An electric vehicle automatic charging mechanical arm

Abstract

The application discloses an automatic charging mechanical arm of an electric vehicle and belongs to the technical field of automatic charging of electric vehicles. The mechanical arm body comprises a first linear driving mechanism, a second linear driving mechanism, and a first rotary driving mechanism, a second rotary driving mechanism and a third rotary driving mechanism which are sequentially and serially arranged. A pitch angle adjusting mechanism is used for actively adjusting the pitch angle of an automatic charging gun. A yaw angle adjusting mechanism is used for actively adjusting the yaw angle of the automatic charging gun. A floating compensation mechanism has two passive degrees of freedom and is used for compensating for positioning deviation during plugging or unplugging of the automatic charging gun and a charging port of the electric vehicle. The application enables the mechanical arm body to complete large-range position adjustment and basic attitude adjustment of the automatic charging gun in a fixed parking space scene. The control burden of multi-joint coupling interpolation is reduced, and the installation adaptability of narrow civil scenes such as underground garages and building exclusive parking spaces is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of automatic charging technology for electric vehicles, and in particular to an automatic charging robotic arm for electric vehicles. Background Technology

[0002] With the increasing popularity of electric vehicles, the demand for automatic charging equipment is gradually increasing in civilian scenarios such as underground garages in residential communities, dedicated parking spaces in buildings, private parking spaces, and fixed outdoor parking spaces. These scenarios typically feature limited parking space, close proximity between vehicles and walls or pillars, restricted equipment installation locations, and relatively fixed vehicle parking positions that still exhibit posture deviations. Therefore, automatic charging equipment not only needs to achieve automatic alignment and insertion / removal of the charging gun and the vehicle's charging port, but also needs to have a small motion envelope and be able to adapt to differences in the height, pitch angle, and yaw angle of the charging port for different vehicle models.

[0003] In existing automatic charging equipment, some solutions employ six-axis or higher industrial robots as actuators, using the coupled motion of multiple rotary joints to adjust the position and orientation of the charging gun. While this type of solution offers strong general-purpose motion capabilities, it suffers from structural complexity, large overall size, and significant space occupation in confined parking spaces in civilian applications. Particularly during the insertion and removal of the charging gun, the charging gun typically relies on multiple joints for coupled interpolation to achieve near-linear motion, placing high demands on joint precision, control algorithms, and drive capabilities, thus increasing equipment cost and deployment complexity.

[0004] Some automated charging devices simplify their structure by reducing the active degrees of freedom of the robotic arm, but their end effectors typically lack independent pitch and yaw adjustment mechanisms. When there are height differences, pitch tilts, orientation deviations, or the vehicle is parked at an angle, it is difficult to keep the charging gun insertion direction consistent with the vehicle's charging port direction, which can easily lead to problems such as insufficient alignment accuracy, increased insertion resistance, insertion jamming, or difficulty in removing the charging gun.

[0005] Furthermore, existing charging robots typically use rigid fixing, clamping, or ordinary magnetic gripping methods to connect the charging gun to the end effector of the robotic arm. Rigid connection structures are prone to transmitting external forces directly to the robotic arm, charging gun, or vehicle charging port during vehicle charging, such as when touched by personnel, the vehicle shakes, or the charging port shifts, causing equipment impact, interface damage, or abnormal charging interruption. Ordinary magnetic gripping structures are mainly used to replace clamping mechanisms for charging gun placement and removal, and are usually not designed in conjunction with retractable charging cables, visual reset docking, and end effector floating compensation structures, making it difficult to simultaneously address abnormal displacement protection and automatic reset connection.

[0006] Therefore, it is necessary to provide an electric vehicle automatic charging robotic arm and an electric vehicle automatic charging robot suitable for narrow civilian parking scenarios, so that while simplifying the main structure of the robotic arm and reducing the motion envelope, it can achieve active compensation for the pitch angle and yaw angle of the charging gun end, passive compliance compensation during the insertion and removal process, and safe disconnection and reconnection when the vehicle charging interface is abnormally displaced. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide an automatic charging robot arm for electric vehicles. It aims to solve the problems of complex structure, large motion envelope, poor adaptability to narrow parking spaces, and difficulty in compensating for the height difference, pitch angle difference, heading angle difference and parking posture deviation of the vehicle charging port in the existing six-axis industrial charging robot arm.

