Patent Description:
With the supply pressure and exhaust pollution brought about by the consumption of conventional fossil energy, the development of conventional oil-fueled vehicles has entered a sluggish period. In view of this, energy-saving and environment-friendly electric vehicles have been developed very fast in recent years due to the favorable prospect of green energy. At present, in the development process of electric vehicles, due to the limitation of current battery technologies, insufficient battery capacity and long charging time are inevitable problems at this stage. In order to solve such technical problems, in one aspect, the research and development investment in the battery technology itself has increased; and in a further aspect, the development of peripheral technologies for batteries has also increased. For example, battery replacement is an extremely fast, convenient and safe method.

Specifically, battery swapping (i.e., battery replacement) refers to an energy supplement method in which a traction battery of an electric vehicle is detached by a battery swap device and replaced with another set of traction battery. A battery swap station is a place to achieve battery swap of traction batteries of electric vehicles, and has functions of charging, thermal management, communication, monitoring, etc. A certain number of battery boxes can be loaded in advance in the battery swap station, and a dedicated charging cable is used in a battery compartment for quick connection and charging with a charging device.

In the process of a battery swap, it is inevitable to use a battery transfer device to take the battery out of the battery compartment and transport it to a position where the battery swap can be performed for an electric vehicle. In the actual application process, it is found that such a vehicle for battery detachment and swap generally needs to have an omni-directional transport function in addition to carrying a battery swap device for loading and unloading of batteries. The term "omni-directional" mentioned herein mainly refers to X and Y directions, i.e., the direction which is the same as the traveling direction of the vehicle for battery detachment and swap and the direction perpendicular to the traveling direction.

There are many ways to realize omni-directional movements, for example, using a lifting and unidirectional transport mechanism to realize the decoupling of movements in the X and Y directions; in another example, using a roller and a forklift with a movement direction perpendicular to that of the roller; and in a further example, using a roller moving in a single direction and a chassis that can move in all directions. However, these battery swap conveyors using motion decoupling will increase the complexity of the mechanism. How to simplify the structural design as much as possible while achieving omni-directional transport and battery swap functions has become an urgent technical problem to be solved.

<CIT> discloses an AGV comprising the features of the preamble of claim <NUM>.

An objective of the invention is to provide a conveyor having an omni-directional transport function.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a conveyor having an omni-directional transport function for replacing batteries. The objects of the present invention are achieved by the features of independent claim <NUM>.

In particular, in order to achieve the objectives of the invention, according to one aspect of the invention, a conveyor is also provided, characterized by comprising: a bearing portion for bearing a component to be conveyed; an omni-directional transport assembly comprising a plurality of transport mechanisms arranged on the bearing portion, wherein the transport mechanisms are used for providing driving forces in set directions, respectively, and the component to be conveyed moves in the direction of a resultant force of the driving forces of the plurality of transport mechanisms relative to the bearing portion; and a controller for controlling the starting and stopping and/or forward and reverse rotation of the plurality of transport mechanisms so as to drive the component to be conveyed in a set direction of the resultant force.

Optionally, the transport mechanisms are Mecanum wheels.

Optionally, the Mecanum wheels are arranged close to edges of the bearing portion, respectively.

Optionally, the bearing portion is constructed into a rectangular shape, and the omni-directional transport assembly comprises at least two Mecanum wheels; wherein the two Mecanum wheels are arranged longitudinally or transversely close to the edges of the bearing portion, respectively.

Optionally, the bearing portion is constructed into a rectangular shape, and the omni-directional transport assembly comprises at least four Mecanum wheels; wherein the Mecanum wheels are arranged close to four corners of the bearing portion, respectively.

The omni-directional transport assembly further comprises a plurality of universal wheels which are arranged close to the center and the edges of the bearing portion, respectively.

Optionally, the universal wheels arranged close to the edges of the bearing portion are each positioned between two adjacent Mecanum wheels.

Optionally, the conveyor further comprises edge stoppers arranged along the edges of the bearing portion, the edge stoppers each having a stop position in which the edge stopper is configured to prevent the component to be conveyed from passing therethrough and a passage position in which the edge stopper is configured to allow the component to be conveyed to pass therethrough.

