KR20230045995A - Apparatus for monitoring state of charge between charging station and mobile robot - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device for monitoring a charging state between a charging station and a mobile robot. According to the present invention, the device for monitoring a charging state is independently mounted on each of a charging station and a mobile robot to automatically recognize and switch a current charging sequence. A first monitoring device provided in the charging station includes: a voltage regulator having a voltage distribution circuit and outputting an input voltage after dropping the same; a power terminal connected to an input terminal of the voltage regulator via a resistance element to receive a power supply voltage of a set size; a switch connecting one of the input terminal of the voltage regulator and a charger of the charging station with a charging port of the charging station; and a control unit comparing an output voltage of the voltage regulator and state information of the switch with a pre-stored control information table to identify the current sequence among continuous multi-stage charging sequences, and controlling the switch according to a state condition required for switching to the next sequence. The control information table stores the output voltage of the voltage regulator and the state condition of the switch corresponding to each charging sequence of the charging sequences. According to the present invention, it is possible to accurately identify an ongoing charging sequence between the charging station and the mobile robot without additional communication ports or terminals, and automatically perform switching to the next sequence.

Description

Charging state monitoring device between charging station and mobile robot {Apparatus for monitoring state of charge between charging station and mobile robot}

The present invention relates to a charging state monitoring device between a charging station and a mobile robot, and more particularly, to a charging state between a charging station and a mobile robot that can accurately determine an ongoing charging sequence between a charging station and a mobile robot without installing an additional communication terminal. It's about surveillance.

Recently, self-driving mobile robots (hereinafter referred to as mobile robots) are widely used in various fields such as households and industrial sites.

In general, a mobile robot includes various sensors for recognizing the surrounding environment, a control processor for location estimation, route generation, and overall control, a driving device for driving, and a driving power source for supplying power to each of them.

The battery of the mobile robot can be directly replaced, but recently, an automatic charging method in which the mobile robot moves to the charging station by itself and connects and charges is mainly used.

The mobile robot and the charging station each include two-port charging terminals (positive/negative terminals) on opposite sides, and charging is performed by docking between these charging terminals.

However, in order to check the charging status between the mobile robot and the charging station, a communication terminal or communication sensor is required, and the communication terminal (or communication sensor) has a structure that is mainly installed side by side on the charging terminal of 2 ports.

As such, in the conventional case, communication terminals or sensors (infrared rays, ultrasonic waves, Bluetooth, etc.) are additionally required on mutually facing surfaces of the mobile robot and the charging station. Due to this, it has a three-port structure in appearance. However, intelligent robots that are sensitive to appearances and trends are more advantageous as the number of terminals (ports) and points that need to be reflected in design are reduced.

Therefore, a system with a new structure is required to check the charging state using only the charging terminals of the existing 2 ports without having a separate communication terminal or sensor.

The background technology of the present invention is disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-1998-0016066 (published on May 25, 1998).

The present invention provides a charging state monitoring device between a charging station and a mobile robot that can accurately identify an ongoing charging sequence between a charging station and a mobile robot and automatically perform sequence switching in the next sequence without installing additional communication sensors or communication terminals. has a purpose to

The present invention is a charging state monitoring device for automatically recognizing and converting a current charging sequence independently mounted on a charging station and a mobile robot, wherein the first monitoring device provided in the charging station has a voltage distribution circuit, A voltage regulator that lowers and outputs the input voltage, a power terminal that is connected to the input terminal of the voltage regulator through a resistance element and receives a power supply voltage of a set size, and any one of the input terminal of the voltage regulator and the charger of the charging station. A switch connecting one switch to the charging port of the charging station and the output voltage of the voltage regulator and state information of the switch are compared with a pre-stored control information table to identify a current sequence among consecutive multi-stage charging sequences and switch to the next sequence. Provided is a charging state monitoring device including a control unit for controlling the switch under a state condition required for the above.

In addition, the control information table may store an output voltage of the voltage regulator corresponding to a corresponding charging sequence for each charging sequence and a state condition of the switch.

