Description:TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] Embodiments disclosed herein relate to the field of electric vehicle battery(ies) and battery performance, and more particularly to systems and methods for controlling power distribution of one or more vehicular battery unit(s), wherein the one or more vehicular battery unit(s) are agricultural vehicle (AV) battery unit(s).
BACKGROUND
[002] While working for long hours with implements in the field, the running time of the AV battery can be reduced significantly. As per observation, during a full load condition, the running time of the battery can be reduced by 30-35% from the running time observed during no load conditions. The main contributors to this reduction can be unused load(s) such as powertrain load(s), electrical load(s), high voltage load(s), thermal load(s), etc. The unused load(s) consuming power of the battery can further affect the battery discharging rate. Therefore, active load(s) are unable to use the power of an HV or an LV battery efficiently. When an agricultural vehicle is working in idle condition in farm, the power consumed by unused loads need to be stopped or limited, in order to improve battery SOC usage by active load(s).
[003] Hence, there is a need in the art for solutions which will overcome the above mentioned drawback(s), among others.
OBJECTS
[004] The principal object of embodiments herein is to disclose system(s) and method(s) for controlling operational performance of one or more battery unit(s) in an agricultural vehicle, by converting power distributed to unused loads into usable power during idle operation(s) of one or more load component(s).
[005] Another object of embodiments herein is to disclose system(s) and method(s) for controlling discharge rate of the one or more battery unit(s) in the agricultural vehicle, based on determining voltage and current requirements of one or more active load component(s) connected to a Vehicle Control Unit (VCU).
[006] Another object of embodiments herein is to disclose system(s) and method(s) for accurately determining the one or more voltage and current requirements of the one or more active load component(s) connected to the VCU by a programmable power distribution controlling unit (PDCU).
[007] Another object of embodiments herein is to disclose system(s) and method(s) for effectively distributing power to the one or more active load component(s) connected to the VCU by the PDCU.
[008] Yet, another object of embodiments herein is to disclose system(s) and method(s) for determining one or more load component(s) connected to the VCU as active load component(s) and inactive load component(s) based on a pre-defined operation time-period.
[009] Another object of embodiments herein is to disclose system(s) and method(s) for distributing power from the one or more battery unit(s) to the one or more active load component(s) based on the voltage and current requirements of the active load component(s).
[0010] 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
[0011] Embodiments herein are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, throughout 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 following illustratory drawings. Embodiments herein are illustrated by way of examples in the accompanying drawings, and in which:
[0012] FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a system (1000) for controlling power distribution from one or more battery unit(s) to one or more active load(s) connected to a vehicle control unit (VCU), according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
[0013] FIG. 2 depicts an example flowchart depicting a method for controlling distribution of power to one or more active HV load component(s) (112) based on voltage and current requirements thereof, according to embodiments as disclosed herein; and
[0014] FIGs. 3A and 3B depict example flowchart(s) of method(s) for controlling distribution of power from HV battery unit(s) based on one or more voltage requirements of the active load component(s) determined from one or more operation-controlling parameters, 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] For the purposes of interpreting this specification, the definitions (as defined herein) will apply and whenever appropriate the terms used in singular will also include the plural and vice versa. It is to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purposes of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. The terms “comprising”, “having” and “including” are to be construed as open-ended terms unless otherwise noted.
[0017] The words/phrases "exemplary", “example”, “illustration”, “in an instance”, “and the like”, “and so on”, “etc.”, “etcetera”, “e.g.,”, “i.e.,” are merely used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment or implementation of the present subject matter described herein using the words/phrases "exemplary", “example”, “illustration”, “in an instance”, “and the like”, “and so on”, “etc.”, “etcetera”, “e.g.,”, “i.e.,” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.
[0018] Embodiments herein may be described and illustrated in terms of blocks which carry out a described function or functions. These blocks, which may be referred to herein as managers, units, modules, hardware components or the like, are physically implemented by analog and/or digital circuits such as logic gates, integrated circuits, microprocessors, microcontrollers, memory circuits, passive electronic components, active electronic components, optical components, hardwired circuits and the like, and may optionally be driven by a firmware. The circuits may, for example, be embodied in one or more semiconductor chips, or on substrate supports such as printed circuit boards and the like. The circuits constituting a block may be implemented by dedicated hardware, or by a processor (e.g., one or more programmed microprocessors and associated circuitry), or by a combination of dedicated hardware to perform some functions of the block and a processor to perform other functions of the block. Each block of the embodiments may be physically separated into two or more interacting and discrete blocks without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Likewise, the blocks of the embodiments may be physically combined into more complex blocks without departing from the scope of the disclosure.
