WO2020156771A1

WO2020156771A1 - A method of swapping at least one battery in an electric vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO2020156771A1
Application number: PCT/EP2020/050362
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gopalan Venkoparao VIJENDRAN; Abhik Banerjee; Basavaraj Shivashankar GARADI
Original assignee: Robert Bosch Gmbh; Robert Bosch Engineering And Business Solutions Private Limited
Priority date: 2019-01-30
Filing date: 2020-01-09
Publication date: 2020-08-06
Also published as: TW202126509A

Abstract

A system (10), for swapping at least one battery in an electric vehicle is disclosed. The system (10) comprises a communication means (13) adapted to establish a communication between at least one battery ( 14) and the electric vehicle (12) via an authentication technique. The system (10) comprises an alerting means (22) adapted to indicate removal of the battery (12) from the vehicle (12), when the authentication is successful. The system (10) comprises a communication device (38) adapted to transfer information regarding the removed battery (14) to a cloud repository (40), upon establishing a communication with the removed battery (14), via the authentication technique. The system (10) further comprises a new battery (32) plugged into the vehicle (12), when the authentication between the new (battery 32) and the vehicle (12) is successful.

Description

1. Title of the Invention:

A method of swapping at least one battery in an electric vehicle

Complete Specification: The following specification describes and ascertains the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

Field of the invention

[0001] This invention relates to the field of a method of swapping at least one battery in an electric vehicle and a system thereof.

Background of the invention

[0002] Battery swapping has been touted as a solution to improve adoption of electric vehicles. However, multiple challenges exist for deployment of a battery into the battery swapping ecosystem, by the battery owner. Battery owner wants the reassurance that his battery is being utilized properly and is not being misused or abused. Likewise, the vehicle owner wants a reassurance that correct and authenticated battery is being fitted onto the vehicle. Besides, the charging station owner wants a reassurance that he is not charging or dealing with a fake or spurious battery.

[0003] A prior art patent application US20120248868A1 discloses a battery car employed in conjunction with a battery car station for a swappable battery configuration. Batteries are of differing types depending on provision of high current or high voltage, with each having a energy sensor. Access to the batteries of differing types is controlled through a switch control processor selectively coupling batteries to one or more power grids depending upon a given battery's sensed energy. Access to the batteries of differing types is based on demands of vehicle operation. Based on such configuration, a swappable battery car station in communication with the battery car might then selectively replace batteries as needed.

Brief description of the accompanying drawing

[0004] Different modes of the invention are disclosed in detail in the description and illustrated in the accompanying drawing:

[0005] Fig.l illustrates a system for swapping at least one battery in the vehicle in accordance with this invention;

[0006] Fig. 2 illustrates a flow chart of the method of swapping at least one battery in a vehicle; and

[0007] Fig. 3 illustrates a flow chart of a method of charging at least one battery of the vehicle.

Detailed description of the embodiments

[0008] FIG. 1 illustrates a system for swapping at least one battery in an electric vehicle according to one embodiment of the invention. The system 10 comprises a communication means 13, through which a communication between at least one battery 14 and the electric vehicle 12 is established via an authentication technique. The system 10 comprises an alerting means 22 adapted to indicate removal of the battery 14 from the vehicle 12. The indication for removing the battery 14 is given after the authentication is successful. The system 10 comprises a communication device 38 adapted to transfer information regarding the removed battery 14 to a cloud repository 40, upon establishing a communication with the removed battery 14, via the authentication technique. The system 10 further comprises a new battery 32 to be plugged into the vehicle 12. The new battery 32 is inserted in the vehicle 12 when the authentication between the new battery 32 and the vehicle 12 is successful.

[0009] Further, the construction and the components of the system 10 and their working is explained as follows. The vehicle 12 comprises multiple electronic control units 18 adapted to control corresponding components of the vehicle 12. At least one vehicle control unit 18 of the vehicle 12 is in communication with a battery control unit 16 of at least one battery 14 present in the vehicle 12. The two respective control units 18, 16 [vehicle and the battery] are connected using at least one communication means 13. The communication means 13 is chosen from a group of communication means comprising a near field communication [NFC] means, a radio frequency [RF] communication means, a control area network [CAN] bus or the like. For instance, for establishing a communication between the battery electronics 16 [the control unit 16 of the battery 14] and the vehicle electronics 18 [the control unit 18 of the vehicle], a NFC means is used.

[0010] The vehicle control unit 18 transmits a pass-code to the control unit 16 of the battery 14 for authentication. The control unit communicating with the control unit 18 of the vehicle 12. According to an embodiment of the invention, the authentication technique as disclosed above is a three-stage authentication technique as known to a person skilled in the art.

