lot of time to charge the battery installed in the vehicle. However, according to an embodiment of the present invention, since the battery (B) mounted in the vehicle can be replaced with the battery (B) being charged in the battery exchange station 10 immediately, it is required to charge the battery (B). You can minimize the time to be. In addition, in a general charging station, it is difficult to change the number of slots 115 and 315 capable of charging the battery B. Accordingly, when the demand for charging the battery increases for the charging station, a new battery exchange station must be purchased. According to embodiments of the present invention, the extended charging module 300 of the battery exchange station 10 according to the charging demand required for the charging station The number of) can be varied. Accordingly, even if the charging demand required for the charging station increases, the number of slots 115 and 315 capable of charging the battery B can be increased by simply purchasing the extended charging module 300 without separately purchasing the main charging module 100. Therefore, it is possible to more flexibly operate the battery exchange station 10 in the charging station.

In the above, the present invention has been described through the embodiments, but the above embodiments are merely for explaining the spirit of the present invention and are not limited thereto. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that various modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments. The scope of the present invention is defined only through interpretation of the appended claims.

Battery Exchange Station: 10
Main charging module: 100
Charging part: 110
Housing 1: 112
1st housing door: 113
1st moving member: 114
1st slot: 115
1st slot door: 116
Information Department 1: 117
Interface part: 150
Frame: 152
Frame door: 153
Display: 155
Payment module: 156
Stop button: 157
Main control unit: 170
Main communication unit: 180
Extended charging module: 300
2nd housing: 312
2nd housing door: 313
2nd moving member: 314
2nd slot: 315
2nd slot door: 316
2nd Information Department: 317
Extended control unit: 370
Extended communication unit: 380

Claims (10)

In the vehicle battery exchange station,
A main charging module including at least one or more first slots capable of charging a battery separated from the moving means;
An extended charging module including at least one or more second slots detachable from the main charging module and capable of charging a battery separated from the moving means,
The battery exchange station,
A main control unit controlling the main charging module;
An expansion control unit for controlling the expansion charging module;
A main communication unit connected to the main control unit; And
It includes an extended communication unit connected to the extended control unit,
The main control unit,
It is possible to control the expansion charging module by being connected to each other with the expansion control unit,
The main communication unit and the extended communication unit,
It is connected through a communication line to mutually exchange control signals for controlling the main charging module and/or the extended charging module,
The main charging module,
A charging unit having the first slot;
And an interface unit disposed above the charging unit,
The interface unit,
frame;
A display installed in front of the frame; And
And a stop button installed on the front side of the frame and completely stopping driving of the battery exchange station when the battery seated in the first slot or the second slot is overheated above a set temperature. The method of claim 1,
The first slot and the second slot is provided in a plurality of battery exchange station. The method of claim 1,
The main charging module,
The main charging module further includes a first moving member installed on a bottom surface of the first housing provided with the first slot,
The extended charging module,
The expansion charging module further includes a second moving member installed on the bottom of the second housing provided with the second slot,
The first moving member and the second moving member are wheels. The method of claim 1,
The communication line,
Battery exchange station with LAN cable. The method of claim 1,
The main charging module,
Includes a first guide for indicating the position of the first slot in which the replaceable battery is seated,
The extended charging module,
A battery exchange station including a second guide for indicating a position of the second slot in which a replaceable battery is seated. The method of claim 5,
The first and second guides are provided in a number corresponding to the first and second slots, respectively. The method of claim 5,
The main control unit,
Based on the user authentication signal and/or the billing payment signal input to the main charging module, the position of the first slot or the second slot in which the exchangeable battery is seated is displayed by the first guide unit or the second guide unit. A battery exchange station for controlling the main charging module and/or the extended charging module. The method of claim 7,
The main control unit,
When the number of replaceable batteries is plural, the first guide unit or the first guide unit to indicate the position of the first slot or the second slot in which the replaceable battery first carried into the battery exchange station among the replaceable batteries is seated, or A battery exchange station that controls the second guide unit. The method of claim 7,
The interchangeable battery,
A battery exchange station that is a battery carried in the battery exchange station and completely charged. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
The extended charging module,
Is provided in plural,
A battery exchange station provided detachably from each other between the expansion charging modules.

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