[0019] It should be noted that elements in the drawings are illustrated for the purposes of this description and ease of understanding and may not have necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the flowcharts/sequence diagrams illustrate the method in terms of the steps required for understanding of aspects of the embodiments as disclosed herein. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the present embodiments so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein. Furthermore, in terms of the system, one or more components/modules which comprise the system may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the present embodiments so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.
[0020] The accompanying drawings are used to help easily understand various technical features and it should be understood that the embodiments presented herein are not limited by the accompanying drawings. As such, the present disclosure should be construed to extend to any modifications, equivalents, and substitutes in addition to those which are particularly set out in the accompanying drawings and the corresponding description. Usage of words such as first, second, third etc., to describe components/elements/steps is for the purposes of this description and should not be construed as sequential ordering/placement/occurrence unless specified otherwise.
[0021] Embodiments herein achieve systems and methods for controlling power distribution of one or more battery unit(s) in an agricultural vehicle (AV) based on one or more voltage and current requirements of one or more active load component(s) connected to a vehicle control unit (VCU). Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 through 3B, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown embodiments.
[0022] According to one or more embodiments as disclosed herein, FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a system (1000) for controlling power distribution from one or more battery unit(s) in an agricultural vehicle (AV), to one or more active load component(s), in order to improve discharging rate of the one or more battery unit(s), wherein the one or more active load component(s) are connected to a vehicle control unit (VCU). The one or more battery unit(s) comprise at least one high voltage (HV) battery unit(s) (102) with a battery management system (BMS) (104) and/or at least one low voltage (LV) battery unit(s) (106). The system of FIG. 1 further discloses a power distribution controlling unit (PDCU) (108), a vehicle control unit (VCU) (110), one or more high voltage (HV) load component(s) (112), one or more low voltage (LV) load component(s) (114) and a water pump (116). Further, the system includes an implement inverter (118) and a propulsion inverter (120) connected to the power distribution controlling unit (108), wherein the implement inverter (118) can provide required AC power to the one or more HV load component(s) (112), and the propulsion inverter (120) can provide required AC power to a motor (not shown in FIGs. ) of the AV in order to propel the AV. Further, the system can include an OBC DC-DC converter (not shown in FIGs.) for powering the one or more LV load component(s) (114) from the electric energy of the HV battery unit(s) (102). The system (1000) further includes a communication mode (not shown in FIGs.) for facilitating connection between the power distribution controlling unit (108), the at least one HV battery unit (102), the at least one LV battery unit (104), the VCU (110), the one or more HV load component(s) (112), the one or more LV load component(s) (114), the implement inverter (118), and the propulsion inverter (120).
[0023] The communication mode as disclosed herein can have at least one of the Internet, a wired network (a Local Area Network (LAN), a Controller Area Network (CAN), a Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART), a bus network, Ethernet and so on), a wireless network (a Wi-Fi network, a cellular network, a Wi-Fi Hotspot, Bluetooth, Zigbee and so on using Wireless Application Protocol), a direct interconnection, and so on. The communication mode can further be configured to enable the PDCU to connect with at least one external entity (such as an external server, a user/operator device used by an operator of the one or more active load(s), and so on). In an embodiment, the communication network (122) can enable the PDCU to connect with the at least one external entity using at least one of a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), cellular communications (2G/3G/4G/5G or the like), and so on. In an embodiment, the communication network can be such as, but not limited to, Universal Serial Bus (USB), Ethernet, Display Serial Interface (DSI), a CAN bus, On-board diagnostics (OBD) ports, and so on.
[0024] The power distribution controlling unit (PDCU) (108) further comprises a protection engine (122), an efficiency monitoring engine (124), a load storage engine (126), at least one signal transmitter (128), and a circuit delimiter (130).
[0025] The agricultural vehicle herein refers to any vehicle/farm-machinery having at least one active implement that can be used for performing at least one agricultural related operation. An example of the agricultural vehicle without limitation can be a tractor, a thresher, a harvester, a combiner and so on. Embodiments herein are further explained considering the tractor as an example of the agricultural vehicle, but it may be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art that any suitable vehicle can be considered for using the system in order to achieve at the objects as stated earlier for the present disclosure. Further, the agricultural vehicle herein can be any of an electric vehicle, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), and so on.
