Patent ID: 12221007

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

support assembly10unlocking mechanism1unlocking input member11limiting member111limiting groove112positioning hole113unlocking output member12first connecting rod12bsecond connecting rod12ctransmission unit13rotating member131sliding member132unlocking sleeve14support2bottom plate21, profile211end plate22locking mechanism3bending member311locking tongue321locking rod322battery pack200

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present disclosure is further described by means of the following embodiments, but the present disclosure is not limited by the following embodiments thereto.

Embodiment 1

As shown inFIG.1andFIG.2, the present disclosure provides a support assembly10for mounting on an electric vehicle. The support assembly10comprises a support2, an unlocking mechanism1and a locking mechanism3. Herein, the support2has an entrance and exit2afor a battery pack200to enter and exit the support2in a horizontal direction (i.e. the Y direction marked inFIG.1) by means of the entrance and exit2aof the support2. Two sets of locking mechanisms3are arranged on an end plate22of the support2, and are respectively located on the left and right sides of the end plate22, to lock an back plate of the battery pack200after the battery pack200moves into the support2, so as to fix the battery pack200on the support2, and achieve the purpose of installing the battery pack200on the electric vehicle. The unlocking mechanism1is set corresponding to the locking mechanism3and used to connected to the locking mechanism3. The function of the unlocking mechanism1is to unlock the battery pack200locked on the support2of the support assembly10, so that the battery pack200can be detached from the support2, so as to achieve the purpose that the battery pack200is removable relative to the electric vehicle. In this embodiment, two sets of unlocking mechanisms and locking mechanisms are set respectively, and in other embodiments, one or more sets of unlocking mechanisms and locking mechanisms are set according to the length of the battery pack.

As shown inFIG.3, the unlocking mechanism1is arranged at the lower surface of a bottom plate21of the support2, and extends from one side of the end plate22of the support2to the side of the entrance and exit2aof the support2along the Y direction. The unlocking mechanism1comprises an unlocking input member11and an unlocking output member12. The unlocking input member11is adapted to be connected to an external unlocking driving portion (not shown in the figures), and is driven by the external unlocking driving portion to drive the unlocking output member12to move, while the unlocking output member12is adapted to be connected to the locking mechanism3and drive the locking mechanism3to move to unlock or lock the battery pack200.

The unlocking mechanism1is driven to move by setting the unlocking input member11to dock from the external unlocking driving portion, and transmit the movement to the locking mechanism3by means of the unlocking output member12, so as to drive the locking mechanism3to move to achieve the purpose of unlocking or locking the battery pack200. By means of the above-mentioned structural arrangement, a preferred implementation structure for driving the locking mechanism3to unlock or lock relative to the battery pack200is provided, so as to realize the purpose of automatic unlocking or locking, and improve the reliability of the unlocking or locking process in the process of battery swapping.

Herein, the unlocking input member11is arranged on the lower surface of the bottom plate21of the support2, so as to facilitate docking with the external unlocking driving portion. The unlocking input member11is located below the entrance and exit2aof the support2, so as to realize the purpose of docking with the unlocking driving portion when the unlocking driving portion approaches the entrance and exit2aof the support2.

Specifically, the unlocking driving portion may be installed on the battery tray of the battery swapping device. The battery swapping device is used to remove and install and replace the battery pack located on the electric vehicle. When the battery swapping device remove and install the battery pack200with respect to the support assembly10, the battery tray of the battery swapping device may inevitably move horizontally and approach the entrance and exit2aof the support2. Therefore, the unlocking driving portion is installed on the battery tray, and the purpose of the unlocking driving portion docking to the unlocking input member11can be realized synchronously by using the movement of the battery tray towards the direction close to the support2.

As shown inFIG.3andFIG.4, a profile211extending along the moving-in direction (i.e. Y direction) of the battery pack200is provided on the bottom surface of the bottom plate21of the support2. The unlocking input member11and the unlocking output member12are both arranged in the profile211, so that the profile211on the bottom plate21is used to achieve the purpose of accommodating the main components of the unlocking mechanism1, protect the unlocking input member11and other components from being damaged by external collision, so as to improve the unlocking reliability of the support assembly10. At the same time, the profile211can also be used to position the unlocking input member11, so that the unlocking input member11in this embodiment can move along the Y direction driven by the unlocking driving portion, while maintaining the positioning along the X direction and the Z direction without shaking.

