CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based on and derives the benefit of Indian Provisional Application 202241024256, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[001] Embodiments disclosed herein relate to battery swapping systems and more particularly to performing pre-authentication of battery packs when swapping the battery packs at a battery charging and swapping station.

BACKGROUND

[002] With the increasing need for reliable and dependable energy sources in various applications, storage and usage of electrical energy is assuming an ever- increasing importance. This has resulted in an increased usage of batteries in a variety of transportation and stationary applications.

[003] Many electric vehicles are equipped with swappable battery packs. The swapping of the depleted battery packs with replenished battery packs at the battery charging and swapping station requires communicating necessary information through a good internet connection with good signal strength. The battery charging and swapping station has to check a plurality of parameters and conditions such as, but not limited to, whether the depleted battery being swapped from a vehicle is a legitimate battery and whether there is sufficient balance in the wallet for the station to enable swapping. Due to this, the battery charging and swapping station can only be placed in areas with proper network connectivity. This can hamper the usage of electric vehicles with swappable battery packs in rural areas or other areas with poor internet connectivity.

[004] If the swapping is performed without any internet connectivity, that requires the presence of service personnel at the battery charging and swapping station with a mobile device having features such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) read/write to write information to a key fob of the vehicle user. It adds to the wait time of the vehicle user, and can adversely affect user satisfaction ratings. OBJECTS

[005] The principal object of embodiments disclosed herein is to disclose methods and systems for performing pre-authentication of battery packs at a battery charging and swapping station by verifying at least one of the parameters associated with the battery swapping through a controller and receiving pre-authentication information from the controller which can be used by the battery pack for the next swap without requiring internet connectivity.

[006] These and other aspects of the embodiments herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following descriptions, while indicating at least one embodiment and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the embodiments herein without departing from the spirit thereof, and the embodiments herein include all such modifications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

[007] Embodiments herein are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, throughout which reference letters indicate corresponding parts in the various figures. The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following description with reference to the drawings, in which:

[008] FIG. 1 illustrates the schematic representation of the pre-authentication system, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;

[009] FIG. 2 is a flowchart depicting the process of pre-authenticating a battery pack at a battery charging and swapping station, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;

[0010] FIG. 3 depicts the battery pack, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;

[0011] FIG. 4 depicts the controller, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;

[0012] FIG. 5 depicts the battery charging and swapping station, according to embodiments as disclosed herein; [0013] FIG. 6 is a flowchart depicting the process of pre-authenticating a battery pack at a battery charging and swapping station, according to embodiments as disclosed herein; and

[0014] FIG. 7 is a flowchart depicting the process of performing a battery swap, when the user is pre-authenticated for a battery swap; according to embodiments as disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.

[0016] The embodiments herein disclose methods and systems to pre-authenticate a battery pack at a battery charging and swapping station by verifying at least one of the parameters associated with the battery swapping through the controller and receiving preauthentication information from the controller which can be used by the battery pack for the next swap without the need of internet connectivity. Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 through 7, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown embodiments.

[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates the schematic representation of the pre-authentication system, according to embodiments as disclosed herein. As illustrated in FIG. 1, system 100 comprises at least one battery pack 102 (hereinafter referred to interchangeably as battery packs, batteries, and so on), a battery charging and swapping station 104 (herein after referred to interchangeably as a swap station, station, BSS, and so on) and a controller 106.

[0018] The battery charging and swapping station 104 can comprise one or more battery docks (not shown), wherein one or more battery packs may be charged and/or conditioned. The battery charging and swapping station 104 can enable a user of a vehicle to swap batteries present in the vehicle with charged and conditioned battery packs from the battery charging and swapping station 104. Embodiments herein are explained using a single battery pack as an example, but it may be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art that there may be one or more battery packs present in the battery charging and swapping station 104 and a vehicle using the battery packs 102. Controller 106 can be a cloud server, a server, the cloud, or any other remote processing entity.

[0019] The battery packs 102 can communicate with the controller 106 using a wireless communication means. Examples of wireless communication means can be, a cellular network, Wi-Fi, and so on.

[0020] The battery packs 102 can communicate with the battery charging and swapping station 104 using a wireless communication means and/or wired communication means. Examples of wireless communication means can be, a cellular network, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and so on. Examples of wired communication means can be, but are not limited to, a local area network, an ethernet connection, and so on.

[0021] The battery charging and swapping station 104 can communicate with the controller 106 using a wireless communication means and/or a wired communication means. Examples of the wireless communication means can be, a cellular network, WiFi, and so on. Examples of the wired communication means can be, but not limited to, a local area network, an ethernet connection, and so on.