Optionally, the edge stoppers are pivoted with the edges of the bearing portion; when in the stop position, the edge stopper is pivoted to be higher than the bearing portion; and when in the passage position, the edge stopper is pivoted to be lower than the bearing portion.

The conveyor further comprises: a moving portion for driving the bearing portion to move.

Optionally, the direction of the resultant force is along a longitudinal or transverse direction of the bearing portion of the conveyor.

Optionally, the transport mechanism is an omni-directional steering wheel.

In order to achieve the objectives of the invention, according to another aspect of the invention, another conveyor is also provided, and the conveyor is used for transporting batteries to be replaced of electric vehicles.

Optionally, the bearing portion has a size matching the size of the batteries to be replaced.

Being provided with the omni-directional transport assembly and equipped with a corresponding control system, the conveyor according to the invention realizes omni-directional transport of a component to be replaced with a relatively simple mechanical structure.

According to the conception of the invention, an embodiment of a conveyor is provided herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. For convenience of description, X, Y and Z are referenced in several accompanying drawings as a spatial coordinate system, wherein X indicates the transverse direction of the conveyor, Y indicates the longitudinal direction of the conveyor, and Z indicates the vertical direction of the conveyor.

Referring to <FIG>, a conveyor <NUM> is shown. The conveyor <NUM> comprises a bearing portion <NUM> as a load bearing body, which is used for bearing a component to be conveyed during transportation. Most importantly, the conveyor <NUM> further comprises an omni-directional transport assembly <NUM>. The omni-directional transport assembly <NUM> comprises a plurality of transport mechanisms of various forms arranged on the bearing portion <NUM>, wherein these transport mechanisms are used for providing driving forces in set directions, respectively, and causing the component to be conveyed to move in the direction of a resultant force of the driving forces of the plurality of transport mechanisms. In order to realize the aforementioned functions, the transport mechanism can have various implementation forms. For example, these transport mechanisms can be arranged at different positions on the bearing portion and force application directions thereof can be set. In addition, the conveyor <NUM> should also be provided with a controller for controlling the starting and stopping and/or forward and reverse rotation of the plurality of transport mechanisms so as to drive the component to be conveyed in a set direction of the resultant force. For example, the direction of the resultant force can be along a longitudinal or transverse direction of the bearing portion of the conveyor. Under this arrangement, the conveyor of this conception eliminates torque coupling to various mechanical structures. Being provided with the omni-directional transport assembly and equipped with a corresponding control system, the conveyor realizes omni-directional transport of a component to be replaced with a relatively simple mechanical structure.

Herein, as a specific implementation form of the omni-directional transport assembly, in this embodiment, a Mecanum wheel with a relatively mature and stable structure is used as the transport mechanism. This conception will be focused on the application of the Mecanum wheel in the transportation of spare parts and its specific arrangement on the conveyor.

Specifically, with continued reference to <FIG>, it can be found that the conveyor in the figures employs four Mecanum wheels 111a, 111b, 111c, and 111d, and the four Mecanum wheels 111a, 111b, 111c, and 111d are arranged close to four corners of the rectangular bearing portion <NUM>, respectively. This arrangement mode ensures that the component to be conveyed can make contact with and be driven by the Mecanum wheels during the whole transfer process. For example, assuming that the component to be conveyed is transferred out of the conveyor in the negative direction of the Y-axis, the component to be conveyed will gradually come out of contact with the Mecanum wheels 111a and 111b during the driving process, and only rely on the Mecanum wheels 111c and 111d arranged in the lower corners to realize the subsequent driving. The component to be conveyed will maintain contact with the Mecanum wheels 111c and 111d until it leaves the conveyor.

According to the preceding embodiment, this design idea is mainly to ensure that the component to be conveyed can be driven by at least some of the Mecanum wheels during the whole transfer process. Therefore, it is not limited to setting the Mecanum wheels at the corners of the bearing portion. For example, optionally, the Mecanum wheels can be arranged close to edges of the bearing portion, respectively.

Further, the preceding embodiments need not be limited to the number of the Mecanum wheels. It should be understood that more Mecanum wheels will lead to a smoother transfer process, while fewer Mecanum wheels will lead to better cost-effectiveness. Therefore, the number of the Mecanum wheels can be adjusted according to actual needs, and the arrangement form can be adjusted according to the number. For example, as shown in <FIG>, when the omni-directional transport assembly comprises at least two Mecanum wheels 111a and 111b, the two Mecanum wheels 111a and 111b can be arranged transversely close to the edges of the bearing portion, respectively. Certainly, in an embodiment not shown, the two Mecanum wheels can also be arranged longitudinally close to the edges of the bearing portion, respectively.