Specifically, this embodiment provides a scheme that the profile211on the bottom plate21positions the unlocking input member11to move horizontally relative to the support2in the Y direction. As shown inFIG.4andFIG.5, the unlocking input member11is provided with a limiting member111, the limiting member111is specifically two limiting poles to extend and bulge in the X direction relative to the side surface of the unlocking input member11, and the profile211is provided with limiting grooves112extending in the Y direction. The two limiting members111slide in the limiting grooves112respectively, so that the whole unlocking input member11can only move in the Y direction relative to the support2, so as to accurately transmit the movement of the unlocking driving portion to the locking mechanism3, and realize the purpose of accurately and reliably unlocking or locking the battery pack200.

At the same time, when it is required to take the unlocking input member11out of the profile211, the limiting member111can be moved out of the limiting groove112only by moving in the Y direction.

It is certain that in other embodiments, the limiting member111may also extend in the Z direction or other directions and be positioned in the limiting groove112on the profile211, which can also realize the purpose of restricting the movement of the unlocking input member11in the Z direction or the X direction. In addition, the limiting member111may not be a cylindrical structure, but a block-like limiting block and other structures, so as to realize the purpose of restricting the unlocking input member11from moving in a specific direction by means of sliding in the limiting groove112of the profile211.

As shown inFIG.4, in this embodiment, the unlocking output member12comprises a connecting rod which is a straight rod, and both ends of the connecting rod are provided with hinged ends, one end is hinged with the locking mechanism3, and the other end is hinged with the pushing rod of the unlocking input member11(the pushing rod in this embodiment is the body of the unlocking input member11), and both limiting members111are arranged on the pushing rod. When the pushing rod of the unlocking input member11moves horizontally in the Y direction driven by the unlocking driving portion, the horizontal displacement is converted into a rotational displacement that drives the locking mechanism3to rotate axially around the X direction to unlock or lock the battery pack200by means of a linkage mechanism formed by the connecting rod of the unlocking output member12, so as to use the unlocking mechanism1to convert the horizontal movement of the unlocking driving portion in the Y direction into a force that drives the locking mechanism3to unlock or lock the battery pack200.

It should be noted that in this embodiment, the unlocking input member11and unlocking output member12are two different components connected with each other. However, in other embodiments, the unlocking input member11and unlocking output member12may also be a single member integrally formed.

Specifically, the structure of the locking mechanism3in this embodiment is shown inFIG.6andFIG.7. The locking mechanism3comprises a connecting portion and a locking portion. The specific form of the connecting portion is a bending member311with an included angle, one end of which is directly connected with the connecting rod of the unlocking output member12to transmit the movement of the unlocking output member12to the locking portion. The locking portion comprises a locking tongue321that can be turned over relative to the battery pack200and a locking rod322that drives the locking tongue321to turn over. Herein, the locking rod322is fixedly connected with the bending member311, the unlocking input member11moves horizontally in the Y direction driven by the unlocking driving portion, and the unlocking output member12drives the bending member311and the locking rod322to rotate in the X direction, and then drives the lock tongue321to turn over to unlock or lock the battery pack200.

By means of the above-mentioned structural arrangement, the locking portion converts the displacement of the unlocking output member12into the rotation of the locking rod322along the X direction, so as to achieve the purpose of driving the locking tongue321connected with the locking rod322to turn over, and the purpose of unlocking or locking the battery pack200is achieved by means of the locking tongue321that can turn over relative to the battery pack200.

Herein, the movement state of the connecting rod of the unlocking output member12is shown inFIG.4andFIG.8. When the unlocking driving portion drives the pushing rod to move towards the side of the end plate22of the support2in the Y direction, the connecting rod converts the Y-direction displacement into the X-direction rotation of the connecting rod by means of rotation of the connecting rod, so as to drive the locking rod322of the locking mechanism3inFIG.7to rotate, thus enabling the locking tongue321of the locking mechanism3to turn over, so as to realize the purpose of locking or unlocking the battery pack200. It can be seen from the figures that the connecting rod is a straight rod to transmit the displacement of the side of the bottom plate21of the support2to the side of the end plate22of the support2.

In addition, as shown inFIG.3, positioning holes113are provided on the side surface of the profile211and the side surface of the pushing rod of the unlocking input member11for horizontally installing positioning pins (not shown in the figures). When the unlocking input member11is located at a specific position relative to the profile211, the positioning pins can simultaneously penetrate into the positioning holes113of the profile211and the unlocking input member11, so as to fix the position of the profile211relative to the unlocking input member11by pin connection, so as to completely fix the position of the unlocking input member11relative to the support2after the unlocking input member11moves to the above-mentioned specific position, so that the unlocking mechanism1can maintain the unlocked or locked state after driving the locking mechanism3to unlock or lock the battery pack200, and the unlocking mechanism1may not return to another state because the unlocking driving portion is removed.