[0022] In an embodiment herein, on completing a swap of one or more batteries at the battery charging and swapping station 104, the controller 106 can be informed (by at least one of the battery charging and swapping station 104 or at least one battery pack 102 that is being currently used in the vehicle) that a swap has been completed successfully for a user. On receiving this information from the battery charging and swapping station 104, the controller 106 can check if the wallet of that user has sufficient balance available for at least one upcoming swap. If the wallet of that user has sufficient balance available for at least one upcoming swap, the controller 106 can send a preauthentication information to at least one of the battery packs 102 in the vehicle being used by the user (where the battery packs 102 are being used in that vehicle). At least one of the battery pack 102 can store the received pre-authentication information. The preauthentication information can comprise an indication that the user is authorized to perform at least one upcoming swap (by setting a flag) if the vehicle is blacklisted or not, if at least one battery pack needs to be quarantined, or if any other specific information related to the battery pack and the user. [0023] The vehicle on arriving at the battery charging and swapping station 104 for the next swap, at least one of the battery packs 102 in the vehicle can automatically connect to the battery charging and swapping station 104 using at least one of the wireless communication means. At least one battery pack 102 can communicate the preauthentication information to the battery charging and swapping station 104. If the preauthentication information is legitimate, the battery charging and swapping station 104 can allow the battery packs from the vehicle to be swapped with fully charged battery packs 102. This eliminates the need for the controller 106 to be continuously checked during the swapping process, as the swap can be completed without the requirement of internet connectivity.

[0024] The battery charging and swapping station 104 can detect vehicles in the vicinity of the battery charging and swapping station 104 and can check if any of the vehicles are ready for swapping their batteries (by checking their State of Charge (SOC) levels). Then, at least one of the battery packs 102 in the vehicle can automatically connect to the battery charging and swapping station 104 using at least one of the wireless communication means. The at least one battery pack 102 can exchange the preauthentication information with the battery charging and swapping station 104, which can be stored. If the pre-authentication information is legitimate, the battery charging and swapping station 104 can allow the battery packs from the vehicle to be swapped with fully charged battery packs 102 (on the vehicle reaching the battery charging and swapping station 104). This eliminates the need for the controller 106 to be continuously checked during the swapping process, as the swap can be completed without the requirement of internet connectivity.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a flowchart depicting the process of pre-authenticating a battery pack at a battery charging and swap station. In step 201, the user has completed a swap of one or more batteries at the battery charging and swapping station 104. In step 202, the controller 106 is informed that a swap has been completed successfully for the user, by at least one of the battery charging and swapping stations 104 or the battery pack 102. On receiving this information from the battery charging and swapping station 104, in step 203, the controller 106 checks if the wallet of that user has sufficient balance available for at least one upcoming swap. If the wallet of that user has sufficient balance available in his/her wallet for at least one upcoming swap, in step 204, the controller 106 sends the pre-authentication information to at least one of the battery packs 102 in the vehicle being used by the user (where the battery packs 102 are being used in that vehicle). On receiving the pre-authentication information, in step 205, at least one of the battery pack 102 can store the received pre-authentication information. The vehicle on arriving at the battery charging and swapping station 104 for the next swap or determining that the vehicle in its vicinity requires a battery swap, in step 206, at least one of the battery packs 102 in the vehicle automatically connects to the battery charging and swapping station 104 using at least one of the wireless communication means and communicates the pre-authentication information to the battery charging and swapping station 104. If the pre-authentication information is legitimate, in step 207, the battery charging and swapping station 104 permits the battery packs from the vehicle to be swapped with fully charged battery packs 102. This eliminates the need for the controller 106 to be continuously checked during the swapping process, as the swap can be completed without the requirement of internet connectivity. The various actions in method 200 may be performed in the order presented, in a different order or simultaneously. Further, in some embodiments, some actions listed in FIG. 2 may be omitted.

[0026] FIG. 3 depicts the battery pack. The battery pack 102, as depicted, comprises a Battery Control Unit (BCU) 301, one or more communication modules 302, and a memory 303. The communication interface 302 may be configured to enable the battery 102 to communicate with the battery charging and swapping station 104, the controller 106 and other batteries currently present in the vehicle using an interface supported by the respective entities. Examples of the interface may be, but are not limited to, a wired interface (such as a Controller Area Network (CAN)), a wireless interface (such as, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular network,), or any structure supporting communications over a wired or wireless connection.