In addition, the second monitoring device provided in the mobile robot is implemented in a symmetrical structure with the voltage regulator, the switch, and the control unit based on the two charging ports of the charging station and the mobile robot facing each other, the switch, and the control unit. Each includes, but the switch in the second monitoring device can connect any one of the input terminal of the voltage regulator of the second monitoring device and the battery of the mobile robot to the charging port of the mobile robot.

In addition, each of the first and second monitoring devices is individually installed on a path between its own switch and the charger and a path between its own switch and the battery to sense the current value on the installation path, and according to the presence or absence of current sensing A current sensor providing status information of the switch may be further included.

In addition, each of the voltage regulators of the first and second supervisory devices includes a series resistor connected between its input terminal and an output terminal and a parallel resistor connected between its output terminal and a ground terminal, and has a symmetrical structure but is identical to each other. It can be composed of element values.

In addition, in the continuous multi-stage charging sequence, each switch of the first and second monitoring devices is connected to the voltage regulator and electrically separated from the charging path, and the first sequence in a state where the two charging ports are not connected, A second sequence in which the charging ports are connected to each other, a third sequence in which the switch of the second monitoring device is connected to the battery, and a fourth sequence in which charging is started while the switch of the first monitoring device is connected to the charger can include

In addition, the first monitoring device in the charging station, when the output voltage of the voltage regulator is a predetermined first voltage value lower than the power supply voltage and the switch is connected to the voltage regulator and separated from the charger in a first state , Identifies the current sequence as the first sequence and maintains the state of the switch for the next second sequence, and the output voltage of the voltage regulator is a preset second voltage value lower than the first voltage, while the switch state, the current sequence is identified as the second sequence, the state of the switch is maintained for the next third sequence, and the output voltage of the voltage regulator is a third voltage value within a set voltage range higher than the first voltage. At the same time, if the switch is in the first state, the current sequence may be identified as the third sequence, and the state of the switch may be switched from the first state to a second state connected to the charger for the next fourth sequence.

In addition, the first voltage value V1 is equal to the product of the power supply voltage Vin and the first ratio P1, and the first ratio may be determined by the following equation.

Here, R1, R2, and R3 denote the parallel resistance, the series resistance, and the resistance element, respectively.

In addition, the second voltage value (V2) is equal to the product of the contact voltage (Vm) between the two charging ports and the second ratio (P2), and the second ratio (P2) and the contact voltage (Vm) are each It can be determined by the following equation.

,

,

Here, R' = (R1+R2)//(R1+R2).

In addition, the minimum and maximum values of the set voltage range may be determined as a product of the preset minimum and maximum charging voltages (Vbat_min and Vbat_max) of the battery and the second ratio P2.

In addition, the second monitoring device in the mobile robot identifies the current sequence as the first sequence when the output voltage of the voltage regulator is 0V and the switch is connected to the voltage regulator and is in a first state separated from the battery, and then The state of the switch is maintained as it is for the second sequence of, and if the output voltage of the voltage regulator is the second voltage and the switch is in the first state, the current sequence is identified as the second sequence and the switch for the next third sequence switch the state of from the first state to the second state connected to the battery, and if the output voltage of the voltage regulator is 0V and the switch is in the second state, the current sequence is identified as the third sequence and the next fourth sequence The state of the switch can be maintained as it is.

According to the present invention, it is possible to accurately determine the charging sequence in progress between the charging station and the mobile robot without having any additional communication ports or terminals for checking the charging state, and automatically switch the charging sequence to the next order. .

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a charging state monitoring device between a charging station and a mobile robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 to 4 are views for sequentially explaining a charging sequence following the charging sequence of FIG. 1 .
5 and 6 are diagrams for explaining an equivalent circuit and observed voltage values for the state of FIG. 2 .

Then, with reference to the accompanying drawings, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail so that those skilled in the art can easily practice it. However, the present invention may be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. And in order to clearly explain the present invention in the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted, and similar reference numerals are attached to similar parts throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a part is said to be "connected" to another part, this includes not only the case where it is "directly connected" but also the case where it is "electrically connected" with another element interposed therebetween. . In addition, when a certain component is said to "include", this means that it may further include other components without excluding other components unless otherwise stated.

