DESC:FORM 2

THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENT RULES, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See Section 10 and Rule 13)

Title of invention:
A SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETECTING REMOVAL OF BATTERY

APPLICANT:
MICELIO MOTORS PRIVATE LIMITED
An Indian Entity having address as:
No.58, 15th Cross, 2nd Phase JP Nagar, Bengaluru – 560078, Karnataka, India.

The following specification describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND PRIORITY
The present application claims priority from an Indian Patent Application having application number 202141057995, filed on December 13, 2021, incorporated herein by a reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present subject matter described herein, in general, relates to a battery management system. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a system and method for detecting removal of battery from a vehicle. More precisely, the present subject matter discloses a system and method for determining removal of battery from a vehicle or a battery station and sending an alert message to a cloud server.
BACKGROUND
The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also correspond to implementations of the claimed technology.
With the onset of electric vehicles (EVs), the use of IC Engine (ICE) vehicles is decreasing day by day. The EVs are much more energy efficient and produce no carbon emissions as compared to fossil fuel vehicles (ICE vehicles).
However, there are some major problems related with EVs like inadequate charging infrastructure, low energy density, high charging time, and battery storage space. Due to low energy density of batteries, it is required to charge the batteries at regular intervals. For this purpose, it is required to constantly monitor battery health parameters like State of Charge (here onwards SoC) and State of Health (here onwards SoH). Further, for the safety of EV itself and avoiding theft of battery, it is required to constantly monitor the state of battery and alert the user if the battery is removed.
Considering the increasing requirement of the EV charging infrastructure in the country, it is important to have continuous communication with the vehicle and update the user and the charging facilities about the EVs, their SoC, and battery health. Since the time required for charging may vary as per the size of an EV and pattern of energy consumption and SoH of battery, it is beneficial to have facility and infrastructure for swappable batteries at battery charging stations. As the availability of batteries may become an important issue, it is better to have advance information of upcoming vehicles and SoC of these vehicles. For this purpose, vehicles may comprise a Telematics Control Unit (TCU) (with/without an Electronics Control Unit (ECU)) to communicate with a cloud server.
The Telematics Control Unit in an EV plays a vital role in battery management operations and controlling other electronic operations of the vehicle. The TCU and ECU plays a crucial role in management of all the electronic components such as lighting system, battery management system, regenerative braking system, motor control, temperature control system, etc.
Conventionally, vehicle ECU is used to monitor various parameters related to battery management, also techniques like Coulombs Counting is used to determine battery SoC. Further, all the diagnostic data can be sent to user device. The main problem however is ensuring communication of vehicle telematics system with a server and ensuring timely alert to the user and also to ensure security of vehicle. However, considering requirements of repetitive charging and security of electric vehicles, communication with charging infrastructure, and use of electric vehicles for long distance travel; it is required to have an integrated and comprehensive approach towards the problem of vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) and vehicle to everything (V2X) communication in the EV industry.
Further, as known in the prior art, a telematics or a mobile wireless device or a remote server from a vehicle may receive data related to the vehicle battery's open circuit and cranking voltages, temperature, and usage. Further, the device may compare the received data to a predetermined corresponding criterion and compute a battery health value based on the received data according to an algorithm. If the received data falls outside the corresponding criteria, the device may generate and send an alert to a user device. The battery health value may also be sent to the user device to indicate remaining battery life, and to correlate temperature and vehicle usage with impact on battery life. Further, the received data may also be used to generate a customized charging current profile that a charging device can be use to regulate charging current from the vehicle's alternator to the battery. The vehicle used for such system may be a hybrid or a pure EV. However, such technology also fails to provide EV security and determine the exact safety conditions of the vehicle battery such as battery damage and/or battery removal/theft.
Therefore, there is a long-felt need for a system and method for determining removal of battery and sending alert to a user device and/or a cloud server, that can ensure security of the vehicle battery unit and constantly monitor its SoC and SoH of the battery.
SUMMARY
This summary is provided to introduce the concepts related to a system and method for determining removal of battery from a vehicle or a battery station and sending an alert message to a cloud server. This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor it is intended to use in determining or limiting the scope of claimed subject matter.
In an embodiment, a system for determining removal of battery comprises a Telematics Control Unit or TCU, a battery unit, a cloud server, a DC-DC converter, and a Controller Area Network or CAN bus. All the aforementioned components, except the cloud server, may be present in a vehicle (preferably, an electric vehicle) or a battery charging station or a swappable battery station. The vehicle may also comprise an Electronics Control Unit (ECU) for monitoring and controlling all the vehicle electronic functions and for receiving data from the TCU for battery management and energy consumption. The battery unit is enabled to send battery health information messages via CAN bus. The TCU is configured to detect and parse the CAN messages received from the battery unit containing battery health information including SoC. Further, the TCU also receives DC-DC voltage output data from the DC-DC converter through the CAN bus. The TCU is further configured to compare the received data with a set of predetermined values and CAN message reception from the battery unit within a predetermined time period and in case of any discrepancy, send an alert message to the cloud server informing the removal of the battery unit.