[0008] To achieve the aforementioned objectives, the first aspect of this invention provides an automatic charging robotic arm for electric vehicles, comprising a robotic arm body and an automatic charging gun. The robotic arm body includes a first linear drive mechanism, a second linear drive mechanism, and a first rotary drive mechanism, a second rotary drive mechanism, and a third rotary drive mechanism arranged sequentially in series. These three mechanisms together form a five-degree-of-freedom robotic arm body.

[0009] The output end of the third rotary drive mechanism is sequentially connected to a pitch angle adjustment mechanism, a heading angle adjustment mechanism, and a floating compensation mechanism. The automatic charging gun is detachably connected to the floating compensation mechanism via a magnetic connection assembly. The pitch angle adjustment mechanism is used to actively adjust the pitch angle of the automatic charging gun, the heading angle adjustment mechanism is used to actively adjust the heading angle of the automatic charging gun, and the floating compensation mechanism has two passive degrees of freedom, used to compensate for positioning deviations during the insertion or removal of the automatic charging gun from the electric vehicle charging port.

[0010] In one embodiment, the first linear drive mechanism includes a first guide member, a sliding seat, and a first drive member extending longitudinally along the parking space. The sliding seat is slidably engaged with the first guide member, and the first drive member is driveably connected to the sliding seat. The second linear drive mechanism is disposed on the sliding seat. The second linear drive mechanism includes a second guide member extending vertically, a lifting seat, and a second drive member. The lifting seat is slidably engaged with the second guide member, and the second drive member is drively connected to the lifting seat.

[0011] In one embodiment, the first rotary drive mechanism is disposed on the lifting seat, the second rotary drive mechanism is connected to the output end of the first rotary drive mechanism, and the third rotary drive mechanism is connected to the output end of the second rotary drive mechanism. The rotation axes of the first rotary drive mechanism, the second rotary drive mechanism, and the third rotary drive mechanism are parallel to each other or intersect each other.

[0012] In one embodiment, the pitch angle adjustment mechanism includes a pitch support, a pitch drive motor, an adjusting gear, a gear moving part, a connecting rod, and a yaw output part. The adjusting gear is rotatably mounted on the pitch support, the pitch drive motor is drive-connected to the adjusting gear, the gear moving part is threadedly engaged with the adjusting gear, one end of the connecting rod is mounted to the gear moving part, and the other end of the connecting rod is mounted to the yaw output part. The yaw output part is rotatably connected to the pitch support and connected to the yaw angle adjustment mechanism. The adjusting gear and the gear moving part form a self-locking threaded transmission pair, ensuring that the yaw output part remains at the corresponding pitch angle position when the pitch drive motor stops driving.

[0013] In one embodiment, the heading angle adjustment mechanism includes a heading support, a servo motor, a transmission assembly, and a heading output component. The servo motor is mounted on the heading support and is connected to the heading output component via the transmission assembly. The heading output component is connected to the floating compensation mechanism. The transmission assembly is a synchronous belt transmission assembly or a gear transmission assembly.

[0014] In one embodiment, the floating compensation mechanism includes a fixed base, a floating base, and an elastic reset member. The fixed base is connected to the heading angle adjustment mechanism, and the floating base is floatingly connected to the fixed base via the elastic reset member. The floating base can be passively offset relative to the fixed base along a first direction and a second direction, the first direction and the second direction intersecting each other.

[0015] In one embodiment, the magnetic connection assembly includes an electromagnet, a suction element, and a guide positioning structure. One of the electromagnet and the suction element is disposed on the automatic charging gun, and the other is disposed on the floating compensation mechanism. The guide positioning structure is used to limit circumferential misalignment between the automatic charging gun and the floating compensation mechanism when they are magnetically connected.

[0016] In one embodiment, the electric vehicle automatic charging robotic arm further includes a retractable charging cable and a visual recognition camera. One end of the retractable charging cable is electrically connected to the automatic charging gun, and the other end is used to be electrically connected to the power supply end, extending to maintain the electrical connection when the automatic charging gun is separated from the floating compensation mechanism; the visual recognition camera is disposed at the end of the robotic arm body, the heading angle adjustment mechanism, or the automatic charging gun, and is used to acquire images of the electric vehicle charging port and the docking area of ​​the magnetic connection assembly.

