Battery cartridge, battery carrier module, and battery charging system

A battery cartridge, a battery carrier module, and a battery charging system are provided. The battery cartridge includes a carrier case and a dismantable assembly. The battery cartridge has an accommodating space for accommodating a rechargeable battery. The accommodating space has a maximum width and a maximum depth, the rechargeable battery has a predetermined width and a predetermined depth. The dismantable assembly is disposed in the accommodating space of the carrier case. The dismantable assembly includes a width adjustment part and a depth adjustment part. The maximum width and the maximum depth of the accommodating space are respectively greater than the predetermined width and the predetermined depth of the rechargeable battery, and one of the width adjustment part and the depth adjustment part is disposed between the carrier case and the rechargeable battery so as to maintain the relative position between the rechargeable battery and the carrier case.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates to a cartridge, a carrier module, and a charging system; more particularly, to a battery cartridge, a battery carrier module and a battery charging system.

2. Description of Related Art

Battery replacement of electric vehicles such as electric cars and golf carts is performed manually or via simple assistive devices. The batteries can be connected in series or in parallel so as to provide higher power, which can further be applied to other equipment, such as energy store systems (ESS).

There are a number of issues in conventional electric vehicles that remain to be improved. Taking electric motorcycles as an example, there exist different types of batteries for different kinds of electric motorcycles, and these different types of batteries cannot be standardized into one specification. One reason for this is: an electric motorcycle performs better when using a battery that is fully compatible with itself, which is often the battery manufactured by the same company that manufactures the electric motorcycle. Another reason is that it would be hard to clarify the attribution of responsibility if electric motorcycles of all kinds use the same type of battery. Therefore, it is still required that electric motorcycles of one brand use batteries of the same brand in the prior art, which could cause many problems such as inconvenience in the charging and exchanging of batteries.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the object of the present disclosure is to provide a battery cartridge, a battery carrier module, and a battery charging system, which utilize a dismantable assembly to maintain the relative position between the rechargeable battery and the carrier case, thereby enabling batteries of various kinds to be charged in the battery carrier module and the battery charging system of the present disclosure.

In order to achieve the aforementioned objects, the present disclosure provides a battery cartridge that includes a carrier case and a dismantable assembly. The carrier case includes an accommodating space for accommodating a rechargeable battery. The accommodating space has a maximum width and a maximum depth, and the rechargeable battery has a predetermined width and a predetermined depth. The dismantable assembly is disposed in the accommodating space of the carrier case and includes a width adjustment part and a depth adjustment part. The maximum width and the maximum depth of the accommodating space are respectively greater than the predetermined width and the predetermined depth of the rechargeable battery, and one of the width adjustment part and the depth adjustment part is disposed between the carrier case and the rechargeable battery so as to maintain the relative position between the rechargeable battery and the carrier case.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a battery carrier module, which includes a cabinet and at least one battery cartridge. The cabinet has at least one battery-cartridge receiving space. The at least one battery cartridge is disposed in the cabinet. The at least one battery cartridge includes a carrier case and a dismantable assembly. The carrier case includes an accommodating space for accommodating a rechargeable battery. The accommodating space has a maximum width and a maximum depth, and the rechargeable battery has a predetermined width and a predetermined depth. The dismantable assembly is disposed in the accommodating space of the carrier case and includes a width adjustment part and a depth adjustment part. The maximum width and the maximum depth of the accommodating space are respectively greater than the predetermined width and the predetermined depth of the rechargeable battery, and one of the width adjustment part and the depth adjustment part is disposed between the carrier case and the rechargeable battery so as to maintain the relative position between the rechargeable battery and the carrier case.

Yet another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a battery charging system including a battery carrier module and at least one power supply module. The battery carrier module includes a cabinet and at least one battery cartridge disposed in the cabinet. The at least one battery cartridge includes a carrier case and a dismantable assembly. The carrier case includes an accommodating space for accommodating a rechargeable battery. The accommodating space has a maximum width and a maximum depth, and the rechargeable battery has a predetermined width and a predetermined depth. The dismantable assembly is disposed in the accommodating space of the carrier case and includes a width adjustment part and a depth adjustment part. The maximum width and the maximum depth of the accommodating space are respectively greater than the predetermined width and the predetermined depth of the rechargeable battery, and one of the width adjustment part and the depth adjustment part is disposed between the carrier case and the rechargeable battery so as to maintain the relative position between the rechargeable battery and the carrier case.

The present disclosure is advantageous in that the battery cartridge, the battery carrier module and the battery charging system of the present disclosure can maintain the relative position between the rechargeable battery and the carrier case via the manner in which the maximum width and the maximum depth of the accommodating space are respectively greater than the predetermined width and the predetermined depth of the rechargeable battery, and the technical means in which one of the width adjustment part and the depth adjustment part is disposed between the carrier case and the rechargeable battery. Through the aforementioned manner, rechargeable batteries of different specifications can be compatible with the battery cartridge, the battery carrier module and the battery charging system of the present disclosure and can be charged therein at the same time.