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a charging state monitoring device between a charging station and a mobile robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the charging state monitoring device between the charging station and the mobile robot according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first monitoring device 100 installed in the charging station 10 and a second device installed in the mobile robot 20. It includes 2 monitoring devices (200).

The first monitoring device 100 and the second monitoring device 200 are independently mounted on the charging station 10 and the mobile robot 20 to automatically recognize and switch the current charging sequence.

The charging station 10 and the mobile robot 20 each have charging ports 11 and 21 docked with each other. Each of the charging ports 11 and 21 has a two-port structure (positive/negative terminals). Hereinafter, for convenience of description, only positive (+) terminals will be given a sign.

The charging station 10 contains a charger 12, and the mobile robot 20 contains a battery 22. The battery 22 is charged by receiving power from the charger 12 in a state in which the two devices 10 and 20 are docked with each other through the charging ports 11 and 21 .

The first monitoring device 100 provided in the charging station 10 includes a voltage regulator 110, a power terminal 115, a switch 120 and a controller 130, and may further include a current sensor 140. can

The voltage regulator 110 has a voltage divider circuit composed of R1 and R2, and outputs the input voltage down. Specifically, the voltage regulator 110 includes a series resistor R2 connected between its input terminal and an output terminal, and a parallel resistor R1 connected between its output terminal and a ground terminal. An input terminal of the voltage regulator 110 is connected to some terminals of the switch 120 and an output terminal is connected to the voltage detection terminal 111 .

The voltage detection terminal 111 may be connected to an output terminal of the voltage regulator 110 to detect a voltage output from the voltage regulator 110 and transfer the detected voltage to the controller 130 (control board). Here, the voltage detection stage 111 may include an AD converter that converts an analog signal into a digital signal.

The power terminal 115 is connected to the input terminal of the voltage regulator 110 and the resistance element R3 as a medium, and receives a power voltage having a set size (eg, 12V). Here, the resistance element R3 located between the input terminal of the voltage regulator 110 and the power supply terminal 115 has a series relationship with the resistance R2 of the voltage regulator 110.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, when the 12V voltage enters the input terminal of the voltage regulator 110 through R3 in a state where the two devices 10 and 20 are separated, the voltage of 12V is R1/(R1+R2) according to the voltage division principle It is output to the output terminal of the voltage regulator 110 in a level-downed state by the ratio of +R3). Accordingly, the voltage detection terminal 111 detects a voltage value obtained by multiplying the 12V value by the corresponding ratio, and when R1 = R3 = 10K and R2 = 75K, a voltage of 1.26V is detected.

The switch 120 connects one of the input terminal of the voltage regulator 110 and the charger 12 of the charging station 10 to the charging port 11 of the charging station 10 . A switching operation of the switch 120 may be adjusted according to the control unit 130 .

At this time, when the charging port 11 is connected to the voltage regulator 110, the path between the charging port 11 and the charger 12 is blocked (OFF), and when the charging port 11 is connected to the charger 12, the path is activated (ON). In the closed state of the switch, current does not flow on the corresponding path, and in the connected state, current flows.

In the first monitoring device 100, the switch 120 is connected to the voltage regulator 110 and separated from the charger 12 in the first state (OFF), the switch 120 is separated from the voltage regulator 110, A state connected to the charger 12 is referred to as a second state (ON).

The controller 130 may grasp the output voltage of the voltage regulator 110 and state information of the switch 120 in real time by using the voltage detector 111 and the current sensor 140 . The current sensor 140 may be installed on a path between the switch 120 and the charger 12 to sense a current value on the path and provide status information of the switch according to whether current is sensed or not. As the current sensor 140, various known sensors such as a hall sensor may be used.

The control unit 130 compares the output voltage of the voltage regulator 110 and the state information of the switch 120 with a previously stored control information table, identifies a current sequence among consecutive multi-stage charging sequences, and is required for switching to the next sequence. The switch 120 is controlled by state conditions.