[0017] A second aspect of this invention provides an automatic charging robot for electric vehicles, comprising a column, a mounting base, a controller, and the aforementioned automatic charging robotic arm. The column is disposed on the mounting base, and the automatic charging robotic arm is mounted on the column. The controller is electrically connected to the first linear drive mechanism, the second linear drive mechanism, the first rotary drive mechanism, the second rotary drive mechanism, the third rotary drive mechanism, the pitch angle adjustment mechanism, the yaw angle adjustment mechanism, the magnetic connection assembly, and the visual recognition camera. Anti-pinch strips are provided on the top and / or the edges where clamping risks occur in the automatic charging robot.

[0018] The beneficial effects of this invention are: 1. The present invention provides an automatic charging robotic arm for electric vehicles. The robotic arm body comprises a first linear drive mechanism, a second linear drive mechanism, and three rotary drive mechanisms, forming a five-degree-of-freedom robotic arm body. This enables the robotic arm body to perform a wide range of position adjustments and basic posture adjustments for the automatic charging gun within a fixed parking space. Compared to solutions using six-axis industrial robots for automatic charging, this structure reduces the number of active degrees of freedom in the robotic arm body, lowers the control burden of multi-joint coupling interpolation, helps to reduce the motion envelope of the equipment, and improves the installation adaptability in narrow civilian scenarios such as underground garages and dedicated parking spaces in buildings.

[0019] 2. The present invention provides an automatic charging robotic arm for electric vehicles, which adds a pitch angle adjustment mechanism and a heading angle adjustment mechanism to the end of the five-degree-of-freedom robotic arm body. The pitch angle adjustment mechanism is used to compensate for the pitch angle difference of the vehicle charging port relative to the horizontal plane, and the heading angle adjustment mechanism is used to compensate for the heading angle difference caused by the vehicle's parking tilt or the orientation deviation of the charging port. These two mechanisms can reduce the large-scale coupling motion of the robotic arm body for end-effector angle adjustment, and improve the alignment accuracy between the automatic charging gun and the vehicle charging port.

[0020] 3. The electric vehicle automatic charging robotic arm of the present invention employs a pitch angle adjustment mechanism consisting of a pitch drive motor, an adjusting gear, a gear moving part, a connecting rod, and a swing output part. The rotational motion of the adjusting gear is converted into the pitch swing of the swing output part, and the pitch angle position is maintained after the machine stops via a self-locking threaded transmission pair. Therefore, while achieving continuous pitch angle adjustment, the dependence on continuous motor output for maintaining the pitch attitude is reduced.

[0021] 4. The electric vehicle automatic charging robotic arm of the present invention provides two passive degrees of freedom through a floating compensation mechanism, enabling the automatic charging gun to passively offset relative to the fixed seat when inserting and removing it from the vehicle charging port. This passive offset can absorb visual recognition errors, vehicle parking posture errors, and charging port assembly errors, reducing the risk of jamming, uneven wear, or insertion failure caused by rigid insertion, and improving the smoothness of the insertion and removal process.

[0022] 5. The present invention provides an automatic charging robotic arm for electric vehicles, which allows the automatic charging gun to be detachably connected to the floating compensation mechanism via a magnetic connection component, and maintains the electrical connection between the automatic charging gun and the power supply end via a retractable charging cable. When the vehicle charging port shifts during charging, the automatic charging gun can detach from the floating compensation mechanism, reducing the risk of external force being directly transmitted to the end of the robotic arm or the vehicle charging port; when reconnection is required, a visual recognition camera can capture an image of the docking area of ​​the magnetic connection component, and the controller can control the robotic arm body to reset and re-engage the magnetic connection component. Attached Figure Description

[0023] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the electric vehicle automatic charging robot provided in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the unfolded structure of an automatic charging robotic arm for electric vehicles according to the present invention; Figure 3 This invention relates to an automatic charging robotic arm for electric vehicles. Figure 2 Side view of the middle structure; Figure 4 This invention relates to an automatic charging robotic arm for electric vehicles. Figure 2 Top view of the structure; Figure 5 This invention relates to an automatic charging robotic arm for electric vehicles. Figure 2 Enlarged schematic diagram of the structure at point A; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the pitch angle adjustment mechanism of an automatic charging robotic arm for electric vehicles according to the present invention. Figure 7 This is another structural schematic diagram of the unfolding of an automatic charging robotic arm for electric vehicles according to the present invention.

