Patent Description:
With the popularization of new energy automobiles, how to effectively provide fast and effective energy supply for automobiles with insufficient energy has become a matter of great concern for car owners and major manufacturers. Taking electric vehicles as an example, the current mainstream electrical energy supply scheme includes a charging scheme and a battery swap scheme. Compared with the charging scheme, the battery swap scheme can complete the swapping of a traction battery in a short time and has no obvious impact on the service life of the traction battery, so it is one of the main development directions of electrical energy supply. The battery swap scheme is generally completed in a battery charging and swapping station. The battery charging and swapping station is internally equipped with a battery compartment for storing a battery and a battery swap platform, and a battery swap robot for carrying a fresh/used traction battery between the battery compartment and the battery swap platform, such as a rail guided vehicle (RGV). The battery swap robot, by reciprocating on a rail previously laid between the battery compartment and the battery swap platform, completes the action of swapping the traction battery for the electric vehicle parked on the battery swap platform.

During battery swapping, the positioning between the battery swap robot and a vehicle with a battery to be swapped is one of the key steps to realize battery swap scheme. The success rate and accuracy of the positioning directly affect the success rate of battery swapping and the reliability and life of the battery. In order to reduce the positioning error and improve the success rate of positioning, in the prior art, the battery swap robot is usually provided with a floating platform capable of lifting, a locating pin is provided on the floating platform, and a locating hole is provided on the corresponding vehicle body or battery. For example, Chinese utility model patent <CIT> discloses a floating alignment device which comprises a fixed plate, a floating plate mounted to the fixed plate via bullseyes bearings, and positioning pins fixedly connected to the floating plate. During hoisting, the locating pin, by driving the floating platform to float in a small range, completes matching and insertion with the locating hole, so as to achieve precise positioning between the battery swap robot and the vehicle with a battery to be swapped, and then the battery swap robot can complete the act of removing the used traction battery from the vehicle with a battery to be swapped or mount the fresh traction battery onto the vehicle with a battery to be swapped. Although the above arrangement method improves the success rate of positioning to a certain extent, there are also certain problems in an actual application process. Firstly, the excessively frequent positioning process between the locating pin and the locating hole is likely to cause damage to the vehicle body or the traction battery. Secondly, the positioning process when a used battery is detached and a fresh battery is mounted during battery swapping is repeated, and this repeated positioning will also lead to a low battery swap efficiency. <CIT> Aldiscloses a battery pack lift system with air bearings configured to allow relative movement between a battery pack and the frame and additional air bearings configured to allow relative movement between the frame and the lift. The deactivation of the additional air bearings preserves an alignment between the nutrunners on the frame and the vehicle, so that the nutrunners do not need to be realigned to the vehicle when attaching the new battery pack.

Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a new floating docking device to solve the above-mentioned problems.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, i.e., in order to solve the problem of being likely to cause damage to a vehicle body or a traction battery due to frequent positioning and the problem of a low battery swap efficiency during battery swapping, the invention is as defined in independent claims <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively.

In a preferred technical solution of the floating docking device, each of the jacking mechanisms comprises an air cylinder and a friction block, the base is provided with a through hole, the air cylinder is fixedly connected to the base, and a piston of the air cylinder passes through the through hole and is connected to the friction block.

In a preferred technical solution of the floating docking device, each of the floating plates is configured with a plurality of first limiting members, and the first limiting member is arranged to allow the floating plate to float in a horizontal plane.

In a preferred technical solution of the floating docking device, the first limiting member is a bullseye bearing provided on the base, and the floating plate abuts against the bullseye bearing.

In a preferred technical solution of the floating docking device, each of the floating plates is further configured with at least one second limiting member, and the second limiting member is arranged such that the floating plate is unable to move relative to the base in a vertical direction.

In a preferred technical solution of the floating docking device, each of the floating plates is provided with a plurality of support members, and each of the floating plates is connected to the floating platform via the plurality of support members.