In order to further the understanding of the present disclosure, the following embodiments are provided along with illustrations to facilitate the disclosure of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The aforementioned illustrations and following detailed description are exemplary for the purpose of further explaining the scope of the present disclosure. Other objectives and advantages related to the present disclosure will be illustrated in the following description and appended drawings. Furthermore, the directional terms such as “left”, “right”, “upper” or “lower” are used for the purpose of describing the drawings and shall not be deemed as limitations to the present disclosure.

The First Embodiment

Referring toFIG. 1toFIG. 7, the present disclosure provides a battery cartridge1including a carrier case10and a dismantable assembly20. The carrier case10includes an accommodating space R for accommodating a rechargeable battery B. Specifically, the rechargeable battery B can be a horizontally positioned battery or a vertically positioned battery. InFIG. 1, the rechargeable battery B is a horizontally positioned battery, and inFIG. 2, the rechargeable battery B is a vertically positioned battery. The rechargeable battery B can be placed into the accommodating space R by being pushed along a Y direction defined in an XYZ coordinate system. For example,FIG. 3shows the rechargeable battery B ofFIG. 1after having been pushed into the accommodating space R along the Y direction, andFIG. 4shows the rechargeable battery B ofFIG. 2after having been pushed into the accommodating space R along the Y direction of the XYZ coordinate system. The rechargeable battery can also be a battery having a size smaller than that of the rechargeable battery B shown inFIGS. 1 and 2.

Furthermore, the dismantable assembly20can be disposed in the accommodating space R of the carrier case10. The dismantable assembly20includes a width adjustment part and a depth adjustment part202. More specifically, the width adjustment part includes two width adjustment parts (201a,201b). Furthermore, the accommodating space R has a maximum width W and a maximum depth D, and the rechargeable battery B has a predetermined width W′ and a predetermined depth D′. The maximum width W and the maximum depth D of the accommodating space R are greater than the predetermined width W′ and the predetermined depth D′ of the rechargeable battery B respectively. In addition, one of the width adjustment part and the depth adjustment part202of the dismantable assembly20can be disposed between the carrier case10and the rechargeable battery B so as to maintain the relative position between the rechargeable battery B and the carrier case10. That is to say, one of the width adjustment part and the depth adjustment part202can be disposed between the carrier case10and the rechargeable battery B, or both of the width adjustment part and the depth adjustment part202can be disposed between carrier case10and the rechargeable battery B so as to maintain the relative position between the rechargeable battery B and the carrier case10.

More specifically, whether one or both of the width adjustment part and the depth adjustment part202are used depends on the size of the accommodating space R relative to that of the rechargeable battery B. With reference toFIGS. 1 to 8, in the present embodiment, both of the width adjustment part and the depth adjustment part202of the dismantable assembly20are used. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, only one of the width adjustment part and the depth adjustment part202may be used, and the width adjustment part and the depth adjustment part202in other embodiments can have widths and lengths that are different from those of the width adjustment part and the depth adjustment part202of the present embodiment. With the dismantable assembly20, the present disclosure provides alternative configurations when using the width adjustment part, which includes two width adjustment cushions (201a,201b), and the depth adjustment part202to secure the position of the rechargeable battery B in the battery cartridge1.

Referring toFIG. 5, the accommodating space R has a maximum height H, and the rechargeable battery B has a predetermined height H′. The maximum height H of the accommodating space R is greater than the predetermined height H′ of the rechargeable battery B. Furthermore, the dismantable assembly20can include a height adjustment part203disposed between the carrier case10and the rechargeable battery B so as to maintain the relative position between the rechargeable battery B and the carrier case10. Specifically, the Z-direction thickness of the height adjustment part203is greater than or equal to the difference between the maximum height H of the accommodating space R and the predetermined height H′ of the rechargeable battery B. Accordingly, with the height adjustment part203, the rechargeable battery B can be more securely positioned in the battery cartridge1.

With reference toFIG. 8, the battery cartridge1further includes a front door30pivotally connected to the carrier case10so as to secure the rechargeable battery B. Specifically, the front door30includes a cushion301for abutting the rechargeable battery B. More specifically, when the front door30is closed, the cushion301abuts the rechargeable battery B towards the inside of the carrier case10such that the rechargeable battery B can be more securely positioned in the battery cartridge1.

Second Embodiment

Referring toFIGS. 8 to 10, the second embodiment of the present disclosure provides a battery carrier module Z, which includes a cabinet2and at least one battery cartridge1. The cabinet2includes at least one battery-cartridge receiving space S. The at least one battery cartridge1is disposed in the cabinet2, and each battery cartridge1includes a carrier case10and a dismantable assembly20. Moreover, the carrier case10has an accommodating space R for accommodating the rechargeable battery B. The dismantable assembly20includes a width adjustment part and a depth adjustment part202. Specifically, the width adjustment part includes two width adjustment cushions (201a,201b).

Furthermore, the accommodating space R has a maximum width W and a maximum depth D, and the rechargeable battery B has a predetermined width W′ and predetermined depth D′. The maximum width W and the maximum depth D of the accommodating space R are greater than the predetermined width W′ and the predetermined depth D′ of the rechargeable battery B respectively. One of the width adjustment part and the depth adjustment part202is disposed between the carrier case10and the rechargeable battery B so as to maintain the relative position between the rechargeable battery B and the carrier case10.