[0024] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures: 10. Automatic charging robotic arm for electric vehicles; 11. First linear drive mechanism; 111. First guide member; 112. Sliding seat; 113. First drive member; 12. Second linear drive mechanism; 121. Second guide member; 122. Lifting seat; 123. Second drive member; 13. First rotary drive mechanism; 14. Second rotary drive mechanism; 15. Third rotary drive mechanism; 16. Pitch angle adjustment mechanism; 161. Pitch support; 162. Pitch drive motor; 163. Adjusting gear; 164. Gear moving part; 165. Linkage rod; 166. Swing output part; 17. Heading angle adjustment mechanism; 18. Floating compensation mechanism; 19. Automatic charging gun; 22. Visual recognition camera; 30. Column; 40. Mounting base; 50. Controller; 60. Anti-pinch rubber strip; 100. Automatic charging robot for electric vehicles.

[0025] The realization of the objective, functional features and advantages of the present invention will be further explained in conjunction with the embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. Detailed Implementation

[0026] It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention.

[0027] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "joining" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection, a direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0028] Reference Figures 1-7 This embodiment provides an automatic charging robotic arm 10 for electric vehicles, including a robotic arm body and an automatic charging gun 19. The robotic arm body includes a first linear drive mechanism 11, a second linear drive mechanism 12, a first rotary drive mechanism 13, a second rotary drive mechanism 14, and a third rotary drive mechanism 15.

[0029] The first linear drive mechanism 11 is used to drive the robotic arm body to move longitudinally along the parking space. The longitudinal direction of the parking space can be the direction in which a vehicle enters or exits the parking space, or it can be the direction closer to or farther from the area where the vehicle charging port is located, determined according to the site installation conditions. The second linear drive mechanism 12 is used to drive the subsequent mechanism to move up and down vertically to adapt to the height difference of the charging ports of different electric vehicle models. The first rotary drive mechanism 13, the second rotary drive mechanism 14, and the third rotary drive mechanism 15 are arranged in series to realize the adjustment of the robotic arm end effector in terms of horizontal swing, spatial steering, and basic end effector posture.

[0030] The first linear drive mechanism 11, the second linear drive mechanism 12, the first rotary drive mechanism 13, the second rotary drive mechanism 14, and the third rotary drive mechanism 15 together constitute the body of a five-degree-of-freedom (DOF) robotic arm. This five-DOF robotic arm is used to perform large-range position adjustments and basic attitude adjustments for the automatic charging gun 19. The pitch angle adjustment mechanism 16 and the yaw angle adjustment mechanism 17 are located at the end of the five-DOF robotic arm body, serving as end-effector active angle compensation mechanisms to further compensate for the pitch and yaw angles of the automatic charging gun 19.

[0031] The output of the third rotary drive mechanism 15 is sequentially connected to the pitch angle adjustment mechanism 16, the yaw angle adjustment mechanism 17, and the floating compensation mechanism 18. The automatic charging gun 19 is detachably connected to the floating compensation mechanism 18 via a magnetic connection assembly. After the robotic arm completes a large-scale alignment, the pitch angle adjustment mechanism 16 and the yaw angle adjustment mechanism 17 independently compensate for the end attitude of the automatic charging gun 19. During the insertion or removal of the gun, the floating compensation mechanism 18 compensates for residual positioning deviations through two passive degrees of freedom.

[0032] like Figure 1 As shown, the first linear drive mechanism 11 includes a first guide member 111, a sliding seat 112, and a first drive member 113. The first guide member 111 extends longitudinally along the parking space, and the sliding seat 112 is slidably engaged with the first guide member 111. The first drive member 113 is drively connected to the sliding seat 112 to drive the sliding seat 112 to reciprocate along the first guide member 111.