In a preferred technical solution of the floating docking device, each of the floating plates further comprises a plurality of restoring members, and the restoring member is connected to the floating plate for adjusting the position of the floating plate.

In a preferred technical solution of the floating docking device, the restoring member comprises a spring, the spring is provided between the base and the floating plate, and the spring is arranged to enable the floating plate to return to a position determined by a pretightening force of the spring.

In a preferred technical solution of the floating docking device, the floating platform is provided with at least one locking/unlocking mechanism, and the locking/unlocking mechanism is arranged such that a traction battery is able to be locked/unlocked.

The invention also provides a battery swap robot, which comprises a body provided with a walking device and a floating docking device, wherein the floating docking device is the floating docking device according to any one of the above solutions.

The invention also provides a docking method for the floating docking device according to any one of the above solutions, the docking method comprising:.

The invention also provides a restoring method for the floating docking device according to any one of the above solutions, the restoring method comprising:.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that in the preferred technical solutions of the invention, the floating docking device comprises a base, a floating portion, and a position-holding portion. The floating portion is floatable relative to the base and is provided with at least one positioning member, and the positioning member is able to complete docking with an engagement member of a vehicle with a battery to be swapped by means of floating of the floating portion. The position-holding portion enables the floating portion to be fixed relative to the base. With the arrangement of the position-holding portion, the invention enables the floating portion to be fixed relative to the base after the first docking between the positioning member and the engagement member, i.e., after the floating docking device completes positioning with the vehicle with a battery to be swapped when a used battery is unloaded, and then when a fresh battery is mounted to the vehicle with a battery to be swapped, it can be directly mounted without repositioning, which reduces the damage to a vehicle body or a traction battery due to frequent positioning, and improves the service life and battery swap efficiency of the floating docking device.

Specifically, the floating portion comprises a floating platform and a plurality of floating plates, wherein the floating platform is connected to the floating plate, and the floating platform is provided with a plurality of positioning members; and each floating plate floats in a horizontal plane under the restriction of a plurality of first limiting members, and there is no relative movement between the floating plate and the base in a vertical direction under the restriction of at least one second limiting member. The position-holding portion comprises a plurality of jacking mechanisms, and each jacking mechanism comprises an air cylinder and a friction block connected to a piston end of the air cylinder. After the positioning member docks with the vehicle with a battery to be swapped by means of floating of the floating platform, the air cylinder jacks up the friction block such that the friction block and the floating plate are tightly pressed against each other to generate a frictional force, which frictional force causes the floating plate not to float horizontally relative to the base, thus under the combined action of the second limiting member and the frictional force, the floating plate and the floating platform fixedly connected to the floating plate remain fixed in position. Therefore, the invention can reduce the number of positionings during battery swapping, and improve the battery swap efficiency.

A floating docking device, a battery swap robot, a docking method, and a restoring method of the invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and in conjunction with a battery swap robot of a rail guided type. In the figures:.

Floating docking device; <NUM>. Base; <NUM>. Cylindrical bracket; <NUM>. L-shaped bracket; <NUM>. Floating portion; <NUM>. Floating platform; <NUM>. Floating plate; <NUM>. Support member; <NUM>. Positioning member; <NUM>. Locking/unlocking mechanism; <NUM>. First limiting member; <NUM>. Second limiting member; <NUM>. Restoring member; <NUM>. Spring; <NUM>. Fastening screw; <NUM>. position-holding portion; <NUM>. Jacking mechanism; <NUM>. Air cylinder; <NUM>. Friction block; <NUM>. Body; <NUM>. Walking device; <NUM>. Battery transfer device; <NUM>. Powered roller set; <NUM>. Unpowered roller set; <NUM>. Scissors driving shelf.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that these embodiments are only for explaining the technical principles of the invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the invention. For example, although two locating pins are provided on a floating platform, such a numerical relationship is not fixed, those skilled in the art can make amendments according to requirements so as to adapt to specific application scenarios.