[0011] The system 10 further comprises an activation switch 20 adapted to activate removal at least one battery 14 from the vehicle. Upon pressing the activation switch 20, the altering means 22 indicates the removal of battery 14. The altering means 22 is activated for a predefined amount of time, for the safe removal of at least one battery 14 from the vehicle 12. The activation switch 20 is positioned on a dashboard of the vehicle 12. The system 10 comprises an auxiliary power source 26 adapted to power multiple electronic units 18 of the vehicle 12, when at least one battery 14 is removed and/or is being removed.

[0012] The system 10 comprises a power switch 15 positioned on at least one battery 14 for switching ON or switching OFF a connection of the battery 14. The switch used to switch-ON or switch-OFF the battery main power, such that, the power drawn in both ON and OFF state of the switch 15 is minimal. For instance, a latching switch 15 is used for switching the battery 14. The latching switch 15 will be turned ON upon detecting a positive authentication between the battery 14 and the vehicle 12. After positive authentication, the battery control unit 16 activates the latching switch 15 and the switch 15 will be in active state, until the ignition of the vehicle 12 is turned OFF or until the battery 14 is pulled out of the vehicle 12 for replacement.

[0013] According to an embodiment of the invention, each of the battery 14 and the vehicle 12 comprises a sensing element [not shown], to detect the established communication between the battery 14 and the vehicle 12. At least one message is exchanged for every predefined time interval, between the vehicle electronics 18 and the battery 14 via the communication means 13 [for instance, radio frequency means or NFC and/or wired interfaces] to indicate that the authenticated battery 14 is still in connection with the vehicle 12. An absence of the message will indicate that, either battery 14 is disconnected or there is a failure or an unusual condition occurred either in the battery 14 or in the interface between the vehicle 12 and the battery 14. At least one message is transmitted between the battery 14 and the vehicle electronics 16, to ensure that the average current drawn from the battery 14 is restricted to the minimal value.

[0014] The sensing element [not shown] of the battery 14 ensures the connection to be in the active state, between the vehicle 12 and the battery 14, by monitoring the battery voltage or by monitoring the current drawn by at least one of the vehicle components.

[0015] Fig. 2 illustrates a flow chart of the method of swapping at least one battery in a vehicle. In step SI, a communication between at least one battery 14 and the electric vehicle 12 is established using an authentication technique. In step S2, at least one battery 14 from the vehicle 12 is removed upon detecting an alert [upon pressing the activation switch 20] in the vehicle 12. In step S3, a connection is established using the authentication technique, between the removed battery 14 from the vehicle 12 and a communication device 38 of a battery-swapping center 30. In step S4, an information is transferred regarding the removed battery 14 to a cloud repository 40 via the communication device 38. In step S5, an information of a new battery 32 is transferred to the cloud repository 40 upon scanning an identification tag of the new battery 32. In step S6, the new battery 32 is plugged into the vehicle 12 when the authentication between the vehicle 12 and the new battery 32 is successful.

[0016] The user of the vehicle 12 operates the activation switch 20 upon detecting the need for removal of at least one battery 14 from the vehicle 12. According to an embodiment of the invention, the battery 14 is removed based on the kilometers the vehicle 12 have travelled or based on the voltage level in the battery 14. The activation switch 20 is operated (switched on] to activate the alerting means 22. The altering means 22 is an audio means, that will be in the active state for a predefined amount of time. However, the altering means 22 is not restricted to audio means, but can be any other means such as visual, light, haptic, etc. When the altering means 22 is activated, the removal process of at least one battery 14 from the vehicle 12 is initiated.

[0017] The battery control unit 16 and the vehicle control unit 18 establishes the communication using the authentication technique (For instance, using the NFC authentication technique]. The power switch 15 is operated, which is present on the battery (14, 32] that needs to be removed, such that, the power to the vehicle 12 is discontinued and the battery 14 is removed from the vehicle 12. The removed battery 14 is taken to the battery-swapping center 30, where the battery control unit 16 establishes a communication with the communication device 38 of the battery-swapping center 30. The communication device 38 of the battery-swapping center 30 is chosen from a group of communication devices comprising a smart phone, a person digital assistant, a laptop or the like. The communication device 38 transmits the information of the connected removed battery 14 to the cloud repository 40. [0018] The communication device 38 further establishes a communication with the new battery 32, which will be plugged into the vehicle 12. The new battery 32 information is transmitted to the cloud repository 40, such that, the details of the removed battery 14 and the new battery 32 will be accessible to the user and the battery swapping center 30, whenever required. The new battery 32 is authenticated with at least one vehicle electronic control unit 18, before plugging in the new battery 32 into the vehicle 12.