[0027] The memory 303 stores at least one of, a completion flag, a preauthentication flag, the pre-authentication information, user related information, and so on. Examples of the memory 303 may be, but are not limited to, NAND, embedded Multimedia Card (eMMC), Secure Digital (SD) cards, Universal Serial Bus (USB), Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA), solid-state drive (SSD), and so on. Further, the memory 303 may include one or more computer-readable storage media. The memory 303 may include one or more non-volatile storage elements. Examples of such non- volatile storage elements may include Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), magnetic hard discs, optical discs, floppy discs, flash memories, or forms of electrically programmable memories (EPROM) or electrically erasable and programmable (EEPROM) memories. In addition, the memory 303 may, in some examples, be considered a non-transitory storage medium. The term "non-transitory" may indicate that the storage medium is not embodied in a carrier wave or a propagated signal. However, the term "non-transitory" should not be interpreted to mean that the memory is non-movable. In certain examples, a non-transitory storage medium may store data that may, over time, change (e.g., in Random Access Memory (RAM) or cache).

[0028] The term c o n t r o l u n i t (BCU 301),' as used in the present disclosure, may refer to, for example, hardware including logic circuits; a hardware/software combination such as a processor executing software; or a combination thereof. For example, the processing circuitry more specifically may include, but is not limited to, a central processing unit (CPU), an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a System-on-Chip (SoC), a programmable logic unit, a microprocessor, application -specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. For example, the BCU 301 may include at least one of, a single processer, a plurality of processors, multiple homogeneous or heterogeneous cores, multiple Central Processing Units (CPUs) of different kinds, microcontrollers, special media, and other accelerators.

[0029] The BCU 301 can determine that a swap has been completed by detecting that it has been inserted into a vehicle and other battery slots in the vehicle have also been filled. On determining that the swap has been completed, the BCU 301 can mark the completion flag as SET (wherein the completion flag is stored in the memory 303), wherein the completion flag indicates that the current swap has been successfully completed. The BCU 301 can further send a first to the controller 106. After sending the first unique ID to the controller 106, the BCU 106 can then mark the completion flag as RESET, wherein this indicates that the battery pack 102 is ready to receive the preauthentication information from the controller 106. The first unique ID can comprise information such as, but not limited to, an ID for the user, unique IDs for the batteries being used by the user, a current location of the user, and so on. In an embodiment herein, the BCU 301 can send the first unique ID to the controller 106, immediately on the swap being completed. In an embodiment herein, the BCU 301 can send the first unique ID to the controller 106, on a communication network is available for enabling communication between the BCU 301 and the controller 106.

[0030] The BCU 301 can receive a second unique ID (wherein the second unique ID can comprise the pre-authentication information (i.e., the user is authenticated for performing at least one upcoming swap)) from the controller 106 (on the controller 106 confirming that the wallet of that user has sufficient balance available for at least one upcoming swap). On receiving the second unique ID, the BCU 301 can set the preauthentication flag. The BCU 301 can acknowledge that it has successfully received the second unique ID. The BCU 301 can store the received second unique ID with the preauthentication information in the memory 303. The BCU 301 can further share the second unique ID with the pre-authentication information with other battery packs 102 present in the vehicle over the CAN.

[0031] The BCU 301 and the controller 106 can communicate either directly or via the battery charging and swapping station 104. In an embodiment herein, the BCU 301 can communicate with the controller 106 directly, at any point, when the BCU 301 has adequate network connectivity. In an embodiment herein, the BCU 301 can communicate with the controller 106 via the battery charging and swapping station 104, wherein the battery charging and swapping station 104 serves as a relay between the battery pack 102 and the controller 106.

[0032] On connecting with the battery charging and swapping station 104 (either being in the vicinity of the battery charging and swapping station 104 or reaching the battery charging and swapping station 104), the BCU 301 can communicate the second unique ID and the pre-authentication flag status (set/reset) with the battery charging and swapping station 104 via one or more communication interfaces. On the swap process being initiated, the BCU 101 can reset the pre-authentication flag.

[0033] FIG. 4 depicts the controller. The controller 106, as depicted, comprises a Central Control Module (CCM) 401, at least one communication interface 402, and a memory 403. The communication interface 402 may be configured to enable the controller 106 to communicate with the battery charging and swapping station 104, and other batteries using an interface supported by the respective entities. Examples of the interface may be, but are not limited to, a wireless interface (such as, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or cellular network,), or any structure supporting communications over a wired or wireless connection.