It should be noted that in the description of the invention, the terms, such as "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner" and "outer", that indicate directions or positional relationships are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the drawings only for convenience of description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limitation to the invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second" and "third" are for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

In addition, it should also be noted that, in the description of the invention, the terms "mount", "engage" and "connect" should be interpreted in a broad sense unless explicitly defined and limited otherwise, which, for example, can mean a fixed connection, a detachable connection or an integral connection; can mean a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; and can mean a direct connection, an indirect connection by means of an intermediary, or internal communication between two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the invention can be interpreted according to the specific situation.

Firstly, referring to <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>, wherein <FIG> is a structural schematic diagram of a floating docking device of the invention; <FIG> is a structural schematic diagram of the floating docking device of the invention with a floating platform removed; <FIG> is a schematic front view of the floating docking device of the invention.

As shown in <FIG>, in order to avoid the problem of being likely to cause damage to a vehicle body or a traction battery due to frequent positioning and the problem of a low battery swap efficiency during battery swapping, a floating docking device <NUM> of the invention mainly comprises a base <NUM>, a floating portion <NUM> and a position-holding portion <NUM>. The floating portion <NUM> is floatable relative to the base <NUM> in a certain range and is provided with at least one positioning member <NUM>, and the positioning member <NUM> is able to complete docking with an engagement member of a vehicle with a battery to be swapped by means of floating of the floating portion <NUM>. The position-holding portion <NUM> is arranged such that the floating portion <NUM> is fixed relative to the base <NUM> after the positioning member <NUM> completes docking with the engagement member. For example, when a used battery is detached, after the positioning member <NUM> (such as a locating pin) located on the floating portion <NUM> is inserted with the engagement member (such as a locating hole in an automobile chassis or a traction battery) on the vehicle with a battery to be swapped by means of floating of the floating docking device <NUM>, the position-holding portion <NUM> keeps the floating portion <NUM> fixed relative to the base <NUM> in the current floating state, and then after the locating pin exits the locating hole, the floating portion <NUM> can still stay in the position of insertion connection. In this way, when a fresh battery is mounted later, the floating docking device <NUM> can directly complete the insertion of the locating pin and the locating hole and the installation of the fresh battery without repositioning.

That is to say, with the arrangement of the position-holding portion <NUM>, the invention can save the number of positionings between the floating docking device <NUM> and the vehicle with a battery to be swapped, thus avoiding the damage to a vehicle body or a traction battery due to frequent positioning, and improving the service life and battery swap efficiency of the floating docking device <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, specifically, the floating portion <NUM> comprises a floating platform <NUM> and a plurality of floating plates <NUM>, and the floating platform <NUM> is fixedly connected to each floating plate <NUM> via a plurality of support members <NUM>. The floating platform <NUM> is fixedly connected to at least one positioning member <NUM> and at least one locking/unlocking mechanism <NUM>, the positioning member <NUM> is used to dock with the vehicle with a battery to be swapped, and the locking/unlocking mechanism <NUM> is used to lock/unlock the traction battery. In combination with <FIG> and <FIG>, in a possible implementation, the floating portion <NUM> comprises two floating plates <NUM>, the floating platform <NUM> is connected to each floating plate <NUM> via eight support members <NUM>, the floating platform <NUM> is provided with two locating pins (the vehicle with a battery to be swapped is provided with two corresponding locating holes) and ten locking/unlocking mechanisms <NUM>, and the locking/unlocking mechanism <NUM> can further comprise a servo motor and a locking/unlocking head (such as a hexagonal cylinder) provided on an output shaft of the servo motor.

Obviously, the above-mentioned arrangement method is not unique, and those skilled in the art can adjust it, as long as the modulation enables the floating docking device <NUM> to successfully complete the conditions of docking with the vehicle with a battery to be swapped and of locking/unlocking the traction battery. For example, the number of floating plates <NUM> can also be set to be one or four, the positioning member <NUM> can also be a locating hole (the corresponding automobile chassis or the traction battery is provided with a locating pin), and the floating platform <NUM> and the floating plate <NUM> are connected to each other by means of welding or integral molding, etc..