At this time, the control information table stores the output voltage of the voltage regulator 110 and the state condition of the switch 120 corresponding to the charging sequence for each charging sequence.

Accordingly, the control unit 130 identifies a charging sequence that matches the currently detected output voltage of the voltage regulator 110 and the state information of the switch among sequential multi-stage charging sequences based on the control information table, and then proceeds to the next sequence. The operation of the switch 120 is controlled in the corresponding state by grasping the state of the switch to be converted into the sequence of . At this time, the switch 120 may maintain the previous state or reverse the state.

Next, the configuration of the second monitoring device 200 provided in the mobile robot 20 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the second monitoring device 200 has a symmetrical structure from the first monitoring device 100 based on the two charging ports 11 and 21 of the charging station 10 and the mobile robot 20 facing each other. have

Specifically, the second monitoring device 200 has a voltage implemented in a symmetrical structure with the voltage regulator 110, the switch 120, and the control unit 130 of the charging station 10 based on the two charging ports 11 and 21. Each includes a regulator 210, a switch 220 and a control unit 230.

Similarly, the voltage regulator 210 of the second monitoring device 200 has a voltage divider circuit composed of R1 and R2, and outputs it to the voltage detection terminal 211 by reducing the voltage input to the input terminal. At this time, the values of the R1 and R2 elements may be the same as the values of the resistance element used in the voltage regulator 110 of the first monitoring device 100. The voltage detection stage 211 may include an AD converter and may transfer the voltage value converted into a digital signal to the controller 230 (control board).

Here, the switch 220 in the second monitoring device 200 connects one of the input terminal of the voltage regulator 210 and the battery 22 of the mobile robot 20 to the charging port 21 of the mobile robot 20. is configured to

The switch 220 of the second monitoring device 200 is divided into a first state (OFF) electrically separated from the battery 22 and a second state (ON) connected to the battery 22. That is, when the charging port 21 is connected to the voltage regulator 210, the current movement path between the charging port 21 and the battery 22 is blocked (OFF), and when the charging port 21 is connected to the battery 22 The corresponding path is activated (ON).

In addition, in the second monitoring device 200, the control unit 230 can grasp the output voltage of the voltage regulator 210 and state information of the switch 220 in real time using the voltage detection terminal 211 and the current sensor 240. there is. The current sensor 240 may be installed in a path between the switch 220 and the battery 22 to sense a current value on the path and provide status information of the switch according to whether current is sensed or not.

The control unit 230 compares the output voltage of the voltage regulator 210 and the state information of the switch 220 with a previously stored control information table, identifies a current sequence among consecutive multi-stage charging sequences, and requires necessary The switch 220 is controlled by state conditions.

Here, of course, the control information table used in the first monitoring device 100 and the control information table used in the second monitoring device 200 are distinguished from each other by left/right table information of Table 1 described later, but they are substantially Corresponds to what was derived with an association with the operation of each charging sequence.

Hereinafter, a multi-stage charging sequence performed between the mobile robot 20 and the charging station 10 based on the above structure will be described in detail.

2 to 4 are views for sequentially explaining a charging sequence following the charging sequence of FIG. 1 . 1 to 4, the charging sequence includes first to fourth sequences (sequences #1 to #4).

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the first sequence (sequence #1) is in a charging waiting state, specifically, the switches 120 and 220 of the two monitoring devices 100 and 200 are connected to the respective voltage regulators 110 and 210, and the charging path It is electrically separated from (charger, battery), and the two charging ports 11 and 21 are spaced apart from each other to indicate an unconnected state.

Next, in the second sequence (sequence #2), as shown in FIG. 2, the charging ports 11 and 21 are connected to each other after the first sequence, and in the third sequence (sequence #3), as shown in FIG. After the second sequence, the switch 220 of the second monitoring device 200 is switched and connected to the battery 22, and the fourth sequence (sequence #4) is the switch of the first monitoring device 100 as shown in FIG. 120 is switched and connected to the charger 12 to start charging.

