The following specification describes the invention:-

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based on and derives the benefit of Indian Provisional Application 202241043565, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[001] Embodiments disclosed herein relate to managing battery charging and swapping stations and more particularly to managing the dispensing of batteries from battery charging and swapping stations.

BACKGROUND

[002] In a battery charging and swapping station, a plurality of battery packs are stored in the battery charging and swapping station, and are charged, wherein the charged battery packs are ready for dispensing as early as possible. Currently, battery charging and swapping stations dispense the battery packs based on the SOC (State-of -Charge) of the battery packs.

[003] Conventionally, all the battery packs stored in the battery charging and swapping station are of the same type. With multiple types of battery packs being developed, the present-day battery charging and swapping stations do not have the capability to store or dispense multiple variants of battery packs from the same battery charging and swapping station.

[004] Hence, there is a need in the art for solutions which will overcome the above mentioned drawbacks, among others. OBJECTS

[005] The principal object of embodiments herein is to disclose methods and systems for prioritizing and dispensing different types of battery packs from a battery charging and swapping station.

[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, through out which like 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 depicts a battery charging and swapping station, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;

[009] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of categorizing batteries in a station, according to embodiments as disclosed herein; and

[0010] FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting the process of dispensing batteries, according to embodiments as disclosed herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] 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.

[0012] The embodiments herein achieve methods and systems for prioritizing and dispensing different types of battery packs from a battery charging and swapping station. Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 through 3, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown embodiments.

[0013] Embodiments herein disclose methods and systems for storing and dispensing different types of battery packs from the battery charging and swapping station. The dispensing criteria and prioritization can be used for dispensing of different types of battery packs from the same battery charging and swapping station.

[0014] FIG. 1 depicts a battery charging and swapping station. The battery charging and swapping station 100 (hereinafter referred to as station) can comprise of a controller 101, a plurality of battery bays 102, and a memory 103, wherein the battery bays 102 can charge one or more batteries/battery packs (BPs). The battery bays 102 can accommodate various types/designs of battery packs. The battery bays 102 can handle multiple variants of the battery packs. The controller 101 can manage the various multi-gen battery packs present in the station 100. For example, the battery packs present in the station 100 can include type 3 (SVOLT), type 4 (ATL), and type 5 (A123) battery packs. The battery pack types can be based on a chemistry of the battery pack, capacity of the battery pack, and so on. Using the dispensing logic, the controller 101 can prevent mix and match of different types of battery packs, when dispensing the battery packs. In an embodiment herein, the controller 101 can sort, group, and dispense the battery packs, based on a plurality of factors, such as, but not limited to, State of Health (SoH), temperature, and other conditioning related factors. In an embodiment herein, the number of battery packs inserted can be the same as number of battery packs dispensed.

[0015] The memory 103 stores at least one of, the battery types present in the battery charging and swapping station 100, information about the batteries that have been dispensed to vehicles, current status of the batteries, and so on. Examples of the memory 103 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 103 may include one or more computer-readable storage media. The memory 103 may include one or more non-volatile storage elements. Examples of such nonvolatile 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 103 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).

[0016] The term ‘controller 101' 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 controller 101 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.

[0017] The controller 101 can identify dispense ready battery packs (BPs) which meet the dispensing criteria and can flag the identified battery packs as being ready for dispensing. In an example, the dispense criteria can be, but not limited to, dispense ready criteria: SoC = 100%; BP temperature: 10 o C <= BP temperature <= 30 Degree Celsius; BP SoH => 80; and BP is in Charge End (CE) mode. The controller 101 can group the flagged batteries according to their type. After sorting dispense ready BPs according to the BP type, within each BP type, the controller 101 can sort BPs ready for dispensing in descending order of SoH.

[0018] Using the availability of BPs for sets of each type of BP, the controller 101 can assign flags for dispensing each type of BP respectively, wherein the battery packs are grouped into sets according to their respective flags. The controller 101 can group the batteries based on the number of batteries that have to be dispensed.

[0019] The controller 101 can follow the following logic to assign the flags:

1 BP - All batteries with this flag will be dispense eligible for single battery swap. The controller 101 can select a BP with temperature closest to a predefined temperature. In an example herein, the controller 101 can select a battery pack with their temperature closest to 27 degrees Celsius. The controller 101 sets a dispense ready flag for 1 BP. If there are no dispense ready BPs, the controller 101 clears the dispense ready flag for 1 BP.