In another embodiment, a method for detecting removal of battery comprises the steps of: sending CAN messages by the battery unit via the CAN, detecting and parsing of the CAN messages by the TCU through the CAN bus for the SoC data of the battery unit; receiving DC-DC voltage output data at the TCU from the DC-DC converter via the CAN bus; comparing the received SoC data and the DC-DC voltage output data with a set of predefined values and CAN message reception from the battery unit within a predetermined time period; and sending an alert message informing the removal of the battery unit to a cloud server.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the Figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the Figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer like features and components.
Figure 1 illustrates a system for detecting removal of battery from a vehicle and sending an alert to a cloud server, in accordance with an embodiment of a present subject matter.
Figure 2 illustrates a method for detecting removal of battery from a vehicle or a battery station and sending an alert to a cloud server, in accordance with an embodiment of a present subject matter.
Figure 3 illustrates a process flow chart for determination or comparison steps involved in the method for detecting removal of battery from a vehicle or a battery station and sending an alert to a cloud server, in accordance with an embodiment of a present subject matter.
Figure 4 illustrates a system for detecting removal of battery from a battery station and sending an alert to a cloud server, in accordance with an embodiment of a present subject matter.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Reference throughout the specification to “various embodiments,” “some embodiments,” “one embodiment,” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in various embodiments,” “in some embodiments,” “in one embodiment,” or “in an embodiment” in places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.
The present subject matter described herein, in general, relates to a battery management system. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a system and method for determining removal of battery comprising a Telematics Control Unit or TCU, a battery unit, a cloud server, a DC-DC converter, and a Controller Area Network or CAN bus. All the aforementioned components, except the cloud server, may be present in a vehicle (preferably, an electric vehicle) or a battery charging station or a swappable battery station. The vehicle may also comprise an Electronics Control Unit (ECU) for monitoring and controlling all the vehicle electronic functions and for receiving data from the TCU for battery management and energy consumption. The battery unit is enabled to send battery health information messages via CAN bus. The TCU is configured to detect and parse the CAN messages received from the battery unit containing battery health information (SoC, etc.). Further, the TCU also receives DC-DC voltage output data from the DC-DC converter through the CAN bus. The TCU compares the received data with a set of predetermined values and CAN message reception from the battery unit within a predetermined time period and in case of any discrepancy, sends an alert message to the cloud server informing the removal of the battery unit.
Hereinafter, a system and method for determining removal of battery comprising a TCU, a battery unit, a cloud server, a DC-DC converter, and a CAN bus according to an exemplary form of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
In one embodiment, referring to Figure 1, a system 100 for detecting removal of a battery unit 103 from a vehicle (not shown) and sending an alert to a cloud server 101 is illustrated. The system 100 for determining removal of the battery unit 103 comprises a Telematics Control Unit or TCU 102, the battery unit 103, the cloud server 101, a DC-DC converter 105, and a Controller Area Network or CAN bus 106. The aforementioned components, except the cloud server 101, are a part of the vehicle (preferably, an EV). The vehicle may also comprise an Electronics Control Unit or ECU 104 which monitors and controls all the vehicle electronic functions and receives data from the TCU 102 for the battery unit 103 management operations and energy consumption from the battery unit 103. The battery unit 103, enabled to send messages via CAN bus 106, sends battery health information messages including data like SoC, SoH, etc. The TCU 102 is configured to detect and parse the CAN messages received from the battery unit 103 containing various battery health data including SoC of the battery unit 103. Further, the TCU 102 also receives a DC-DC voltage output data from the DC-DC converter 105 through the CAN bus 106. The TCU 102 is further configured to compare the received data, battery health data like SoC of the battery unit 103 and DC-DC voltage output data, with a set of predetermined values and also checks whether the CAN message reception from the battery unit 103 is within a predetermined time period and in case of any discrepancy with the received data, the TCU 102 sends an alert message to the cloud server 101 informing the removal of the battery unit 103. Further, the cloud server 101 may also be configured to forward this alert message to a user device (not shown) like a mobile device, computer, or the like.