Control table information used in an embodiment of the present invention can be organized as shown in Table 1 below.

charge sequence
identification number First monitoring device (100)
(Charging station side) Second monitoring device (200)
(mobile robot side) Detection voltage (V) switch(120)
state Detection voltage (V) switch(220)
state Sequence #1 V=V1 (1.26V) state = OFF V=0V state = OFF Sequence #2 V=V2 (1.14V) state = OFF V=V2 (1.14V) state = OFF Sequence #3 V=V3 (2.82V) state = OFF V=0V state = ON Sequence #4 V=V2 (1.26V) state = ON V=V2 (1.14V) state = ON

Table 1 is control table information utilized in each of the first and second monitoring apparatuses 100 and 200 and is expressed together in a single table for each sequence. This is for convenience of description. The first monitoring device 100 stores only the control table information on the left side of Table 1, and the second monitoring device 200 stores only the control table information on the right side, and is used for controlling the charging sequence. You can do it.

Each monitoring device 100 may identify a sequence number (#) matching the currently observed value as the current charging sequence by referring to the stored voltage and switch state values for each sequence. Of course, based on the change in at least one of the voltage and the switch state value, a situation in which the sequence is switched may be identified.

First of all, referring to the first sequence (charging standby state) shown in FIG. 1, each switch 120 and 220 in the charging station 10 and the mobile robot 20 are all in an OFF state, and the charging station 10 and The mobile robots 20 are separated from each other. Here, being separated from each other may include a state of being electrically separated as well as a state of being physically separated.

In the first sequence, since the charging station 10 and the mobile robot 20 are separated from each other, the power voltage Vin entered through the power terminal 12V is applied to the voltage regulator 110 via the resistor element R3. do. Here, the resistor element R3 has a series relationship with the series resistor R2 of the voltage regulator 110.

Therefore, in this first sequence, the output voltage (V) of the voltage regulator 110 is equal to the product of the power supply voltage (Vin) and the first ratio (P1) of Equation 1 below (V = Vin × P1; first sequence ).

In the embodiment of the present invention, since R1 = R3 = 10K, R2 = 75K, and Vin = 12V, P1 = 0.105, and the output voltage V of the voltage regulator 110 at this time becomes 1.26V. This 1.26V value is called the first voltage value.

Accordingly, the first monitoring device 100 in the charging station 10 determines that the current output voltage of the voltage regulator 110 is a preset first voltage value V1 (eg, 12V) lower than the power supply voltage (eg, 12V). 1.26V), and if the switch 120 is in the first state (OFF) separated from the charger 12, the currently ongoing sequence is identified as the first sequence (sequence #1) from the left information of Table 1, For the next second sequence (sequence #2), the state of the switch 120 remains in the OFF state.

And, since no power is applied to the voltage regulator 210 in the second monitoring device 200 on the mobile robot 20 in the first sequence as shown in FIG. 1, the output voltage of the voltage regulator 210 is observed as OV.

According to this point, the second monitoring device 200 in the mobile robot 20 is in the first state (OFF) where the current output voltage of the voltage regulator 210 is 0V and the switch 220 is separated from the battery 22 , the current sequence is identified as the first sequence (sequence #1) from the information on the right side of Table 1, and the state of the switch 220 is maintained in the OFF state for the next second sequence (sequence #2).

In this way, the mobile robot 20 and the charging station 10 can independently recognize that they are currently waiting to charge each other only with each voltage and switch state corresponding to sequence #1 of Table 1.

Afterwards, as the mobile robot 20 moves and the charging ports are connected as shown in FIG. 2, each voltage value fluctuates, and the mobile robot 20 and the charging station 10 sequence based on the observed voltage value. A transition from #1 to sequence #2 can be recognized.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, when the mobile robot 20 approaches the charging station 10 and the charging ports 11 and 21 are connected, the voltage values output from the voltage regulators 110 and 210 are all 1.14V. Observed.

5 and 6 are diagrams for explaining an equivalent circuit and observed voltage values for the state of FIG. 2 .