[0033] The first guide member 111 can be a linear guide rail, a guide groove, a guide beam, or a guide rod. The first drive member 113 can be a lead screw drive module, a synchronous belt drive module, a rack and pinion drive module, an electric push rod, or a linear motor. When the first drive member 113 uses a lead screw drive module, the lead screw is threaded into the nut seat on the sliding seat 112, and the first drive member 113 drives the lead screw to rotate, thereby causing the sliding seat 112 to move along the first guide member 111. When the first drive member 113 uses a synchronous belt drive module, the sliding seat 112 is fixedly connected to the synchronous belt, and the synchronous belt drives the sliding seat 112 to move under the drive of the motor.

[0034] The second linear drive mechanism 12 is disposed on the sliding seat 112. The second linear drive mechanism 12 includes a second guide member 121, a lifting seat 122, and a second drive member 123. The second guide member 121 extends vertically, the lifting seat 122 is slidably engaged with the second guide member 121, and the second drive member 123 is driveably connected to the lifting seat 122. The second drive member 123 can be a screw lifting module, a synchronous belt lifting module, a chain lifting module, an electric push rod, or a linear motor. Through the second linear drive mechanism 12, the automatic charging gun 19 can be moved to a position matching the height of the charging port of different electric vehicle models.

[0035] A first rotary drive mechanism 13 is disposed on the lifting base 122. A second rotary drive mechanism 14 is connected to the output end of the first rotary drive mechanism 13, and a third rotary drive mechanism 15 is connected to the output end of the second rotary drive mechanism 14. Each of the first rotary drive mechanism 13, the second rotary drive mechanism 14, and the third rotary drive mechanism 15 may include a motor, a reducer, a mounting housing, and an output connector. The motor may be a servo motor, a stepper motor, or a geared motor, and the reducer may be a planetary reducer, a harmonic reducer, a worm gear reducer, or a gear reduction structure.

[0036] The rotation axes of the first rotary drive mechanism 13, the second rotary drive mechanism 14, and the third rotary drive mechanism 15 can be set to be parallel to each other or intersecting each other, depending on the installation space and motion requirements. For example, in a wall-mounted parking space installation scenario, at least one of the rotation axes can be set vertically to allow the robotic arm to swing in the horizontal plane; at least one of the rotation axes can be set horizontally or inclined to allow for adjustment of the robotic arm's end-effector posture. With the above settings, the robotic arm body can form a range of motion within a relatively small installation space that allows the automatic charging gun 19 to approach the electric vehicle charging port.

[0037] like Figure 6 As shown, the pitch angle adjustment mechanism 16 includes a pitch support 161, a pitch drive motor 162, an adjustment gear 163, a gear moving part 164, a connecting rod 165, and a swing output part 166.

[0038] The pitch support 161 is connected to the output end of the third rotary drive mechanism 15. An adjusting gear 163 is rotatably mounted on the pitch support 161, and a pitch drive motor 162 is fixedly or detachably mounted on the pitch support 161 and is connected to the adjusting gear 163 via a transmission connection. The pitch drive motor 162 can be connected to the adjusting gear 163 via a coupling, gear pair, synchronous belt, or reducer.

[0039] The gear movable component 164 meshes with the adjusting gear 163. A guide groove, guide rod, or guide surface may be provided on the pitch support 161 to limit the rotation of the gear movable component 164, allowing the gear movable component 164 to rotate when the adjusting gear 163 rotates. One end of the connecting rod 165 is mounted to the gear movable component 164, and the connecting rod 165 is mounted to the oscillation output component 166. The oscillation output component 166 is rotatably connected to the pitch support 161 via a rotating shaft and is connected to the heading angle adjustment mechanism 17.

[0040] When the pitch drive motor 162 drives the adjusting gear 163 to rotate, the adjusting gear 163 drives the gear movable part 164 to rotate. The connecting rod 165 moves with the gear movable part 164 and drives the swing output part 166 to swing around its axis, thereby changing the pitch angle of the heading angle adjustment mechanism 17, the floating compensation mechanism 18, and the automatic charging gun 19. The adjusting gear 163 and the gear movable part 164 form a self-locking threaded transmission pair. When the pitch drive motor 162 stops driving, the gear movable part 164 is not easily moved in the opposite direction under the action of external load, so that the swing output part 166 is kept at the corresponding pitch angle position.