[0026] The at least one HV battery unit (102) and the at least one LV battery unit (106) can be one or more rechargeable battery unit(s) used in the agricultural vehicle, wherein the at least one HV battery unit can deliver power under a control of the PDCU (108) to any of the one or more HV load component(s) (112), the implement inverter (118), the propulsion inverter (120), and the water pump (116); and the at least one LV battery unit can deliver power to the one or more LV load component(s) (114), wherein, the at least one LV battery unit (106) can be recharged from the at least one HV battery unit (102). In an example embodiment, charging voltage range of the at least one LV battery unit (106) is 12-24Volt. In an embodiment herein, the voltage range of the at least one HV battery unit (102) can be 230-365 Volt. In an embodiment herein, the at least one HV battery unit (102) may include at least a standalone rechargeable battery associated with at least one charging port, wherein the recharging port is used to connect with an external adapter/charger to recharge the battery.
[0027] The one or more HV load component(s) (112) herein refers to any load component(s) operating from a direct power supply from the at least one HV battery unit delivered via the PDCU (108). In an embodiment, the one or more HV load component(s) can be, such as, but not limited to, an electric motor (i.e. a propulsion motor (not shown in FIGs.)) connected to the propulsion inverter, wherein the propulsion motor is used for generating propulsion in an electric vehicle and/or operating agricultural implement(s), a DC-DC converter, an On-board charger, a PTC heater for maintaining temperature of the at least one HV battery unit (102) to a desired value as defined by a manufacturer, a cooling element for transferring heat from vehicular parts during vehicular operation, an agricultural water pump (such as a PTO water pump), an agricultural implement inverter (118), one or more agricultural implement(s) used for agricultural field preparation and farming related activities, and so on. In an embodiment, the one or more HV load component(s) (112) can be detected by the VCU (110) as one or more HV active load component(s) based on a predefined operating time-period of said HV load component(s). In an example embodiment, the predefined operating-time period can be different for different components, the VCU (110) can be configured to monitor and store the values of the predefined operating-time period for the different components in the Load storage engine (126). If, the one or more HV load component(s) are detected as not working for the predefined operating-time period, they are detected as HV inactive load component(s). The VCU (110) will monitor the current and voltage parameters of the one or more active HV load components connected through PDCU, in order to detect their working and/or non-working state by the VCU (110).
[0028] The one or more LV load component(s) (114) herein refers to such as but not limited to electrical load(s) such as, wipers, horns, airbags; coolant pumps; radiator fans, and so on. The one or more LV load components (114) can receive power supply from the at least one LV battery unit (106). The one or more HV load component(s) (112) and the one or more LV load component(s) (114) can be detachably or permanently placed to the agricultural vehicle by a supporting means. The supporting means further can be without limitation a vehicle electrical system, an appropriate connection linkage for supporting agricultural implements to the agricultural vehicle and so on.
[0029] In an embodiment herein, the water pump (116) can be connected to the implement inverter (118) via a PTO motor (not shown). The water pump (116) can act as a HV load component while taking power from the PTO motor.
[0030] The implement inverter (118) is an electrical DC to AC converter, converting a power-input (measured in Amperes) from the at least one HV battery unit (102) to an equivalent AC input in order to deliver the AC power to the HV active load component(s). The propulsion inverter (120) is configured to convert DC power-input (measured in Amperes) of the at least one HV battery unit (102) to an equivalent AC power. In an example embodiment herein, the DC power-input from the at least one HV battery unit(102) is transferred to the implement inverter (118) and the propulsion inverter (120) via the PDCU (108) in order to deliver required AC power output to the one or more HV active load component(s). The power distribution controlling unit (PDCU) (108) can control distribution of electric-energy/power-input of the at least one HV battery unit(102) to the one or more HV active load component(s), based on requirement of one or more voltages and currents for the one or more HV active load component(s). In an embodiment, the VCU (110) is configured to transmit a signal to PDCU (108) to cutoff delivery of the power input to the inactive load component(s), the VCU (110) further can shut down the one or more inactive load component(s) in order to deliver a maximum power to the one or more active load component(s), wherein the one or more inactive load component(s) can be the one or more HV inactive load component(s) and the one or more LV inactive load component(s). The power distribution controlling unit (PDCU) (108) thus can limit power consumption of the one or more HV load component(s) (112).