Herein, the installation and removal of the positioning pin relative to the pushing rod may be realized by means of a driver arranged on the bottom plate21of the support2. The function of the driver is to drive the positioning pin to move back and forth in the horizontal direction, so as to realize the purpose of the pin connection and fixing position of the unlocking input member11relative to the profile211, and the specific implementation structure of the driver is be described here.

As shown inFIG.9, the present disclosure further provides a battery pack unlocking method, which adopts the unlocking mechanism described above, and the unlocking method comprises the following steps:S11, controlling the unlocking driving portion to dock with the unlocking input member of the unlocking mechanism;S12, controlling the unlocking driving portion to drive the unlocking input member to move and drive the locking mechanism to unlock.

When the battery pack200on the support assembly10needs to be unlocked, the external unlocking driving portion is docked to the unlocking input member11of the unlocking mechanism1on the support assembly10, so as to provide a power source for the support assembly10to unlock the battery pack200and realize the purpose of unlocking the battery pack200. Under this unlocking method, only one unlocking driving portion needs to be correspondingly arranged for multiple support assemblies10, so that when a certain support assembly10needs to unlock the battery pack200, it is only required to dock the unlocking driving portion with the unlocking input member11on the support assembly10, which effectively reduces the number of drive components, and there is no need to set additional drive members on the support assembly10to unlock the battery pack200, thus simplifying the support assembly10and the structural complexity of the electric vehicle using the support assembly10, and improving the overall reliability of the device.

The unlocking driving portion may be directly arranged on the battery tray of the battery swapping device as described above, so that when the battery tray is driven by the extension mechanism of the battery swapping device to move towards the support assembly10, the purpose of the unlocking driving portion approaching the unlocking input member11and completing the connection can be synchronously realized.

In addition, as shown inFIG.10, the present disclosure further provides a battery pack locking method, which also adopts the unlocking mechanism1described above, and the locking method comprises the following steps:S21, controlling the unlocking driving portion to dock with the unlocking input member of the unlocking mechanism;S22, controlling the unlocking driving portion to drive the unlocking input member to move in the direction opposite to the unlocking direction of the unlocking mechanism, and driving the locking mechanism to lock.

In this locking method, the unlocking driving portion located outside the support assembly10is used to drive the unlocking input member11to move in the direction opposite to the unlocking direction, so that the locking mechanism3can lock the battery pack200.

In this embodiment, the unlocking driving portion may be an air cylinder, so as to realize the purpose of pulling the unlocking input member11to move in the Y direction by means of pneumatically driving, so as to lock the battery pack200. It is certain that the unlocking driving portion may also be any mechanism capable of linear movement in the prior art.

For a plurality of support assemblies10, only one unlocking driving portion is needed to be arranged correspondingly to complete the locking task. Specifically, when a certain support assembly needs to lock the battery pack200, it is only required to dock the unlocking driving portion with the unlocking input member11, which effectively reduces the number of driving portions, and there is no need to set driving portions on the support assembly10for locking the battery pack200, thereby simplifying the structural complexity of the support assembly10and the electric vehicle using the support assembly10, and improving the reliability.

Embodiment 2

As shown inFIG.11andFIG.12, this embodiment provides a support assembly10, the structure of its unlocking mechanism1is roughly the same as that of the unlocking mechanism1provided in embodiment 1, and the differences are as follows: in this embodiment, the unlocking driving portion arranged outside the support assembly10drives the unlocking input member11to rotate axially along the Y direction. The unlocking mechanism1further comprises a transmission unit13, the transmission unit13is arranged between the unlocking input member11and the unlocking output member12and is respectively connected to the unlocking input member11and the unlocking output member12, so that the Y-direction axial rotation of the unlocking driving portion input to the unlocking input member11can be further transmitted to the unlocking output member12. The transmission unit13can convert the Y-direction axial rotation of the unlocking input member11into the Y-direction horizontal movement of the unlocking output member12, and then convert the horizontal movement mentioned above into a movement that drives the locking mechanism3to rotate axially around the X direction by means of the connecting rod of the unlocking output member12, so that the locking mechanism3can unlock or lock the battery pack200. Specifically, the structure of the locking mechanism3in this embodiment is the same as that in embodiment 1, and the details are not repeated here.