In addition, as a further improvement, in some states during the transfer process, the component to be conveyed can only make contact with and be driven by some of the Mecanum wheels. In order to provide more stable support for the component to be conveyed in this case, the omni-directional transport assembly may further comprise a plurality of universal wheels 112a, 112b, 112c, 112d and 112e, wherein the universal wheels 112a, 112b, 112c and 112d are arranged close to the edges of the bearing portion <NUM>, respectively, while the universal wheel 112e is arranged close to the center of the bearing portion <NUM> to provide support for the component to be conveyed and act as a slave. As a more specific implementation form, the universal wheels arranged close to the edges of the bearing portion are each located between two adjacent Mecanum wheels. For example, the universal wheel 112a is located between the Mecanum wheels 111a and 111b. In this case, the component to be conveyed can be supported at multiple points almost in the whole conveying process, thus ensuring the stability of conveying.

In addition, although the foregoing embodiments have been described using the Mecanum wheel as the transport mechanism, in fact, other driving members can also be used as the transport mechanism as long as they fall into the scope defined by the appended claims. For example, as another example, the transport mechanism can also be an omni-directional steering wheel with a similar implementation mode, so it will not be described in detail herein.

In order to further optimize the conveying process, other structures on the conveyor have also been modified, which will be explained one by one below.

Referring to <FIG>, in one embodiment, the bearing portion of the conveyor further comprises edge stoppers 121a, 121b, 121c, and 121d disposed along the edges of the bearing portion <NUM>. The edge stoppers each have a stop position and a passage position, and can be switched between the two positions. As shown in <FIG>, taking the edge stopper 121a as an example, when in the stop position, the edge stopper 121a is configured to prevent the component to be conveyed from passing therethrough; and when in the passage position, the edge stopper 121a is configured to allow the component to be conveyed to pass therethrough. This arrangement is more conducive to the positioning and transfer of the component to be conveyed. For example, when a component to be conveyed is transferred out from a conveyor, in order to ensure that the component can be transferred out in a desired direction, on the one hand, the corresponding direction of the resultant force is formed by controlling the Mecanum wheels; and on the other hand, it is also feasible to adjust the stoppers in other non-passage directions to their stop positions and adjust the stopper in the desired direction to its passage position, so as to assist in correcting the deviation of driving forces through the respective stopping and guiding effects of the stoppers. In this way, the transfer accuracy and reliability of the conveyor can be further improved.

As a specific implementation, the edge stoppers 121a, 121b, 121c and 121d can be pivoted with the edges of the bearing portion <NUM>, respectively; in this arrangement, when in the stop position, the edge stopper is pivoted to be higher than the bearing portion; and when in the passage position, the edge stopper is pivoted to be lower than the bearing portion.

Optionally, the conveyor further comprises a moving portion <NUM> for driving the bearing portion <NUM> carrying the component to be conveyed to move between desired target positions.

In addition, although the conveyor of this conception has a variety of desired application scenarios, one of the application scenarios, namely using the conveyor for transporting batteries to be replaced of electric vehicles, is highlighted herein. In this case, considering the extremely limited space in places such as battery swap stations, the structure of the bearing portion of the conveyor can be further optimized to have a size matching the size of the battery to be replaced, such that all battery swap functions can be achieved in as small a size as possible.

Subsequently, the working principle of the conveyor in the electric vehicle battery swap process will be described by way of examples with reference to <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram of transport of a conveyor in the positive direction of the Y-axis. Arrow marks on the Mecanum wheels in the figure are used to indicate force application directions. In this case, the controller controls the four Mecanum wheels 111a, 111b, 111c and 111d to rotate forward at the same time, such that the Mecanum wheel 111a generates a force between the positive direction of the Y-axis and the negative direction of the X-axis; the Mecanum wheel 111b generates a force between the positive direction of the Y-axis and the positive direction of the X-axis; the Mecanum wheel 111c generates a force between the positive direction of the Y-axis and the negative direction of the X-axis; and the Mecanum wheel 111d generates a force between the positive direction of the Y-axis and the positive direction of the X-axis. The direction of the resultant force in this case is in the positive direction of the Y-axis. At the same time, the edge stopper 121a is adjusted to the passage position, while the other three edge stoppers 121b, 121c, and 121d are maintained in the stop position. In this case, the battery to be replaced travels along the guide surrounded by the plurality of edge stoppers under the drive of the Mecanum wheels, and is transferred to a designated position along the positive direction of the Y-axis.