As illustrated in Figure 2, a method 200 for detecting removal of the battery unit 103 and sending an alert message to the cloud server 101 comprises the steps of: sending 202 CAN messages by the battery unit 103 via the CAN bus 106; detecting 203 and parsing 204 of the CAN messages by the TCU 102 through the CAN bus 106 for the SoC data of the battery unit 103; receiving 205 DC-DC voltage output data at the TCU 102 from the DC-DC converter 105 via the CAN bus 106; comparing 206 the received data with a set of predefined values; and sending 207 an alert message informing the removal of the battery unit 103 to the cloud server 101. Further, the method 200 starts at step 201 and advances to step 202 where as long as the CAN-enabled battery unit 103 is in ON state it sends CAN messages via the CAN bus 106; then method proceeds to step 203 where the TCU 102, configured to receive CAN messages from the battery unit 103, detects the battery-sent CAN messages and proceeds to step 204 for parsing the received battery-sent CAN messages for the battery health information including the SoC data; then at step 205, the TCU 102 further receives DC-DC voltage output data from the DC-DC converter 105 directly or via the CAN bus 106; then at step 206, the TCU 102 proceeds for comparison of the received SoC data and the DC-DC voltage output data with a set of predefined values and checks for any discrepancy in the received data. Finally, if the TCU 102 finds any mismatch/inconsistency with the received data, the method proceeds to step 207 for sending an alert message informing the removal of the battery unit 103 to the cloud server 101, and ends the method at 208. If the TCU 102 confirms that there is no problem with the received data at step 206, the method proceeds back to the step 203 and repeats the processes at steps 203-206 until the method proceeds to step 207.
Now, referring to Figure 3, a process flow chart 300 for comparison step 206 involved in the method 200 for detecting removal of the battery unit 103 and sending an alert message to the cloud server 101 by the TCU 102 is illustrated. The comparison process 206 starts at step 301 by the TCU 102 with the received and parsed data form the battery unit 103 and the DC-DC converter 105 via the CAN bus 106 and proceeds to step 302 for comparing the DC-DC voltage output data received from the DC-DC converter 105 with a predefined value of 8V and if the DC-DC voltage is less than 8V, the process 300 forwards to step 303 otherwise the process returns to step 301. Now at step 303, the TCU 102 compares the received SoC value of the battery unit 103 with a predefined value of 10% and if the SoC value of the battery unit 103 is greater than 10%, the process 300 forwards to step 304 otherwise the process returns to step 301. Further, at step 304, the TCU 102 checks whether the time elapsed from the last received battery-sent CAN message, containing the battery health data of the battery unit 103, is above a pre-defined time threshold of 5 seconds; if this condition is fulfilled then the process 300 proceeds to step 305 otherwise the process returns to step 301. Further, at step 305, the TCU 102 sends an alert message to the cloud server 101 informing the removal of the battery unit 103, and finally ends the process 300 at step 306. Thus, the process 300 forwards to the step 305 of sending the battery unit 103 removal alert message to the cloud server 101 only if all the conditions at the steps 302, 303, and 304 are satisfied. Accordingly, if any of the condition at the steps 302, 303, and 304 is not met, the battery unit 103 removal alert is not generated by the TCU 102 and the TCU 102 continues to monitor the CAN Bus for receiving new CAN messages.
In another embodiment, referring to Figure 4 which is analogous to Figure 1, a system 400 for detecting removal of a battery unit 403 from a battery station (not shown), a battery charging station or a swappable battery station or the like, and sending an alert to a cloud server 401 is illustrated. As shown in the Figure 4, there may be more than one battery unit 403 (battery unit 1, battery unit 2, … battery unit N, N being a positive integer) present at a battery station, for operations like battery charging or ready-to-use charged battery at swappable battery station, etc., which are connected to CAN bus 406 network. Further, the system 400 for determining removal of the battery unit 403 from the battery station comprises a Telematics Control Unit or TCU 402, the battery unit 403, the cloud server 401, a DC-DC converter 405, and a Controller Area Network or CAN bus 406. The aforementioned components, except the cloud server 401, are a part of the battery station. The battery station may also comprise an Electronics Control Unit or ECU 404 which may receive data or instructions from the TCU 402 for the battery unit 403 monitoring, charging and management operations at the battery station. Further, the battery unit 403, enabled to send messages via CAN bus 406, sends battery health information messages including data like SoC, SoH, etc. The TCU 402 is configured to detect and parse the CAN messages received from the battery unit 403 containing various battery health data including SoC of the battery unit 403. Further, the TCU 402 also receives a DC-DC voltage output data from the DC-DC converter 405 through the CAN bus 406. The TCU 402 is further configured to compare the received data, battery health data like SoC of the battery unit 403 and DC-DC voltage output data, with a set of predetermined values and also checks whether the CAN message reception from the battery unit 403 is within a predetermined time period and in case of any discrepancy with the received data, the TCU 402 sends an alert message to the cloud server 401 informing the removal of the battery unit 403 from the battery station. Further, the cloud server 401 may also be configured to forward this alert message to a user device (not shown) like a mobile device, computer, or the like.
The embodiments illustrated above, especially related to the system and method for determining removal of battery from a vehicle or a battery station and sending an alert message to a cloud server provide following technical advancements:
• Security of the battery unit in a vehicle or a battery station.
• Constant monitoring and surveillance of the state of battery including the battery health data like SoC, SoH, etc.
• Communication between vehicle user and overall electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Various modifications to the embodiment will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments illustrated but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein.
The foregoing description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense. A person of ordinary skill in the art would understand that certain modifications could come within the scope of this disclosure.
The embodiments, examples and alternatives of the preceding paragraphs or the description and drawings, including any of their various aspects or respective individual feature(s), may be taken independently or in any combination. Features described in connection with one embodiment are applicable to all embodiments unless such features are incompatible.