When the charging ports are connected to each other and switched to the second sequence as shown in FIG. 2, the voltage regulator circuits 110 and 210 on both sides are electrically connected in a symmetrical structure based on the contact point Vm between the charging ports. This symmetrical structure is expressed as shown in FIG. 5 . In addition, according to this symmetrical structure, the detected voltage values of the voltage detection terminals 111 and 211 on both sides become equal to each other.

Specifically, according to the principle of FIGS. 5 and 6, the output voltage (V) of the voltage regulator 210 in the second sequence is equal to the product of the contact voltage (Vm) between the two charging ports and the second ratio (P2) ( V=Vm×P2).

Here, the second ratio P2 is defined as in Equation 2.

In addition, the contact voltage (Vm) is defined as in Equation 3 below.

Here, R' = (R1 + R2) // (R1 + R2). In the embodiment of the present invention, since R1 = R3 = 10K, R2 = 75K, and Vin = 12V, R' becomes 42.5K.

The figure on the left of FIG. 5 is an equivalent circuit to the figure on the right, and the figure on the left can be expressed as a voltage divider circuit by the R' resistor and the R3 resistor and the Vm voltage applied to the contact point, as shown in the right figure. When these values of R' (42.5K) and R3 (10K) are substituted into Equation 2, Vm = 9.7V is derived.

Using the Vm value derived in FIG. 5 , the output voltage V of the voltage regulator 210 finally detected by the voltage detector 211 can be obtained according to the equivalent circuit of FIG. 6 . Here, since R1 = 10K, R2 = 75K, and Vm = 9.7V, P2 = 0.118 according to Equation 2, and the output voltage V of the voltage regulator 210 at this time becomes 1.14V.

That is, a voltage of 1.14V is detected through the voltage detector 211 in the second monitoring device 200 in the second sequence. This 1.14V value is called a second voltage value, which has a lower value than the first voltage value.

Of course, according to the symmetrical structure described in FIG. 5, the output voltage (V) of the voltage regulator 110 in the first monitoring device 100 on the charging station 10 also becomes 1.14V, so that the first monitoring device 100 A voltage of 1.14V is also detected through the voltage detector 111. In this way, in the second sequence, the same second voltage value is detected in each of the voltage detection terminals 111 and 211 in the two monitoring devices 100 and 200 .

Accordingly, the first supervisory device 100 in the charging station 10 simultaneously detects that the output voltage of the voltage regulator 110 is a preset second voltage value V2 (eg, 1.14V) lower than the first voltage. If the switch 120 is in the first state (OFF) as it is, the current sequence is identified as the second sequence (sequence #2) from the information on the left of Table 1, and the switch 120 for the next third sequence (sequence #3) keep the state of OFF as it is.

In addition, in the second monitoring device 200 in the mobile robot 20, the output voltage of its voltage regulator 210 is the second voltage value V2 (eg: 1.14V) and the switch 220 is in the first state (OFF), the current sequence is identified as the second sequence from the information on the right side of Table 1, and the state of the switch 220 is set to the second sequence connected to the battery 22 in the first state (OFF) for the next third sequence. state (ON).

In general, since the mobile robot 20 has control priority, the state change of the switch on the charging path is performed first in the mobile robot 20 .

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, when the switch 220 of the second monitoring device 200 in the mobile robot 20 is switched to the second state (ON), power is not supplied to the voltage regulator 210 and the output voltage is It is observed again as OV, and at the same time, the voltage regulator 110 circuit part of the first monitoring device 100 and the battery 22 of the first monitoring device 200 are electrically connected to each other based on the two charging ports 11 and 21. connected to each other with

Specifically, in the third sequence, only the switch 210 on the side of the mobile robot 20 among the two switches 110 and 210 is in the second state (ON), and the voltage values output from each voltage regulator 110 and 210 are also 2.82V and OV. change with each Accordingly, the mobile robot 20 and the charging station 10 may recognize a situation in which the sequence #2 is switched from the sequence #3 based on the observed voltage value and the switch state.