Next, referring to <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>, wherein <FIG> is a partial enlarged view of <FIG> at section A. As shown in <FIG>, a plurality of first limiting members <NUM> and at least one second limiting member <NUM> are provided between each floating plate <NUM> of the two floating plates <NUM> and the base <NUM> to realize floating, wherein the first limiting member <NUM> is arranged to allow the floating plate <NUM> to float in a horizontal plane, and the second limiting member <NUM> is arranged such that the floating plate <NUM> is unable to move relative to the base <NUM> in a vertical direction. In combination with <FIG> and <FIG>, preferably, the first limiting member <NUM> is a bullseye bearing, and a pedestal thereof is fixedly connected to the base <NUM>, a ball faces the floating plate <NUM>, and a bottom face of the floating plate <NUM> abuts against the bullseye bearing. The second limiting member <NUM> is a plate bolt, the floating plate <NUM> is provided with a limiting hole (not shown in the figures, i.e., the aperture of the limiting hole is greater than the diameter of a stud, so that the floating plate <NUM> can freely float) capable of accommodating a stud of the bolt, the stud is screwed to the base <NUM> through the limiting hole, and after screwing, a lower side of a nut abuts against a top face of the floating plate <NUM>.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the specific form, the arrangement position and the number of the first limiting member <NUM> and the second limiting member <NUM> are not fixed, and those skilled in the art can make any arbitrary form of adjustment if the above limiting conditions are satisfied so as to adapt to more specific application scenarios. For example, the first limiting member <NUM> can also be a member such as a universal wheel that enables the floating plate <NUM> to float freely, and the pedestal of the first limiting member can also be fixedly connected to the floating plate <NUM>; and the second limiting member <NUM> can also be a member, such as a rivet, by which the floating plate <NUM> is unable to move relative to the base <NUM> in the vertical direction, and can also be an L-shaped steel arranged around the floating plate <NUM>, a vertical portion of the L-shaped steel is fixedly connected to the base <NUM>, and a lateral portion of the L-shaped steel faces the floating plate <NUM> and abuts against the top face of the floating plate <NUM> to limit the movement of the floating plate <NUM> in the vertical direction.

Next, referring to <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>, wherein <FIG> is a sectional view taken along line B-B of <FIG>; and <FIG> is a partial enlarged view of <FIG> at section C. As shown in <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>, in order to realize automatic restoring of the floating docking device <NUM>, in a possible implementation, each floating plate <NUM> is further configured with a plurality of restoring members <NUM> for self-return of the floating plate <NUM> after floating. Preferably, the restoring member <NUM> comprises a spring <NUM> and a fastening screw <NUM>, the spring <NUM> is provided between the base <NUM> and the floating plate <NUM>, and the fastening screw <NUM> is used to adjust a pretightening force of the spring <NUM>. In combination with <FIG>, each floating plate <NUM> is provided with eight restoring members <NUM>, and two on each side face. In combination with <FIG> and <FIG>, a connecting hole or a counterbore is provided on a side face of the floating plate <NUM>, and a cylindrical bracket <NUM> and an L-shaped bracket <NUM> are respectively provided on the base <NUM> corresponding to the connecting hole and the counterbore. One end of the spring <NUM> of part of the restoring members <NUM> extends into the cylindrical bracket <NUM> through the connecting hole, and the other end thereof is fastened in the connecting hole through the fastening screw <NUM>; and one end of the spring <NUM> of the other part of the restoring members <NUM> extends into the counterbore, and the other end thereof is connected to the L-shaped bracket <NUM> via the fastening screw <NUM>. In this way, when the positioning member <NUM> completes insertion with the engagement member by means of floating of the floating plate <NUM>, each spring <NUM> may generate an elastic force, and after the insertion connection is cancelled, the floating plate <NUM> realizes automatic restoring under the action of the elastic force, even if the floating plate <NUM> returns to the position determined by the pretightening force of the spring <NUM>.