,CLAIMS:WE CLAIM:
1. A system (100) for detecting removal of battery, the system (100) comprising:
a control area network (CAN) bus (106);
a telematics control unit (TCU) (102) for communicating with a cloud server (101);
at least one battery unit (103) configured to send CAN messages to the telematics control unit (TCU) (102) through the control area network (CAN) bus (106);
a DC-DC convertor (105) for high to low voltage DC conversion, wherein the DC-DC convertor (105) is configured to provide DC-DC voltage data to the telematics control unit (TCU) (102);
characterized in that,
the telematics control unit (TCU) (102) is configured to detect and parse the CAN messages received from the at least one battery unit (103), wherein the telematics control unit (TCU) (102) determines the removal of the at least one battery unit (103) by comparing the DC-DC voltage from the DC-DC convertor (105) and the state of charge (SoC) of the at least one battery unit (103) with a set of predefined values and checking whether the time elapsed from the last received CAN message is above a preset time threshold, and sends alert message to the cloud server (101).

2. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system (100) for detecting removal of battery comprises an electronic control unit (ECU) (104) configured to receive data from the telematics control unit (TCU) (102) for the at least one battery unit (103) management and energy consumption.

3. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one battery unit (103) is configured to send CAN messages to the telematics control unit (TCU) (102) via the control area network (CAN) bus (106) in the battery ON state.

4. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the TCU (102) compares the received DC-DC voltage with a predefined value of 8V, wherein the received DC-DC voltage value should be less than 8V.

5. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the TCU (102) compares the received SoC value of the at least one battery unit (103) with a predefined value of 10%, wherein the received SoC value should be greater than 10%.

6. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the TCU (102) checks whether the time elapsed from the last received CAN message is above a preset time threshold value of 5 seconds.

7. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system (100) for detecting removal of battery sends an alert message to the cloud server (101) when the conditions of preceding claims 4-6 are satisfied.

8. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system (100) for detecting removal of battery may be incorporated in any vehicle or a battery station or the like.

9. A method (200) for detecting removal of battery, the method (200) comprising the steps of:
sending (202) CAN messages by the at least one battery unit (103) through the control area network (CAN) bus (106);
detecting (203) the CAN messages by the telematics control unit (TCU) (102) through the control area network (CAN) bus (106);
parsing (204) the CAN messages by the telematics control unit (TCU) (102) for the state of charge (SoC) data of the at least one battery unit (103);
receiving (205) DC-DC voltage data at the telematics control unit (TCU) (102) from the DC-DC convertor (105) through the control area network (CAN) bus (106);
comparing (206) the received state of charge (SoC) data and the DC-DC voltage data with a set of predefined values and CAN message reception within a preset time threshold; and
sending (207) an alert message to the cloud server (101).

10. The method (200) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the CAN messages are sent (202) by the at least one battery unit (103) through the control area network (CAN) bus (106) during the battery ON state.

11. The method (200) as claimed in claim 9, wherein comparing (206) the received state of charge (SoC) data and the DC-DC voltage data with a set of predefined values and CAN message reception within a preset time threshold comprises the steps of:
comparing (302) the received DC-DC voltage with a predefined value of 8V, wherein the received DC-DC voltage value should be less than 8V;
comparing (303) the received SoC value of the at least one battery unit (103) with a predefined value of 10%, wherein the received SoC value should be greater than 10%; and
checking (304) whether the time elapsed from the last received CAN message is above a preset time threshold value of 5 seconds.

12. The method (200) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the method (200) for detecting removal of battery sends an alert message to the cloud server (101) when the conditions of preceding claims 11 are satisfied.

13. The method (200) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the method (200) for detecting removal of battery may be implemented in any vehicle or a battery station or the like.
Dated this 13th day of December 2021

Priyank Gupta
IN/PA-1454
Agent for the Applicant