[0019] Fig. 3 illustrates a flow chart of a method of charging at least one battery of the vehicle. In step SI, a communication between at least one battery 14 and the electric vehicle 12 is established using an authentication technique. In step S2, at least one battery 14 from the vehicle 12 is removed upon detecting an alert in the vehicle 12. In step S3, a connection is established using the authentication technique, between the removed battery 14 from the vehicle 12 and a communication device 38 of a battery-swapping center 30. In step S4, an information is transferred regarding the removed battery 14 to a cloud repository 40 via the communication device 38. In step S5, an information of the new battery 32 is transferred to the cloud repository 40 upon scanning an identification tag of the new battery 32. In step S6, the new battery 32 is plugged into the vehicle 12 when the authentication between the vehicle 12 and the new battery 32 is successful. In step S7, a communication between the removed battery 14 and a control unit 35 of a charger 36 of a battery-swapping center 30 is established. In step S8, at least one removed battery 14 is charged at the battery-swapping center 30, when the authentication between the control unit 35 of the charger 36 and the removed battery 14 is successful.

[0020] The removed battery 14 that is placed in the battery swapping center 30, establishes a communication with the charger 36 of the swapping center 30, for charging of the removed battery 14. Since, the information regarding the removed battery 14 is stored in the cloud repository 40, with the help of the communication device 38, the battery-swapping center 30, receives the details of the removed battery 14, to avoid charging of a duplicate battery.

[0021] With the above-disclosed method of swapping at least one battery 14 in the electrical vehicle 10 and the system ensures an efficient way of swapping the battery 14. The method also ensures that the power from the battery 14 does not inadvertently turn OFF when the vehicle is ON or on the move. With the system disclosed- above, the method provides a cost-effective solution by reducing the maintaince cost. The system 10 further prevents the theft of battery 14 by having the tampering switch 24 positioned on the battery 14, which is very critical for a battery owner who has invested on the batteries 14 on behalf of the vehicle 12 owner/user. [0022] It should be understood that embodiments explained in the description above are only illustrative and do not limit the scope of this invention. Many such embodiments and other modifications and changes in the embodiment explained in the description are envisaged. The scope of the invention is only limited by the scope of the claims.

Claims

We Claim:

1. A method of swapping atleast one battery [14] in a vehicle [12], said method comprising :

- establishing a communication between said at least one battery [14] and said electric vehicle [12] using an authentication technique;

- removing said at least one battery [14] from said vehicle

[12] upon detecting an alert in said vehicle [12];

- establishing a connection using said authentication technique, between said removed battery [14] from said vehicle [12] and a communication device [38] of a battery swapping center [30];

- transferring information of a new battery [32] to a cloud repository [40] upon scanning an identification tag of said new battery [32];

- plugging in said new battery [32] in said vehicle [12] when said authentication between said vehicle [12] and said new battery [32] is successful.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of transferring information regarding said removed battery [14] to a cloud repository [40] is executed via said communication device [38].

3. A method of charging at least one battery [14] from a vehicle [12], said method comprising :

- removing said at least one battery [14] from said vehicle [12] upon detecting an alert in said vehicle [12];

- plugging in said new battery [32] in said vehicle [12] when said authentication between said vehicle [12] and said new battery [32] is successful;

characterized in that:

- establishing a communication between said removed battery [14] and a control unit [35] of a charger [36] of a battery swapping center [30];

- charging said at least one removed battery [14] when the authentication is successful.

4. A system [10], for swapping at least one battery [14] in an electric vehicle [12], said system [10] comprising :

- a communication means [13] adapted to establish a communication between said at least one battery [14] and said electric vehicle [12] via an authentication technique;

- an alerting means [22] adapted to indicate removal of said battery [12] from said vehicle [12], when said authentication is successful;

- a communication device [38] adapted to transfer information regarding said removed battery [14] to a cloud repository [40], upon establishing a communication with said removed battery [14] via said authentication technique;

- a new battery [32] plugged into said vehicle [12], when said authentication between said new battery [32] and said vehicle [12] is successful.

5. The system [10] as claimed in claim 4, comprises an activation switch [20] in said vehicle [12], said activation switch [20] is operated, to activate said alerting means [22] for a predefined amount of time for safe removal said at least one battery [14] from said vehicle [12].

6. The system [10] as claimed in claim 4, wherein a control unit

[16] of said battery [14] communicates with a control unit [18] of said vehicle [12] to transfer at least one message, when said removal of said battery [14] is initiated by operating said activation switch [20].

7. The system [10] as claimed in claim 4, comprises an auxiliary power source [26] adapted to power multiple electronic units [18] of said vehicle [12], when said at least one battery [14] is removed.

8. The system [10] as claimed in claim 4, comprises a control unit

[35] of a charger [36] at a battery swapping center [30], said control unit [35] adapted to establish a communication with said removed battery [14] via said authentication technique to facilitate charging of said removed battery [14].

9. The system [10] as claimed in claim 4, wherein said communication means [13] for authentication is chosen from a group of communication means comprising a near field communication [NFC] means, a radio frequency [RF] communication means, a control area network [CAN] bus and the like.

Dated this 29^th day of Jan, 2019

(Digitally signed]

Prakash BALEKUNDRI

On-behalf of the Applicants [IN/PA-1935]