[0031] In an example embodiment, requirement of the one or more voltages and currents for the one or more HV active load component(s) can be determined from, one or more predefined operation-controlling parameters of said HV active load component(s). Further, in an embodiment, requirement of the one or more voltages and currents for the one or more HV active load component(s) can be determined from one or more predefined operating time-period(s) related to the one or more HV active load component(s) and the one or more LV active load component(s). In an example embodiment, the predefined operation-controlling parameters of the one or more HV active load component(s) can be, such as, but not limited to, a critical lower limit of the at least one HV battery temperature, wherein critical lower limit of temperature once attained by the at least one HV battery unit (102), operation of the PTC heater may be initiated by the VCU (110). Further, the predefined operation-controlling parameters of the one or more HV active load component(s) can be such as, different water flow rates for crop varieties, wherein the different water flow rates are the controlling parameters for the input power as distributed by the PDCU (108) to a water pump. The one or more HV load component(s) (112) and the one or more LV load component(s) (114) can be detected by the vehicle control unit (VCU) (110) as one or more active and/or inactive load component(s) based on the operating and non-operating state of said one or more HV load component(s) (112) and said one or more LV load component(s) (114), for the predefined operating time period. In an example embodiment the predefined operating time period is different for different active load component(s) as set by the VCU (110) based on electrical properties of the different active load component(s) and the one or more operation controlling parameters for the different active load component(s), wherein the electrical properties can be such as electrical conductivity, electrical resistance, dielectric strength of the different active load component(s) and so on. Further, with respect to an example embodiment, the operating state of the one or more HV active load component(s) and the one or more LV active load component(s) can be determined by the VCU (110), based on a reading on current-driven by the one or more active load component(s) as detected from the implement inverter ON-OFF status.
[0032] In an example embodiment, for detecting one or more agricultural implement load component(s) connected to the VCU (110), as active load component(s), the VCU (110) can receive a signal corresponding to movement of the agricultural implement load component(s), from the implement inverter (118) connected to the one or more agricultural implement load component(s). Further, the VCU (110) can receive a signal from the implement inverter (118), corresponding to operation of the one or more implement load component for detecting, a water pump load component as an active load component and so on. Data related to a state of capacity of the at least one HV battery unit (102) lcan be communicated to the protection engine (122) of the PDCU (108) in real-time, via the communication mode.
[0033] The protection engine (122) can acquire through the BMS (104), data related to power input (measured in Amperes) and one or more state of capacity of the at least one HV battery unit (102) in real-time, wherein the data related to a state of capacity may be such as without limitation data related to a state of charge of the battery, a state of energy of the battery that may be delivered to an electrical equipment during a discharge process of the HV battery, a state of health (SoH) of the HV battery measured in terms of current capacity and rated capacity, a state of power of the HV battery, and so on. The protection engine (122) can be further configured to protect the one or more HV load component(s) (112) from sudden high voltage drops during a charging cycle of the at least one HV battery unit (102) by way of forming an insulation between the one or more HV load component(s) (112) and the at least one HV battery unit(s) (102). In an example embodiment, the data related to the power input and the state of capacity of the at least one HV battery unit (102) can be transmitted to the efficiency monitoring engine (124) for further analysis.
[0034] The efficiency monitoring engine (124) communicably coupled to the protection engine (122) via the communication mode, can provide input(s) related to one or more voltage and current requirements of the one or more HV active load component(s) (112). As, depicted, the efficiency monitoring engine (124) of the PDCU (108), can receive from the VCU (110), information related to the detected one or more HV active load component(s), the one or more HV inactive load component(s), via the communication mode. The information herein includes such as current and voltage drawn capacity, operation timestamp, one or more unique identifier(s) of electronic control unit(s) associated with the one or more HV active load component(s) (112) and so on. In an embodiment, the one or more voltage and current requirements of said one or more HV active load component(s) (112) can be determined by a voltage measuring means (such as, but not limited to, a voltmeter) connected to the efficiency monitoring engine (124). In an example embodiment, the one or more voltage and current requirements are determined based on the one or more predefined operation-controlling parameters of the one or more HV load component(s) (112), such as a critical temperature of battery unit(s), a water flow rate of a water pump, etc. Further, the one or more voltage and current requirements for the one or more HV active load component(s) (112) can be determined from one or more predefined operating time-period(s) of said one or more HV active load component(s). In an aspect, the efficiency monitoring engine (124) can detect upon receiving from the VCU (110), the one or more voltage and current requirements from a plurality of data, wherein the plurality of data comprises the power input of the at least one HV battery unit (102),), state of capacity of the at least one HV battery unit (102), the current and voltage drawn capacity of the one or more HV active load component(s) (112), and the one or more inactive load component(s) connected to the VCU (110). The efficiency monitoring engine (124) can further transmit the one or more voltage and current requirements for one or more HV active load component(s), to at least one signal transmitter (128) corresponding to operation of the one or more HV active load component(s). With respect to another example embodiment, the efficiency monitoring engine (124) can determine, upon obtaining from the VCU (110) operating and non-operating state of the one or more load component(s) (112, 114) connected to the VCU (110), based on the predefined time period. Further, the efficiency monitoring engine (124) can facilitate shutting down distribution of power to the one or more inactive load component(s) connected to the VCU (110) by way of communicating the one or more inactive load component(s) to the VCU (110) via the at least one signal transmitter (128), to stop delivery of power from the at least one HV battery unit (102) and/or the at least one LV battery unit(106).