As shown inFIG.13andFIG.14, the transmission unit13specifically comprises a rotating member131and a sliding member132that cooperate with each other. Herein, the rotating member131in this embodiment is specifically a screw rod, which can be connected to the unlocking driving portion by means of the unlocking input member11to rotate driven by the unlocking driving portion, while the sliding member132is specifically a nut, which is threadedly connected with the screw rod and moves along the Y direction (that is the axial direction of the screw rod) when the screw rod rotates, and the nut is connected with the connecting rod of the unlocking output member12to drive the unlocking output member12to generate horizontal displacement. The connection and installation mode of the rotating member and the support is as follows:in the transmission unit13in this embodiment, the transmission unit13can convert the rotary motion into the linear motion by means of the cooperation of the screw rod and the nut, so as to realize the purpose of transmitting the axial rotation of the unlocking input member11to the unlocking output member12.

Specifically, as shown inFIG.14, when the unlocking driving portion drives the unlocking input member11to rotate in a certain direction, the screw rod can drive the nut to move towards the direction close to the end plate22, so as to drive the unlocking output member12to move, thus realizing the purpose of driving the locking mechanism3to unlock the battery pack200. At the same time, when the unlocking driving portion drives the unlocking input member11to rotate in the direction opposite to the above direction, the screw rod can drive the nut to move away from the end plate22, so as to drive the unlocking output member12to move in the opposite direction, thus realizing the purpose of driving the locking mechanism3to lock the battery pack200.

At the same time, the nut has a self-locking function relative to the screw rod, so the nut may not be displaced due to other external forces when the screw rod does not rotate. That is to say, for the unlocking mechanism1of this embodiment, there is no need to provide a positioning pin and other structures to lock the state of the unlocking mechanism1.

In other embodiments, the transmission unit may also adopt a gear, a rack and other mechanisms that may convert axial rotation into horizontal motion.

In addition, as shown inFIG.12, the number of locking mechanisms3in this embodiment is also two sets, each set of locking mechanisms3comprises a connecting portion and a locking portion, while the number of unlocking mechanisms1is only one set, and the connecting portions of the two sets of locking mechanisms3are connected by a linkage mechanism. Please refer toFIG.13, it can be seen from the figure that the linkage mechanism in this embodiment is formed on the unlocking output member12, and specifically comprises a first connecting rod12band a second connecting rod12cwhich are vertically connected with each other. The connecting portions of the two locking mechanisms3(i.e. the bending members311) are respectively movably connected with the first link12b, and one end of the second connecting rod12cis provided with a through hole for the first connecting rod12bto be sleeved, and the other end is provided with a through hole for the extending end of the sliding member132to be sleeved, so that two ends of the second connecting rod12care respectively made up connection relationships of movable connection with the first connecting rod12band the sliding member132, so that the displacement of the sliding member132is simultaneously transmitted to two sets of locking mechanisms3by means of the linkage mechanism, so that the purpose that one set of unlocking mechanisms1drives multiple sets of locking mechanisms3to unlock or lock synchronously is achieved, the efficiency of disassembling the battery pack is improved, the structure of unlocking mechanisms installed on the support is simplified, and the number of unlocking driving portions that need to be docked to the support assembly10is reduced. In other embodiments, the number of locking mechanisms is adjusted according to the size of the battery pack.

In addition, as shown inFIG.15, the unlocking mechanism1is also provided with an unlocking sleeve14, the unlocking sleeve14is installed at the end of the unlocking input member11for docking with the unlocking driving portion. The end of the unlocking sleeve14for docking with the unlocking driving portion is provided with an aslant arranged annular guide inclined surface14a. By means of the inclined surface14amentioned above, the unlocking driving portion may be guided to accurately dock with the unlocking input member11, so as to improve the reliability and success rate of docking between the unlocking driving portion and the unlocking input member11, so that the unlocking sleeve14can also realize successful docking when the unlocking driving portion has a small position error relative to the unlocking input member11. In other embodiments, the docking between the unlocking sleeve14and the unlocking driving portion may also be in other connection modes, such as pin connection, clamping connection and the like.

Herein, the unlocking driving portion in this embodiment needs to input rotational motion to the unlocking input member11, so its specific structure may be a rotating motor, and the unlocking driving member is arranged on the rotating shaft of the rotating motor to dock with the unlocking sleeve14and realize the input of rotational displacement. It is certain that the unlocking driving portion may also be any mechanism that can implement the rotary motion in the prior art.

Although the specific embodiments of the present disclosure are described above, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that this is only an example, and the scope of protection of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims. Those skilled in the art can make various changes or modifications to these embodiments without departing from the principles and essence of the present disclosure, but these changes and modifications fall into the scope of protection of the present disclosure.