In addition, in the third sequence, while the voltage Vbat (approximately 24V to 28V) of the battery 22 is input to the input terminal of the voltage regulator 110, the 12V power input to the power terminal 115 is connected to the resistance element R3. As a result, it becomes meaningless and becomes equal to 0. Therefore, when only the switch 220 in the second monitoring device 200 is turned ON while both switches 120 and 220 are OFF, only the voltage Vbat of the battery 22 is applied to the input terminal of the voltage regulator 110.

In this third sequence, the output voltage V of the voltage regulator 110 is equal to the product of the current voltage Vbat of the battery 22 and the second ratio P2 (V = Vbat x P2). The second ratio is equal to Equation 2 above.

In general, the voltage of the battery 22 is at least 24V (Vbat_min) and has a value of 28V (Vbat_max) when fully charged. If the current voltage of the battery 22 is 24V, the output voltage V of the voltage regulator 110 is 2.82V, which is a value obtained by multiplying 24V by P2 (0.118). Here, the value of 2.82 is referred to as the third voltage value.

Of course, the effective voltage range that may appear in the third sequence may be determined by multiplying the preset minimum and maximum charging voltages (Vbat_min and Vbat_max) of the battery and the second ratio P2. For example, the effective voltage range ranges from 2.82V, which is 24V multiplied by P2, to 3.3V, which is 28V multiplied by P2.

Accordingly, the first monitoring device 100 within the charging station 10 determines if the output voltage of the voltage regulator 110 is a third voltage within a set voltage range (eg, 2.82 to 3.3V) higher than the first voltage. If the switch 120 is in the first state (OFF) at the same time as the value V3 (eg, 2.82V), the current sequence is identified as the third sequence (sequence #3) from the information on the left of Table 1, and the next sequence For 4 sequences (sequence #4), the state of the switch 120 is changed from the existing first state (OFF) to the second state (ON) to be connected to the charger 12.

In addition, in the second monitoring device 200 in the mobile robot 20, when the output voltage of the voltage regulator 210 is OV and the switch 220 is in the second state (ON), the current The sequence is identified as the third sequence (sequence #3) and the state of the switch 220 is maintained for the next fourth sequence (sequence #4).

According to the sequence change, when the switch 120 of the first monitoring device 100 in the mobile robot 20 is also converted to the second state (ON), as shown in FIG. 4, at this time, in the first monitoring device 100 Since the state of the voltage regulator 110 is the same as that of FIG. 1, a value of 1.26V is detected through the voltage detection terminal 111, and the voltage regulator 210 in the second monitoring device 200 is still powered off. Because of this state, a value of 0V is detected through the voltage detection terminal 211.

In addition, in this fourth sequence (sequence # 4), both switches 120 and 220 are changed to the second state (ON) and the charging paths are connected to each other, so the discharged from the charger 12 in the charging station 10 As current is transferred to the battery 22 in the mobile robot 20 via the charging ports 11 and 21, charging is performed.

Here, of course, the resistance and power value used in the embodiment of the present invention correspond to only one embodiment, and more various modifications may exist.

According to the present invention as described above, it is possible to accurately grasp the charging sequence in progress between the charging station and the mobile robot without having any additional communication ports or terminals for checking the charging state, and automatically switch the charging sequence to the next sequence. can do.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, this is merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. Therefore, the true technical scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

10: charging station 11: charging port
12: charger 20: mobile robot
21: charging port 22: battery
100: first monitoring device 200: second monitoring device
110,210: voltage regulator 115: power terminal
120,220: switch 130,230: control unit
140,240: current sensor

Claims (11)