[0035] The at least one signal transmitter (128) can receive from the efficiency monitoring engine (124), one or more signals corresponding to the one or more voltage and current requirements of the one or more active load component(s) as connected to the VCU (110). The at least one signal transmitter (128) can be a high voltage (HV) signal transmitter corresponding to HV load component(s) (112). Further, the at least one signal transmitter (128) can transmit the one or more signals corresponding to the one or more voltage and current requirements to the at least one circuit delimiter (130) in order to deliver the voltage and current requirements to the one or more HV active load component(s). The at least one circuit delimiter (130) can transmit via the HV signal transmitter the one or more signals corresponding to the one or more required voltage and current to the one or more HV active load component(s) (112). Further, in an example embodiment, the circuit delimiter (130), can transmit one or more signals related to HV load component(s) (112) to the VCU (110) via the HV signal transmitter. In another aspect, a BMS controller associated with the BMS (104) can control distribution of power from the HV battery unit(s) (102) to the one or more HV active load component(s) (112), based on the determined voltage and current requirements therefor.
[0036] The load storage engine (126) can store the one or more voltage and current requirements of the one or more load component(s) (112, 114) connected to the VCU (112, 114). The one or more load component(s) (112, 114) can be active load component(s) as determined by the VCU (110) at any timestamp of operation. In an example embodiment, when a connected load component is detected as active load component by the VCU, the efficiency monitoring engine (126) can determine the voltage and current requirements for the active load component. The load storage engine (126) thereafter can store the voltage and current requirements of the active load component(s) connected to the VCU (110). Further, the load storage engine (126) can store operating-time of one or more active load component(s) (112, 114) at several timestamps of operation. Further, the load storage engine (126) can store the value of the predefined operating time period of HV load component(s) (112), as required to detect the active load component(s). The load storage engine (126) further can store the unique identifiers associated with the one or more HV load component(s) (112), current and voltage drawn capacity of the active load component(s) and so on. The load storage engine (126) may include at least one of a file server, a data server, a memory, the Cloud, a database, and so on. Further, the load storage engine (126) may include one or more computer-readable storage media and non-volatile storage elements. Examples of such non-volatile storage elements may include magnetic hard discs, optical discs, floppy discs, flash memories, or forms of electrically programmable memories (EPROM) or electrically erasable and programmable memories (EEPROM). In addition, the load storage engine (126) 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 some examples, the memory can be configured to store larger amounts of information than the memory. In certain examples, a non-transitory storage medium may store data that can, over time, change (e.g., in Random Access Memory (RAM) or cache).
[0037] In an embodiment, the power distribution controlling unit (PDCU) (108) may be a micro-control module configured to control power distribution to one or more active load(s). Further, the PDCU (108) may be a smart computing unit with internet facility embedded in the agricultural vehicle. Further, the PDCU (108) may be a computing unit located remotely to the agricultural vehicle in a cloud based environment. In an embodiment, the PDCU (108) can include at least one of a single processer having the control module, a plurality of processors having the control module, multiple homogeneous or heterogeneous cores, multiple CPUs of different kinds, a microcontroller, and other accelerators. Further, the plurality of processing units may be located on a single chip or over multiple chips. The PDCU (108) also includes components such as, but not limited to, Input/Output (I/O) ports, a memory, a data storage unit, and so on. For example, the PDCU can be a Smart Phone (iPhone, Android phone, Windows phone), a conventional web-enabled computer, a tablet computer or another device capable of communicating through a communication network to connect to internet or any other conventional network. In one embodiment, the PDCU (108) includes a user application for enabling a virtual interaction with a user via an application interface. Further, the BMS controller can be a microcontroller, micro-processing unit enabling controlled distribution of power to the one or more active load component(s).
[0038] FIG. 2 is an example flowchart depicting a method (2000) for controlling distribution of power to one or more active HV load component(s) (112) based on voltage and current requirements thereof, according to embodiments as disclosed herein.