[0034] The memory 403 stores at least one of, the battery information (such as the status of the battery packs (blacklisted/not blacklisted), information related to the battery charging and swapping stations 104, user-related i n f o r m a t i o n ( t h e b a l a n c e i n t h e u s e r s account, his account status (active/inactive/suspended), and so on. Examples of the memory 403 may be, but are not limited to, NAND, embedded Multimedia Card (eMMC), Secure Digital (SD) cards, Universal Serial Bus (USB), Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA), solid-state drive (SSD), and so on. Further, the memory 403 may include one or more computer-readable storage media. The memory 403 may include one or more non-volatile storage elements. Examples of such non-volatile storage elements may include Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), magnetic hard discs, optical discs, floppy discs, flash memories, or forms of electrically programmable memories (EPROM) or electrically erasable and programmable (EEPROM) memories. In addition, the memory 403 may, in some examples, be considered a non-transitory storage medium. The term "non-transitory" may indicate that the storage medium is not embodied in a carrier wave or a propagated signal. However, the term "non-transitory" should not be interpreted to mean that the memory is nonmovable. In certain examples, a non-transitory storage medium may store data that may, over time, change (e.g., in Random Access Memory (RAM) or cache).

[0035] The term co n tro l module (CCM 401),' as used in the present disclosure, may refer to, for example, hardware including logic circuits; a hardware/software combination such as a processor executing software; or a combination thereof. For example, the processing circuitry more specifically may include, but is not limited to, a central processing unit (CPU), an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a System-on-Chip (SoC), a programmable logic unit, a microprocessor, application -specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. For example, the CCM 401 may include at least one of, a single processer, a plurality of processors, multiple homogeneous or heterogeneous cores, multiple Central Processing Units (CPUs) of different kinds, microcontrollers, special media, and other accelerators. [0036] The CCM 401 can check the first unique ID generated for the preauthentication for the user that have been marked complete. The CCM 401 can generate a new unique ID (i.e., the second unique ID) by checking the wallet balance associated with the vehicle/user. The second unique ID can indicate that the user is authenticated for performing at least one upcoming swap. The CCM 401 can send the second unique ID to the battery pack 102 using the communication interface 402.

[0037] FIG. 5 depicts the swap station. The battery charging and swapping station 104, as depicted, comprises a Station Control Module (SCM) 501, at least one communication interface 502, and a memory 503. The communication interface 502 may be configured to enable the battery charging and swapping station 104 to communicate with the controller 106, and batteries using an interface supported by the respective entities. Examples of the interface may be, but are not limited to, a wireless interface (such as, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular network,), or any structure supporting communications over a wired or wireless connection.

[0038] The memory 503 stores at least one of, battery related information, preauthentication information received from the battery packs 102, and so on. Examples of the memory 503 may be, but are not limited to, NAND, embedded Multimedia Card (eMMC), Secure Digital (SD) cards, Universal Serial Bus (USB), Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA), solid-state drive (SSD), and so on. Further, the memory 503 may include one or more computer-readable storage media. The memory 503 may include one or more non-volatile storage elements. Examples of such non-volatile storage elements may include Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), magnetic hard discs, optical discs, floppy discs, flash memories, or forms of electrically programmable memories (EPROM) or electrically erasable and programmable (EEPROM) memories. In addition, the memory 503 may, in some examples, be considered a non-transitory storage medium. The term "non-transitory" may indicate that the storage medium is not embodied in a carrier wave or a propagated signal. However, the term "non-transitory" should not be interpreted to mean that the memory is nonmovable. In certain examples, a non-transitory storage medium may store data that may, over time, change (e.g., in Random Access Memory (RAM) or cache).

[0039] The term c o n t r o l m o d u l e (SCM 501),' as used in the present disclosure, may refer to, for example, hardware including logic circuits; a hardware/software combination such as a processor executing software; or a combination thereof. For example, the processing circuitry more specifically may include, but is not limited to, a central processing unit (CPU), an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a System-on-Chip (SoC), a programmable logic unit, a microprocessor, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. For example, the CCM 401 may include at least one of, a single processer, a plurality of processors, multiple homogeneous or heterogeneous cores, multiple Central Processing Units (CPUs) of different kinds, microcontrollers, special media, and other accelerators.

[0040] The SCM 501 can receive the second unique ID and the status of the preauthentication flag from the battery packs 102, via the communication interface 502, wherein the vehicle can be located at battery charging and swapping station 104 or in the vicinity of the battery charging and swapping station 104. If the pre-authentication flag is set, the SCM 501 can approve the swap process. In an embodiment herein, the SCM 501 may not approve the swap process if a non-compliant battery pack or a blacklisted battery pack is used for swapping, or a non-compliant vehicle is used with a compliant/legitimate battery pack for swapping. In an embodiment herein, the SCM 501 may not approve the swap process if the pre-authentication flag is not set, and may attempt to contact the controller 106 for checking if the user is authorized to perform the swap.