In the charging state monitoring device for automatically recognizing and converting the current charging sequence independently mounted on the charging station and the mobile robot,
The first monitoring device provided in the charging station,
a voltage regulator having a voltage divider circuit and outputting a downed voltage;
a power terminal connected to the input terminal of the voltage regulator through a resistance element and receiving a power supply voltage of a set size;
a switch connecting one of an input terminal of the voltage regulator and a charger of the charging station to a charging port of the charging station; and
A control unit for comparing the output voltage of the voltage regulator and the state information of the switch with a pre-stored control information table to identify a current sequence among consecutive multi-stage charging sequences and to control the switch as a state condition necessary for switching to the next sequence. Charge state monitor. The method of claim 1,
The control information table,
The charging state monitoring device storing the output voltage of the voltage regulator corresponding to the corresponding charging sequence for each charging sequence and the state condition of the switch. The method of claim 1,
The second monitoring device provided in the mobile robot,
Each includes a voltage regulator, a switch, and a controller implemented in a symmetrical structure with the voltage regulator, the switch, and the controller based on the two charging ports of the charging station and the mobile robot facing each other,
The switch in the second monitoring device connects one of the input terminal of the voltage regulator of the second monitoring device and the battery of the mobile robot to the charging port of the mobile robot. The method of claim 3,
Each of the first and second monitoring devices,
Further comprising a current sensor individually installed on a path between its switch and the charger and a path between its switch and the battery to sense the current value on the installation path and provide status information of the switch according to the presence or absence of current sensing Charge state monitor. The method of claim 3,
The voltage regulators of each of the first and second monitoring devices,
It is configured to include a series resistance connected between its input terminal and an output terminal and a parallel resistance connected between the output terminal and a ground terminal,
State-of-charge monitoring devices that have a symmetrical structure but are composed of the same element values. The method of claim 5,
The continuous multi-stage charging sequence,
A first sequence in which each switch of the first and second monitoring devices is connected to a voltage regulator and electrically separated from a charging path and the two charging ports are not connected; a second sequence in which the charging ports are connected to each other; A third sequence in which the switch of the second monitoring device is connected to the battery, and a fourth sequence in which charging is started while the switch of the first monitoring device is connected to the charger. The method of claim 5,
The first monitoring device in the charging station,
When the output voltage of the voltage regulator is a preset first voltage value lower than the power supply voltage and the switch is in a first state connected to the voltage regulator and separated from the charger, the current sequence is identified as the first sequence, and the next Maintaining the state of the switch as it is for the second sequence,
When the output voltage of the voltage regulator is a preset second voltage value lower than the first voltage and the switch is in the first state, the current sequence is identified as the second sequence and the state of the switch is maintained as it is for the next third sequence. keep
When the output voltage of the voltage regulator is a third voltage value within a set voltage range higher than the first voltage and the switch is in the first state, the current sequence is identified as the third sequence and the switch for the next fourth sequence A charging state monitoring device for a mobile robot that switches a state from the first state to a second state connected to the charger. The method of claim 7,
The first voltage value (V1) is equal to the product of the power supply voltage (Vin) and the first ratio (P1), and the first ratio is determined by the following equation Charge state monitoring device:

Here, R1, R2, and R3 denote the parallel resistance, the series resistance, and the resistance element, respectively. The method of claim 8,
The second voltage value (V2) is equal to the product of the contact voltage (Vm) between the two charging ports and the second ratio (P2), and the second ratio (P2) and the contact voltage (Vm) are each of the following State-of-charge monitor determined by the equation:

,

Here, R' = (R1+R2)//(R1+R2). The method of claim 9,
The minimum and maximum values of the set voltage range are,
Charge state monitoring device determined by multiplying the predetermined minimum and maximum charging voltages (Vbat_min, Vbat_max) of the battery and the second ratio (P2). The method of claim 7,
The second monitoring device in the mobile robot,
When the output voltage of the voltage regulator is 0V and the switch is in a first state connected to the voltage regulator and separated from the battery, the current sequence is identified as the first sequence and the state of the switch is maintained for the next second sequence. and
If the switch is in the first state while the output voltage of the voltage regulator is the second voltage, the current sequence is identified as the second sequence and the state of the switch for the next third sequence is set to the second state connected to the battery in the first state. convert to state
When the output voltage of the voltage regulator is 0V and the switch is in the second state, the current sequence is identified as the third sequence and the state of the switch is maintained for the next fourth sequence.

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