2 BP - All batteries that are dispense eligible must be filtered based on the BP type. For example, the controller 101 rejects BP types where BP count < 2. In BP type which have BP count > 2. The controller 101 can create set of 2 BPs using least SoH difference between BPs. If there are multiple sets of

2 BPs within a BP type, then the controller 101 selects the set of 2 BPs, whose average BP temperature is closest to the pre-defined temperature for dispensing. The controller 101 sets a dispense ready flag for the 2 BP if there is at least 1 set of 2 BPs available. If no set is available, the controller 101 clears a dispense ready flag for 2 BPs.

3 BP - All batteries that are dispense eligible must be filtered based on BP type. For example, the controller 101 can reject BP types where BP count <

3. For BP types which have BP count > 3, the controller 101 can create set of 3 BPs using least SoH difference between BPs. If there are multiple sets of 3 BPs within a BP type, then the controller 101 selects the set of 3 BPs whose average temperature is closest to the pre-defined temperature for dispensing. The controller 101 sets a dispense ready flag for the 3 BP if there is at least 1 set of 3 BPs is available. If no set is available, the controller 101 clears the dispense ready flag for 3 BPs.

4 BP - All batteries that are dispense eligible must be filtered based on BP type. For example, the controller 101 can reject BP types where BP count <

4. In BP type which have BP count > 4, the controller 101 can create a set of 4 BPs using least SoH difference between BPs. If there are multiple sets of 4 BPs within a BP type, then the controller 101 selects the set of 4 BPs whose average temperature is closest to the pre-defined temperature for dispensing. The controller 101 can set the dispense ready flag for the 4 BP if there is at least 1 set of 4 BPs is available. If no set is available, the controller 101 can clear the dispense ready flag for 4 BPs.

[0020] The controller 101 can repeat the above steps at pre-defined time intervals. In an example herein, the controller 101 can repeat the above steps at 5 second intervals. On a user performing a predefined action (such as accessing an option on a user device, accessing a user console on the station, swiping a key fob, swiping a wearable device, and so on), the controller 101 can fetch the number of BPs and BP priority information for a vehicle belonging to the user (which can be from a cloud, the application on the user device, manually provided by the user, the key fob, the wearable device, the vehicle itself, and so on). On receiving this information, the controller 101 can check availability flag for requested number of the specific type of BPs. If flag is not set, the controller 101 terminates the swapping and the user is informed using the console on the station 100 and/or on an app that due to the unavailability of battery packs, the swapping has been terminated. If the flag is set, the controller 101 can proceed to check if there are BP types certified for the user available within the station, and which are ready for dispensing.

[0021] In an embodiment herein, on the controller 101 determining that a user is approaching the station 100 (either from the user manually, or by tracking the user using an app or from a battery present in the vehicle), the controller 101 can check the availability flag for suitable number of the specific type of BPs. If flag is not set, the controller 101 can inform the user in advance, before he reaches the station 100 that there are no batteries available for him/her at this specific station 100.

[0022] In an embodiment herein, the controller 101 can authenticate the user, before dispensing a battery to the user.

[0023] The types of BPs that are certified for the vehicle, and a BP type priority order can be pre-defined and the controller 101 can access this priority information from a location, such as a cloud, the application on the user device, manually provided by the user, the key fob, the wearable device, the vehicle itself, and so on.

[0024] Table 1 depicts an example priority matrix for dispensing battery packs.

Table 1

[0025] The controller 101 can manage the dispensing of the battery packs, based on the priority, as follows:

Priority 1: The priority for the controller 101 will be to dispense BP type that the user onboarded with. If the priority 1 BP type with which the user was onboarded is not available when he/she comes to station for swap, then the controller 101 can check for other certified dispense ready BP types. Before dispensing these alternate BP types to the user, controller 101 can request for approval from the user.

Priority 2: In case priority 1 BP is not ready for dispensing in station, the controller 101 can select BPs that are certified for the battery and of the next higher capacity for dispense. The controller 101 must only dispense priority 2 BPs to user after receiving approval from the user.

Priority 3: In case priority 2 BP is not ready for dispensing in station, the controller 101 can select BPs that are certified for the BP and of the immediate lower capacity for dispensing. The controller 101 must only dispense priority 3 BPs to user after receiving approval from the user.

Priority 4: If the BPs can be mix and matched, and if the user’s vehicle can be certified for mix and match type batteries, then these BP types must have the last priority for dispensing. The controller 101 can check for priority 4 BPs once the controller 101 confirms that priority 1, 2 & 3 BP types are unavailable for dispensing. The controller 101 can dispense priority 4 BPs to user after receiving confirmation from the user.