By the same token, by adjusting the turning direction of the Mecanum wheels and the opening and closing of the edge stoppers, the conveyor's function of transport in the negative direction of the Y-axis can be realized, and therefore, it will not be described further herein.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram of transport of a conveyor in the positive direction of the X-axis. Arrow marks on the Mecanum wheels in the figure are used to indicate force application directions. In this case, the controller controls the Mecanum wheels 111b and 111d to rotate forward and simultaneously controls the Mecanum wheels 111a and 111c to rotate reversely, such that the Mecanum wheel 111a generates a force between the negative direction of the Y-axis and the positive direction of the X-axis; the Mecanum wheel 111b generates a force between the positive direction of the Y-axis and the positive direction of the X-axis; the Mecanum wheel 111c generates a force between the negative direction of the Y-axis and the positive direction of the X-axis; and the Mecanum wheel 111d generates a force between the positive direction of the Y-axis and the positive direction of the X-axis. The direction of resultant force in this case is in the positive direction of the X-axis. At the same time, the edge stopper 121b is adjusted to the passage position, while the other three edge stoppers 121a, 121c, and 121d are maintained in the stop position. In this case, the battery to be replaced travels along the guide surrounded by the plurality of edge stoppers under the drive of the Mecanum wheels, and is transferred to a designated position along the positive direction of the X-axis.

By the same token, by adjusting the turning direction of the Mecanum wheels and the opening and closing of the edge stoppers, the conveyor's function of transport in the negative direction of the X-axis can be realized, and therefore, it will not be described further herein.

Referring to <FIG>, the transport process of clockwise rotation of the conveyor will be described. In this case, the controller controls the Mecanum wheels 111a and 111d to rotate forward and simultaneously controls the Mecanum wheels 111b and 111c to rotate reversely, such that the Mecanum wheel 111a generates a force between the positive direction of the Y-axis and the negative direction of the X-axis; the Mecanum wheel 111b generates a force between the negative direction of the Y-axis and the negative direction of the X-axis; the Mecanum wheel 111c generates a force between the negative direction of the Y-axis and the positive direction of the X-axis; and the Mecanum wheel 111d generates a force between the positive direction of the Y-axis and the positive direction of the X-axis. In this case, a resultant force formed by the Mecanum wheels 111a and 111d is in a positive direction along the Y-axis, while a resultant force formed by the Mecanum wheels 111b and 111c is in a negative direction along the Y-axis. The two together form a torque rotating clockwise, enabling the battery to be conveyed thereon to rotate clockwise. At the same time, the edge stoppers 121a, 121b, 121c, and 121d are all adjusted to the passage positions so that the rotation process of the battery is not hindered.

By the same token, by adjusting the turning direction of the Mecanum wheels and the opening and closing of the edge stoppers, the conveyor's function of transport in the counterclockwise rotating direction can be realized, and therefore, it will not be described further herein.

Claim 1:
A conveyor (<NUM>) comprising: a bearing portion (<NUM>) for bearing a component to be conveyed; a moving portion (<NUM>) for driving the bearing portion (<NUM>) to move, characterized in that an omni-directional transport assembly (<NUM>) comprising a plurality of transport mechanisms arranged on the bearing portion (<NUM>), wherein the transport mechanisms are used for providing driving forces in set directions, respectively, and the component to be conveyed moves in the direction of a resultant force of the driving forces of the plurality of transport mechanisms relative to the bearing portion (<NUM>); and a controller for controlling the starting and stopping and/or forward and reverse rotation of the plurality of transport mechanisms so as to drive the component to be conveyed in a set direction of the resultant force, and in that the omni-directional transport assembly (<NUM>) further comprises a plurality of universal wheels (112a, 112b, 112c, 112d) which are arranged close to the center and/or the edges of the bearing portion (<NUM>), respectively.