[0041] The heading angle adjustment mechanism 17 includes a heading support, a servo motor, a transmission assembly, and a heading output component. The heading support is connected to the swing output component 166 of the pitch angle adjustment mechanism 16. The servo motor is mounted on the heading support and is connected to the heading output component via the transmission assembly. The heading output component is connected to the float compensation mechanism 18.

[0042] The transmission assembly can be either a synchronous belt drive or a gear drive. When the transmission assembly is a synchronous belt drive, it may include a driving pulley, a driven pulley, and a synchronous belt. The driving pulley is connected to the output shaft of the servo motor, the driven pulley is connected to the heading output component, and the synchronous belt is wound around the driving and driven pulleys. When the transmission assembly is a gear drive, it may include a driving gear and a driven gear. The driving gear is connected to the servo motor, and the driven gear is connected to the heading output component.

[0043] After the servo motor outputs rotational power, the transmission assembly drives the heading output component to rotate around the heading adjustment axis, thereby changing the heading angle of the floating compensation mechanism 18 and the automatic charging gun 19. The heading angle adjustment mechanism 17 is used to compensate for the heading angle difference between the vehicle parking posture, the vehicle charging port orientation, and the basic posture of the robotic arm end effector, so that the insertion direction of the automatic charging gun 19 is consistent with or substantially consistent with the insertion direction of the electric vehicle charging port.

[0044] In some embodiments, the floating compensation mechanism 18 includes a fixed base, a floating base, and a resilient reset member. The fixed base is connected to the heading output member of the heading angle adjustment mechanism 17, and the floating base is floatingly connected to the fixed base via the resilient reset member.

[0045] The floating seat can be passively offset relative to the fixed seat along a first direction and a second direction. The first direction and the second direction intersect each other. In one embodiment, the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other, and both the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to the insertion direction of the automatic charging gun 19. The first direction may correspond to the lateral offset direction of the automatic charging gun 19, and the second direction may correspond to the vertical offset direction of the automatic charging gun 19. In another embodiment, the first direction and the second direction may also be passive swing directions formed around two intersecting rotation axes.

[0046] The elastic reset component can be a spring, elastic column, rubber block, spring sheet, or flexible connector. A limiting structure can also be provided between the fixed seat and the floating seat to limit the maximum offset of the floating seat and prevent excessive offset from causing the automatic charging gun 19 to lose control. The limiting structure can be a limiting groove and limiting pin, a limiting protrusion and limiting surface, or an annular limiting step.

[0047] During the charging gun insertion process, when there is a small positioning deviation between the automatic charging gun 19 and the electric vehicle charging port, the reaction force generated by the electric vehicle charging port on the automatic charging gun 19 can passively shift the floating seat relative to the fixed seat, causing the elastic reset component to deform elastically and absorb the positioning deviation. After the charging gun is inserted, the elastic reset component provides a reset force to the floating seat, keeping the automatic charging gun 19 stably connected. During the charging gun removal process, the floating compensation mechanism 18 can also compensate for the deviation between the electric vehicle charging port and the movement direction of the robotic arm end effector, making the charging gun removal action smoother.

[0048] In some embodiments, the automatic charging gun 19 is detachably connected to the floating compensation mechanism 18 via a magnetic connection assembly. The magnetic connection assembly includes an electromagnet, a suction element, and a guide positioning structure. One of the electromagnet and the suction element is disposed on the automatic charging gun 19, and the other is disposed on the floating compensation mechanism 18. The suction element can be a ferromagnetic metal part that can be attracted by the electromagnet, or it can be a permanent magnet.

[0049] The guide positioning structure is used to limit circumferential misalignment between the automatic charging gun 19 and the floating compensation mechanism 18 when they are magnetically connected. The guide positioning structure may include a positioning post and a positioning hole, with the positioning post disposed on one of the automatic charging gun 19 and the floating compensation mechanism 18, and the positioning hole on the other. The end of the positioning post may be chamfered, tapered, or rounded to guide it into the positioning hole during resetting and docking. The guide positioning structure may also employ structural forms such as ribs and grooves, tapered guide surfaces and tapered mating holes, and multi-point positioning pins and multi-point positioning holes.