[0041] In an embodiment herein, the SCM 501 can further check for additional conditions, such as, but not limited to, blacklist status of the user (if the user is blacklisted or not), any damage to the battery packs that are being swapped into the battery charging and swapping station 104, and so on.

[0042] In an embodiment herein, the SCM 501 can enable/allow the swapping by providing instructions to the battery packs 102 present in the vehicle to unlock itself, indicating the docks where the battery packs present in the vehicle have to be placed, indicating the docks of the battery charging and swapping station 104 from where the user can pick charged battery packs, unlocking the battery packs so that the user can remove the battery packs from the docks, and so on.

[0043] On completion of the swap, the SCM 501 can send a completion message for the unique ID to the controller 106. The SCM 501 can write the same unique ID in the battery packs 102 that are dispensed out with the completion flag as CLEAR or SET based on the acknowledgement received from the controller 106. If the battery charging and swapping station 104 is not connected to the controller 106, the SCM 501 can write the completion flag as CLEAR.

[0044] The SCM 501 on receiving the pre-authentication message for the same vehicle in the next swap, can write information into the battery packs 102 that are dispensed out and can acknowledge the controller 106. The SCM 501 can further clear or erase the received unique ID parameters inside the battery packs.

[0045] In another embodiment, the battery charging and swapping station 104 can actively check the vehicles in the vicinity of the station. The battery charging and swapping station 104 can verify whether the vehicle approaching the battery charging and swapping station 104 requires any swap. Based on this information, the battery charging and swapping station 104 can establish connection through the controller 106 and can check the parameters associated with the battery pack 102 of the vehicle. If the parameters of the battery pack 102 meet the requirement for swap, the controller 106 can send a preauthentication information to the vehicle battery packs. The vehicle on arriving the battery charging and swapping station 104, the battery initiates the communication with the battery charging and swapping station and exchanges the pre-authentication information with the battery charging and swapping station 104 and the swap can be initiated by the vehicle user without the need of authentication through the controller 106 or internet connectivity.

[0046] FIG. 6 is a flowchart depicting the process of pre- authenticating a battery pack. On a swap being completed, in step 601, the battery pack 102 (currently present in the vehicle) marks the completion flag as SET. On the completion flag being SET, in step 602, the battery pack 102 sends the first unique ID to the controller 106. On receiving the first unique ID from the battery pack 102, in step 603, the controller 106 checks if the user has sufficient balance to complete at least one swap. If the user does not have sufficient balance to complete at least one swap, in step 604, the controller 106 informs the user accordingly. If the user has sufficient balance to complete at least one swap, in step 605, the controller 106 sends the second unique ID to the battery pack 102. On receiving the second unique ID, in step 606, the battery pack 102 marks the preauthentication flag as set and resets the completion flag. The various actions in method 600 may be performed in the order presented, in a different order or simultaneously. Further, in some embodiments, some actions listed in FIG. 6 may be omitted.

[0047] FIG. 7 is a flowchart depicting the process of performing a battery swap when the user is pre-authenticated for a battery swap. On a user approaching the battery charging and swapping station 104 or is at a battery charging and swapping station for a swap, in step 701, the battery charging and swapping station 104 and the battery pack 102 exchanges information including the second unique ID and the status of the preauthentication flag. In step 702, the battery charging and swapping station 104 checks the status of the pre-authentication flag (i.e., if the pre-authentication flag is set). If the preauthentication flag is not set, in step 703, the battery charging and swapping station 104 informs the user and attempts to authenticate the user. If the pre-authentication flag is set, in step 704, the battery charging and swapping station 104 enables the user to perform the swap. On the swap being initiated, in step 705, the battery pack 102 resets the preauthentication flag. The various actions in method 700 may be performed in the order presented, in a different order or simultaneously. Further, in some embodiments, some actions listed in FIG. 7 may be omitted.

[0048] The disclosed embodiments encompass numerous advantages. Example advantages of the disclosed method and systems include but are not limited to, completion of authentication of the battery pack with the battery charging and swapping station in advance. Thus, ensuring the reduction in swapping time, and storing the authentication information into the asset that is needed (directly at the edge). The payments and deductions from the u ser s wallet can be performed after the completion of successful swapping, thus eliminating customer dissatisfaction. The pre-authentication of the battery packs with the battery charging and swapping station reduces real-time dependency on the internet and the controller 106 with better utilization of the battery packs with a balanced load.

[0049] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of embodiments and examples, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments and examples disclosed herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.