[0039] In step 202, a protection engine (122) acquires data related to power input (measured in Amperes) and one or more state of capacity of the at least one HV battery unit(s) (102) in real-time, wherein the data related to one or more state of capacity may be such as, without limitation, data related to a state of charge of the battery, a state of energy of the battery that may be delivered to an electrical equipment during a discharge process of the HV battery, a state of health (SoH) of the HV battery measured in terms of current capacity and rated capacity, a state of power of the HV battery, and so on.
[0040] In step 204, the vehicle control unit (VCU) (110) detects one or more load component(s) connected to the VCU (110), wherein the one or more loads can be one or more active load component(s) and one or more inactive load component(s) as determined by the VCU (110) as the active load component(s)based on a predefined operating time period. Further, the VCU (110) detects the active load component(s) as HV active load component(s) (112). The one or more active load component(s) can extract electrical energy/power from the HV battery unit(s) (102). In an example embodiment, the one or more load component(s) can be determined as active load component(s) based on the predefined operating time period therefor as detected by the VCU (110), wherein the VCU (110) can detect ON-OFF status of the PTO motor via implement inverter (118) in order to determine the one or more load component(s) as active load component(s).. Information related to the one or more active load component(s) as determined by the VCU (110) is communicated to the PDCU (108). The information may include such as, voltage and current drawn capacity, operation timestamp, one or more unique identifier(s) and so on associated with the one or more HV active load component(s) (112). In an example embodiment, an efficiency monitoring engine (124) of the PDCU (108) determines upon receiving from the VCU (110), the one or more active load(s) based on the working state through the predefined time period.
[0041] Similarly, the VCU (110) determines the one or more inactive load(s) based on non-operating state of the one or more load component(s) through the predefined operating time period. In an example embodiment, an efficiency monitoring engine (124) of the PDCU (108) can determine the one or more inactive load component(s) by detecting working status thereof through the predefined operating time period, in order to shut-off delivery of power from the HV battery unit(s) (102) for optimizing use of stored electric energy in the HV battery.
[0042] In step 206, the efficiency monitoring engine (124) determines one or more voltage and current requirements of the one or more HV active load component(s) (112) connected to the VCU (110), wherein the efficiency monitoring engine (124) receives the information related to the one or more HV active load component(s) (112) from the VCU (110) in order to determine the voltage and current requirements. Further, the efficiency monitoring engine (124) receives, the power input (measured in Amperes) from the VCU (110), the one or more state of capacity of the HV battery unit(s) (102) from the protection engine (122) via the communication mode. The efficiency monitoring engine (124) thereby determines the one or more voltage and current requirements based on data as received related to the power input of the HV battery unit(s) (102), state of capacity of the HV battery unit(s) (102), the current and voltage drawn capacity of the one or more HV active load component(s) (112), and the one or more inactive load component(s) connected to the VCU (110). In an example embodiment, the one or more voltage and current requirements can be determined using an application based module such as, without limitation, a labview module, a graphic device interface module, an EVEEE (Engine for virtual electrical engineering equipment) module and so on. Further, in an example embodiment, the efficiency monitoring engine (124) can obtain one or more voltage and current values corresponding to the one or more HV active load component(s) as pre-stored in a load storage engine (126) in order to determine the required voltage and current for the one or more HV active load component(s) connected to the VCU (110).
[0043] In step 208, the PDCU (108) controls power distribution of the at least one HV battery unit (102). A circuit delimiter (130) of the PDCU (108) receives from the efficiency monitoring engine (124) one or more signal corresponding to the one or more voltage and current requirements for the one or more HV active load component(s) (112) via at least one signal transmitter (128), wherein the at least one signal transmitter can be a HV signal transmitter corresponding to HV active load component(s). An input comprising the required voltage and current as determined by the efficiency monitoring engine (124) is communicated to the one or more HV active load component(s) by the circuit delimiter (130) via the at least one signal transmitter (126). Power from the at least one HV battery unit (102) is delivered to the one or more HV active load component(s) (112) by the at least one circuit delimiter (130), based on the determined required voltage and current. Therefore, electric energy as stored in the HV battery is efficiently used by the one or more HV active load component(s), wherein distribution of power to the inactive load component(s) is restricted by the VCU (110) upon transmission of a signal corresponding to shut down distribution of power to the inactive load component(s). In an example embodiment, the efficiency monitoring engine determines the one or more HV load components as one or more inactive load components based on non-operating state of said one or more load component(s) throughout a predefined operating time period, wherein the predefined operating time period is determined by the VCU (110) based on detecting no current is drawn by the one or more load component(s) for the predefined operating period, wherein the pre-defined operating time period is different for different active load component(s). The efficiency monitoring engine (124) can transmit a signal corresponding to the non-operating state of the inactive load component(s) to the at least one signal transmitter (128). The at least one signal transmitter (128) can further transmit the signal corresponding to the non-working state of the inactive load component(s) to the VCU (110) to shut down distribution of power.