With reference toFIG. 9, in the present embodiment, the cabinet2can accommodate up to eight battery cartridges1, in which the integration of batteries with different specifications can be achieved with each battery cartridge1using the width adjustment cushions of different thicknesses according to the size of the rechargeable battery B. The working principles of the width adjustment cushions (201a,201b) are similar to that of a feeler gauge. Needless to say, the second embodiment of the present disclosure can also include the height adjustment part203of the dismantable assembly20as described in the first embodiment so as to compensate for the height difference between the carrier case10and the rechargeable battery B.

Referring toFIG. 10, the battery carrier module Z further includes a leaning support3and a raising member4. The leaning support3is disposed at a rear side of the cabinet2in a manner such that the cabinet2leans at a predetermined angle Q against the leaning support3. The raising member4is disposed at the bottom of the cabinet2away from the leaning support3. Specifically, the leaning support3has a slope31and a vertical surface32. The vertical surface32is perpendicular to the ground, and the slope31forms a predetermined angle Q with the vertical surface32. Through the above-mentioned manner, the cabinet2can lean at an angle against the leaning support3so that the rechargeable battery B can move smoothly towards the inside of the carrier case10.

Referring toFIGS. 8 and 9, the battery cartridge1of the battery carrier module Z further includes a front door30pivotally connected to the cabinet2so as to abut the rechargeable battery B. In other embodiments, the front door30can also be pivotally connected to the carrier case10. In this embodiment, the front door30includes a cushion301for abutting the rechargeable battery B so that the rechargeable battery B can be more securely positioned in the accommodating space R. More specifically, when the front door30is shut, the cushion301of the front door30abuts the rechargeable battery B towards the inside of the carrier case10, thereby securing the relative position between the rechargeable battery B and the battery cartridge1.

The Third Embodiment

With reference toFIG. 11, the third embodiment of the present disclosure provides a battery charging system C, which includes a battery carrier module Z and a power supply module P. The battery carrier module Z includes a cabinet2and at least one battery cartridge1. The cabinet2includes at least one battery-cartridge receiving space S. The least one battery cartridge1is disposed in the cabinet2and includes a carrier case10and a dismantable assembly20. The carrier case10has an accommodating space R for accommodating a rechargeable battery B. The dismantable assembly20is disposed in the accommodating space R of the carrier case10and includes a width adjustment part and a depth adjustment part202. Specifically, the width adjustment part includes two width adjustment cushions (201a,201b). In addition, the power supply module P includes at least one power supply wire L, which is connected to the at least one battery cartridge1so as to provide the rechargeable battery B with electricity.

Moreover, the accommodating space R has a maximum width W and a maximum depth D, and the rechargeable battery B has a predetermined width W′ and a predetermined depth D′. The maximum width W and the maximum depth D of the accommodating space R are respectively greater than the predetermined width W′ and the predetermined depth D′ of the rechargeable battery B. One of the width adjustment part and the depth adjustment part202is disposed between the carrier case10and the rechargeable battery B so as to maintain the relative position between the rechargeable battery B and the carrier case10.

For example, with reference toFIG. 11, the battery carrier module Z of the present embodiment carries batteries of three different brands, i.e. the battery set B1of brand A, the battery set B2of brand B, and the battery set B3of brand C, each of which is connected via a power supply wire L to a battery charger set made by the same brand, i.e. the battery charger set P1of brand A, the battery charger set P2of brand B, and the battery charger set P3of brand C.

Moreover, the battery charging system C further includes a battery sensor module5having a battery sensor51connected to the battery cartridge1so as to determine if the rechargeable batteries (B1, B2, B3) is in an abnormal state or at an unusually high temperature when being charged.

Furthermore, the battery charging system C includes a battery reading module6having a battery reader61connected to the battery cartridge1so as to retrieve the identity data of the rechargeable battery B. Specifically, the identity data of the rechargeable batteries (B1, B2, B3) include battery working data62and battery identification data63.

In addition, the battery charging system C can further include a control processor7disposed in the cabinet2and connected to the battery reader61of the battery reading module6and the battery charger sets (P1, P2, P3). The control processor7can process the battery working data62and the battery identification data63and then generate a charging information that is further sent to the charging controller71. Specifically, the charging controller71commands the battery charger sets (P1, P2, P3) to charge the rechargeable batteries (B1, B2, B3) according to the charging information.

In summary, the present disclosure is advantageous in that the battery cartridge1, the battery carrier module Z and the battery charging system C of the present disclosure can maintain the relative position between the rechargeable battery B and the carrier case10via the manner in which the maximum width W and the maximum depth D of the accommodating space R are respectively greater than the predetermined width W′ and the predetermined depth D′ of the rechargeable battery B, and the manner in which one of the width adjustment part and the depth adjustment part202is disposed between the carrier case10and the rechargeable battery B. Through the afore-mentioned manner, rechargeable batteries of different specifications can be compatible with the battery cartridge, the battery carrier module and the battery charging system of the present disclosure and can be charged therein at the same time.