Of course, the arrangement form and the number of the restoring member <NUM> described above is only a more specific implementation. In addition, any structure capable of restoring the floating plate <NUM> should fall within the scope of protection of the invention.

Next, referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, wherein <FIG> is a partial enlarged view of <FIG> at section D. As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the position-holding portion <NUM> comprises at least one jacking mechanism <NUM> corresponding to each floating plate <NUM>. Preferably, in this embodiment, two jacking mechanisms <NUM> are provided, and the jacking mechanism <NUM> can jack up the floating plate <NUM>, so that the floating plate <NUM> is fixed relative to the base <NUM> under the combined restriction of the jacking mechanism <NUM> and the second limiting member <NUM>. Preferably, each floating plate <NUM> is correspondingly configured with two jacking mechanisms <NUM>, the jacking mechanism <NUM> comprises an air cylinder <NUM> and a friction block <NUM> (such as a metal block with a non-slip texture on a top face), the base <NUM> is provided with a through hole (not shown in the figures), the air cylinder <NUM> is fixedly connected under the base <NUM>, and a piston is connected to the friction block <NUM> through the through hole and can push the friction block <NUM> up and down.

After the floating plate <NUM> floats in the horizontal plane, by starting the air cylinder <NUM>, the piston pushes the friction block <NUM> and jacks up same to the bottom face of the floating plate <NUM>, a frictional force is generated between the friction block <NUM> and the floating plate <NUM>, and then the floating plate <NUM> can overcome the elastic force generated by the spring <NUM> under the combined action of the restriction of the second limiting member <NUM> and the frictional force and remain relatively fixed with the base <NUM>, and at the same time, the floating platform <NUM> fixedly connected to the floating plate <NUM> also remains relatively fixed with the base <NUM>.

As described above, the position-holding portion <NUM> is provided such that during battery swapping, the floating docking device <NUM> only needs to be positioned once with the vehicle with a battery to be swapped, i.e. positioning is carried out when the used battery is detached, and repositioning is not required when the fresh battery is mounted later, which eliminates an accurate positioning process, reduces possible damage to the vehicle body caused by pin hole positioning, and speeds up the beat of battery swapping.

It should be noted that the arrangement position and the number of the above position-holding portion <NUM> are only used to illustrate the working principle of the invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the invention. Provided that it does not deviate from the principle of the invention, those skilled in the art can make any arbitrary form of adjustment so as to adapt to more specific application scenarios. For example, the air cylinder <NUM> can also be replaced by a hydraulic cylinder, the friction block <NUM> can also be replaced by a rubber block, or even the air cylinder <NUM> may not be provided with the friction block <NUM>, and only the jacking force of a piston rod is relied on to realize relative fixation, etc. between the floating plate <NUM> and the base.

Next, referring to <FIG> is a structural schematic diagram of a battery swap robot of a rail guided type of the invention. As shown in <FIG>, the invention further provides a battery swap robot of a rail guided type (hereinafter referred to as the battery swap robot), the battery swap robot of a rail guided type mainly comprising a body <NUM>, a walking device <NUM> provided on the body <NUM>, a floating docking device <NUM> and a battery transfer device <NUM>. The walking device <NUM> is a wheel that can roll on a set rail, and the battery transfer device <NUM> comprises a powered roller set <NUM> and an unpowered roller set <NUM>, which is used for transferring the traction battery between the battery swap robot and a battery rack within a battery charging and swapping station. The floating docking device <NUM> is the floating docking device <NUM> described above in this embodiment, and is fixed to a robot body <NUM> via a lifting mechanism <NUM>. For example, the lifting mechanism <NUM> is a scissors driving shelf, and the base <NUM> of the floating docking device <NUM> is fixed to the scissors driving shelf. The scissors driving shelf can drive the floating docking device <NUM> up and down, and then the locating pin located on the floating platform <NUM> completes the insertion with the locating hole in the vehicle with a battery to be swapped when the floating plate <NUM> floats relative to the base <NUM>, realizing the positioning of the battery swap robot and the vehicle with a battery to be swapped. At this time, the air cylinder <NUM> jacks up the friction block <NUM> to realize the aforementioned fixation between the floating plate <NUM> and the base <NUM>.