[0044] 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.
[0045] According to embodiments as disclosed herein, FIGs. 3A and 3B depict example flowchart(s) depicting method(s) for controlling distribution of power from the at least one HV battery unit (102) to the one or more active HV load component(s) (112) based on voltage and current requirements thereof, wherein the voltage and current requirement is further determined based on one or more predefined operation-controlling parameters such as, operating a PTC heater on the critical lower limit of battery temperature being reached.
[0046] FIG. 3A, depicts the method for controlling distribution of required power to an active load component. In an example embodiment, the active load component is a PTC heater. Distribution of power from the at least one HV battery unit (102) to the PTC heater is controlled, based on the critical lower limit of the at least one HV battery unit temperature, wherein the PTC heater is used to maintain temperature of the at least one HV battery unit (102). In step 302, the VCU (110) detects a current temperature of the at least one HV battery unit (102). In step 304, the VCU (110) determines if the current temperature is below the critical lower limit of temperature of the battery unit. If the current temperature is below the critical lower limit of temperature of the battery unit, in step 306, the VCU (110) initiates operation of the PTC heater. Further, in step 308, the VCU (110) transmits a signal to the efficiency monitoring engine (124) of the PDCU (108), wherein the signal corresponds to the current and voltage drawn capacity of the PTC heater as detected by the VCU (110). Further, in step 310, the efficiency monitoring engine (124) determines voltage and current requirements for the PTC heater. Furthermore, in step 312, the efficiency monitoring engine (124) transmits a signal corresponding to the voltage and current requirements related to the PTC heater, to at least one circuit delimiter (130). Further in step 314, the at least one circuit delimiter (130) communicates the voltage and current requirements as determined to the at least one signal transmitter (128) and eventually to the PTC heater via a HV signal transmitter, wherein the at least one circuit delimiter (130) delivers power to the PTC heater based on the voltage and current requirements for the PTC heater. Further, delivery of power to the PTC heater is prevented while temperature of the at least one HV battery unit (102) is above the critical lower limit as determined by the VCU (110). Therefore, the PDCU (108) is limiting operation of the PTC heater and leading to efficient use of power of the HV battery unit by other HV active component(s) connected to the vehicle.
[0047] In an example embodiment, the one or more critical values of physical properties further can be different critical water flow rates for crop varieties, based on which the PDCU (110) distributes power to a PTO water pump. For instance, a user is growing multiple crops in different sections of the field, wherein the multiple crops have different water requirement. The PDCU (108) is carrying out a matching in flow rate through PTO water pump with the water requirement of the crop by limiting the input to one or more power-train load(s) linked with the PTO water pump.
[0048] FIG. 3B depicts a method for controlling distribution of voltage and current to the PTO water pump, based on the water requirement for different crops. In step 316, a user-specific water flow rate as low, medium, or high is selected by a user, wherein selection can be done manually through water flow rate selecting switches or automatically by an application module of the PDCU (108). In step 318, the VCU (110) receives an input corresponding to the user-specific water flow rate. Further, in step 320, the VCU (110) transmits a signal corresponding to the user-specific water flow rate to the efficiency monitoring engine (124) of the PDCU (108). In step 322, the efficiency monitoring engine (124) determines voltage and current requirements for the PTO motor for enabling operation of a PTO water pump in order to control its operation at the water flow rate as specified by the user. Further, in step 324, the efficiency monitoring engine (124) transmits a signal corresponding to the voltage and current requirements related to the PTO water pump, to at least one circuit delimiter (130). Furthermore, in step 326, the at least one circuit delimiter (130) communicates the voltage and current requirements to the at the PTO water pump through the at least one signal transmitter (128). The at least one HV battery unit (102) delivers power to the PTO motor via implement inverter (118) based on the voltage and current requirements for the PTO motor as determined from water flow rate of the water pump. This method results in reduction of unnecessary loads on the at least one HV battery unit (102) and hence may contribute to improve the battery running time by way of saving the HV battery power.