[0026] A vehicle can be certified to use multiple different types of battery packs. In an example herein, the vehicle can be certified to use three different types of battery packs. The prioritization of the utilization of these three different battery packs in the vehicle can be as follows: Priority 1: The vehicle is onboarded with Variant 2 battery pack. Priority 2: The vehicle is certified for Variant 1 battery pack which has next higher capacity.

Priority 3: The vehicle is certified for Variant 3 battery pack with immediate lower capacity.

[0027] Continuing with the example, consider that the user requires 3 BPs, and the BP type priority defined for his/her vehicle is as depicted in Table 2.

Table 2

[0028] From the pre-made list of BPs that are ready for dispensing compiled by station, the controller 101 can check if 3 BPs of Priority 1 (0x11) BP type are available for dispense. If 3 BPs of Priority 1 (0x11) BP type are available for dispensing, the controller 101 can dispense 3 BPs of 0x11 BP type to the user. If 3 BPs of Priority 1 (0x11) BP type are unavailable for dispensing, the controller 101 can check for availability of priority 2 BPs for dispensing. If 3 BPs of Priority 2 (0x13) BP type are available for dispensing, the controller 101 can dispense 3 BPs of 0x13 BP type to the user. If 3 BPs of Priority 2 (0x13) BP type are unavailable for dispensing, the controller 101 can check for availability of priority 2 BPs for dispensing. If 3 BPs of Priority 3 (0x09) BP type are available for dispensing, the controller 101 can dispense 3 BPs of 0x09 BP type to the user. If 3 BPs of Priority 3 (0x09) BP type are unavailable for dispensing, the controller 101 can inform the user that there are no batteries available for dispensing.

[0029] In an embodiment herein, the controller 101 can provide information to the user about the battery type being dispensed, such as, but not limited to, range, associated costs, statistics of the battery /batteries being dispensed, and so on. [0030] In an embodiment herein, the controller 101 can take approval of the user, before dispensing a specific battery type to the user.

[0031] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of categorizing batteries in a station. For batteries present in the station 100, in step 201, the controller 101 checks if the BPs present in the station 100 meet the dispensing criteria. If any of the BPs do not meet the dispensing criteria, the controller 101 determines that these BPs are not ready for dispensing (step 202). In step 203, the controller 101 flags the BPs that meet the dispensing criteria as being ready for dispensing. In step 204, the controller 101 sorts the flagged batteries according to the battery type. In step 205, the controller 101 sorts the BPs within each type of battery type, in descending order of their SoH. In step 206, the controller 101 creates flags for the sorted batteries. 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.

[0032] FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting the process of dispensing batteries. On determining that a user wants to swap batteries, in step 301, the controller 101 checks if there are BPs in the station 100 that meet the following pre-defined criteria: number of BPs required by the user, type of BPs and their priorities, and their availability flag. If any one of the above criteria are not met, in step 202, the controller 101 informs the user that BPs are not available for dispensing. If all of the above criteria are met, in step 203, the controller 101 informs the user that BPs are available for dispensing and dispenses the BPs to the user. The various actions in method 300 may be performed in the order presented, in a different order or simultaneously. Further, in some embodiments, some actions listed in FIG. 3 may be omitted.

[0033] Embodiments herein can ensure health wise better battery packs to users thus improving user satisfaction and optimal asset utilization. Embodiments herein enable targeting vehicle segment specific battery pack dispensing, hereby ensuring better management of battery packs. Embodiments herein enable accommodation of new generation battery packs without any changes in the station hardware design, thus reducing time, efforts and costs.

[0034] The embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented through at least one software program running on at least one hardware device and performing network management functions to control the network elements. The network elements include blocks which can be at least one of a hardware device, or a combination of hardware device and software module.

[0035] The embodiment disclosed herein describes methods and systems for prioritizing and dispensing different types of battery packs from a battery charging and swapping station. Therefore, it is understood that the scope of the protection is extended to such a program and in addition to a computer readable means having a message therein, such computer readable storage means contain program code means for implementation of one or more steps of the method, when the program runs on a server or mobile device or any suitable programmable device. The method is implemented in at least one embodiment through or together with a software program written in e.g. Very high speed integrated circuit Hardware Description Language (VHDL) another programming language, or implemented by one or more VHDL or several software modules being executed on at least one hardware device. The hardware device can be any kind of portable device that can be programmed. The device may also include means which could be e.g. hardware means like e.g. an ASIC, or a combination of hardware and software means, e.g. an ASIC and an FPGA, or at least one microprocessor and at least one memory with software modules located therein. The method embodiments described herein could be implemented partly in hardware and partly in software. Alternatively, the invention may be implemented on different hardware devices, e.g. using a plurality of CPUs.

[0036] 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, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.