Next, referring to <FIG> is a flow chart of a docking method for the floating docking device of the invention. As shown in <FIG>, the invention further provides the docking method for the floating docking device <NUM>, the method mainly comprising:.

docking the positioning member <NUM> on the floating platform <NUM> with the engagement member on the vehicle with a battery to be swapped; and.

fixing the floating portion <NUM> relative to the base <NUM> after the positioning member <NUM> docks with the engagement member.

Next, referring to <FIG> is a flow chart of a restoring method for the floating docking device of the invention. As shown in <FIG>, the invention further provides the restoring method for the floating docking device <NUM>, the method mainly comprising:.

disengaging the positioning member <NUM> on the floating platform <NUM> from the engagement member on the vehicle with a battery to be swapped; and.

restoring the floating portion upon, before or after the positioning member <NUM> is disengaged from the engagement member.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG> and in combination with <FIG>, as a possible implementation, a one-time battery swap process of the battery swap robot applying the floating docking device <NUM> of the invention can be:
the vehicle with a battery to be swapped arrives at a parking platform of the battery charging and swapping station and completes coarse positioning and hoisting → the battery swap robot arrives at a projection position of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped and completes accurate positioning of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped in the vertical direction → the scissors driving shelf lifts the floating docking device <NUM>, such that the locating pin matches and is inserted into the locating hole of the used battery → the piston of the air cylinder <NUM> jacks up the friction block <NUM> to the floating plate <NUM>, so that the floating plate <NUM> is fixed relative to the base <NUM> → the locking/unlocking mechanism <NUM> detaches the used battery → the scissors driving shelf lowers the floating docking device <NUM> and completes the detachment of the used battery → the battery swap robot leaves a battery swap position and arrives at the battery rack, the battery transfer device <NUM> is used to replace the used battery with the fresh battery, and the locating pin and locating hole in the refresh battery complete insertion and positioning → the battery swap robot again arrives at the projection position of the vehicle to be swapped and completes accurate positioning of the vehicle with a battery to be swapped → the scissors driving shelf directly jacks up the floating docking device <NUM>, and the locking/unlocking mechanism <NUM> completes the fastening of the fresh battery → the scissors driving shelf lowers the floating docking device <NUM>, at the same time, the piston of the air cylinder <NUM> descends, and the floating plate <NUM> performs automatic restoring under the elastic force of the restoring member <NUM> → the battery swap robot returns to an initial position, thus completing battery swapping.

Claim 1:
A floating docking device (<NUM>) comprising a base (<NUM>), a floating portion (<NUM>), and a position-holding portion (<NUM>),
wherein the floating portion (<NUM>) is floatable relative to the base (<NUM>) and is provided with at least one positioning member (<NUM>), and the positioning member (<NUM>) is able to complete docking with an engagement member of a vehicle with a battery to be swapped by means of floating of the floating portion (<NUM>); and
wherein the position-holding portion (<NUM>) is arranged to enable the floating portion (<NUM>) to be fixed relative to the base (<NUM>),
characterized in that the floating portion (<NUM>) comprises a plurality of floating plates (<NUM>) and a floating platform (<NUM>) connected to the plurality of the floating plates (<NUM>), and the at least one positioning member (<NUM>) is arranged on the floating platform (<NUM>),
wherein the position-holding portion (<NUM>) comprises at least one jacking mechanism (<NUM>) corresponding to each of the floating plates (<NUM>), and the jacking mechanism (<NUM>) is able to be jacked up to the floating plate (<NUM>), so that the floating plate (<NUM>) is fixed relative to the base (<NUM>).