[0049] Embodiments herein improve battery running time for agricultural operations because loads are efficiently distributed via the power distribution controlling unit (108) thereby improving battery discharging rate. Further, the PDCU (108) allows a user to irrigate the crops as per their water requirement. Embodiments herein further eliminate use of conventional power distribution unit(s) connected to a battery management system, instead provides a programmable power distribution controlling unit delivering efficiently power to active load component(s) for longer period.
[0050] 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 shown in FIG. 1 include blocks which can be at least one of a hardware device, or a combination of hardware device and software module.
[0051] The embodiment disclosed herein describes systems and methods based on IoT module for controlling regenerative braking in an agricultural vehicle. 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.
[0052] 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 scope of the embodiments as described herein.
, Claims:We claim:
1. A system (1000) for controlling power distribution to at least one connected load of at least one battery unit (102) in an agricultural vehicle, wherein the system (1000) comprises:
a vehicle controlling unit (VCU) (110) configured to detect at least one active load component (112) and at least one inactive load component connected to the vehicle; and
a power distribution controlling unit (PDCU) (108) comprising:
a protection engine (122) configured to acquire a power input and a plurality of state of capacity data of the at least one battery unit (102) in real time;
an efficiency monitoring engine (124), configured to determine at least one voltage and current requirement related to the at least one active load component (112) based on an input from the VCU (110) and an input from the protection engine (122); and
at least one circuit delimiter (130) configured to communicate the at least one voltage and current requirement to the at least one active load component (112), in order to facilitate current drawing by the at least one active load component (112), from the at least one battery unit (102), based on the at least one voltage and current requirement.
2. The system (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system (1000) further comprises a load storage engine (126) configured to store the at least one voltage and current requirement of the at least one active load (112) with a unique identifier.
3. The system (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the circuit delimiter (130) is configured to communicate the at least one voltage and current requirement as determined to at least one signal transmitter (128).
4. The system (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the battery unit (102) is a high voltage (HV) battery unit, wherein
the at least one active load component (112) as connected to the VCU (110) is at least one high voltage (HV) load component powered by electrical energy of the HV battery unit; and
the at least one active load component (112) is detected as active by the VCU (110), based on a predefined operating time period of the load component(s).
5. The system (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the efficiency monitoring engine (124) is configured to receive the power input from the protection engine (122) and at least one state of capacity data of the battery unit (102).6. The system (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system (1000) controls power distribution to the at least one active load component (112) based on the at least one voltage and current requirement.
6. The system (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one voltage and current requirement to the at least one active load component (112) is further determined based on at least one predefined operation-controlling parameter related to the at least one active load component (112).
7. The system (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one state of capacity data of the at least one battery unit(s) is at least one of a state of charge data, a state of energy data, a state of health data, and a state of power data.
8. The system (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the input from the VCU (110) comprises at least one unique identifier associated with the at least one inactive load and information related to the at least one active load connected to the VCU (110), wherein the information includes voltage and current drawn capacity, operation timestamp, and at least one unique identifier associated with the at least one active load component (112).
9. The system (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the input from the protection engine (122) comprises a power input and at least one state of capacity data of the battery unit (102).
10. The system (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the VCU (110) further shuts down at least one inactive load component as detected by the PDCU (108).
11. A method (2000) for controlling power distribution to at least one connected load of a battery unit (102) in an agricultural vehicle, the method (2000) comprises:
detecting, by a vehicle controlling unit (VCU) (110), at least one active load component (112) and at least one inactive load component connected to the VCU (110);
acquiring, by a protection engine (122) in real time, a power input and at least one state of capacity data of a vehicular battery unit (102) via a communication mode;
determining, by an efficiency monitoring engine (124), at least one voltage and current requirement of the at least one active load component (112,) upon receiving an input from the VCU (110) and an input from the protection engine (122), via the communication mode; and
communicating, by a circuit delimiter (130), at least one voltage and current requirement to the at least one active load component (112), in order to facilitate current drawing by the at least one active load component (112), from the at least one battery unit (102), based on the at least one voltage and current requirement.
12. The method (2000) as claimed in claim 12, wherein the method (2000) further includes storing by a load storage engine (126) the at least one voltage and current requirement of the at least one active load (112) with a unique identifier.
13. The method (2000) as claimed in claim 12, wherein the method (2000) further includes communicating by the circuit delimiter (130) the at least one voltage and current requirement to at least one signal transmitter (128).
14. The method (2000) as claimed in claim 12, wherein the method (2000) further includes shutting down distribution of power by the VCU (110) to the at least one inactive load component as detected by the efficiency monitoring engine (124).