[0050] One end of the retractable charging cable is electrically connected to the automatic charging gun 19, and the other end is electrically connected to the power supply. The retractable charging cable can be a cable reel, spring cable, drag chain cable, or a flexible cable structure with reserved extension allowance. When the automatic charging gun 19 is connected to the floating compensation mechanism 18, the retractable charging cable is in a retracted or short-stroke extended state; when the electric vehicle charging interface shifts during charging and causes the automatic charging gun 19 to separate from the floating compensation mechanism 18, the retractable charging cable can extend to maintain the electrical connection between the automatic charging gun 19 and the power supply, and reduce the risk of the cable being pulled off or the end of the robotic arm being forcibly pulled.

[0051] A visual recognition camera 22 is positioned at the end of the robotic arm, the heading angle adjustment mechanism 17, or the automatic charging gun 19. The acquisition area of ​​the visual recognition camera 22 covers the electric vehicle charging port and the docking area of ​​the magnetic connection component. The visual recognition camera 22 can be used to acquire the position and attitude information of the electric vehicle charging port, and can also be used to acquire the docking position information of the magnetic connection component after the automatic charging gun 19 is separated from the floating compensation mechanism 18. The controller 50 controls the movement of the robotic arm, the pitch angle adjustment mechanism 16, and the heading angle adjustment mechanism 17 based on the images acquired by the visual recognition camera 22, so that the floating compensation mechanism 18 moves to the vicinity of the automatic charging gun 19, and controls the electromagnet to be energized to attract the attraction component, thereby achieving a reset connection.

[0052] In another embodiment, the magnetic connection assembly can also be disposed between the floating compensation mechanism 18 and the heading angle adjustment mechanism 17. In this case, the automatic charging gun 19 and the floating compensation mechanism 18 form a gun head floating assembly. When the vehicle charging interface is abnormally displaced, the gun head floating assembly can be separated from the end of the robotic arm body as a whole, and the retractable charging cable can be extended to maintain the electrical connection between the automatic charging gun 19 and the power supply end. During reset, the visual recognition camera 22 captures an image of the docking area of ​​the gun head floating assembly or the magnetic connection assembly, the controller 50 controls the robotic arm body to move to the corresponding position, and controls the electromagnet to be energized and attracted, so that the gun head floating assembly is reconnected to the end of the robotic arm body. This embodiment can achieve abnormal displacement protection and reset connection together with the aforementioned embodiment in which the automatic charging gun 19 is separated from the floating compensation mechanism 18.

[0053] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, this embodiment also provides an automatic electric vehicle charging robot 100, including a column 30, a mounting base 40, a controller 50, and the aforementioned automatic electric vehicle charging robotic arm 10. The column 30 is disposed on the mounting base 40, which is used for fixed connection with the ground, wall, parking space foundation, or charging pile foundation. The automatic electric vehicle charging robotic arm 10 is mounted on the column 30.

[0054] The controller 50 is electrically connected to the first linear drive mechanism 11, the second linear drive mechanism 12, the first rotary drive mechanism 13, the second rotary drive mechanism 14, the third rotary drive mechanism 15, the pitch angle adjustment mechanism 16, the yaw angle adjustment mechanism 17, the magnetic connection assembly, and the visual recognition camera 22. The controller 50 may include a processor, a memory, a drive control module, and a power control module. The processor is used to execute automatic alignment, gun insertion, gun removal, abnormal displacement judgment, and reset docking control logic; the drive control module is used to output control signals to each drive mechanism; and the power control module is used to control the power supply to and from the electromagnets and the charging circuit status of the automatic charging gun 19.

[0055] An anti-pinch strip 60 is provided on the top and / or gripping risk edge of the electric vehicle automatic charging robot 100. The anti-pinch strip 60 can be located on the top of the column 30, the top of the robotic arm housing, or the top of the robot housing at the gripping risk edge. The anti-pinch strip 60 can be made of rubber, silicone, or other elastic materials. When a person or object comes into contact with the top edge of the robot, the anti-pinch strip 60 can cushion the contact force, reducing the risk of pinching or scratching. In one embodiment, a touch detection switch or pressure sensor can also be provided within the anti-pinch strip 60; when abnormal contact is detected, the controller 50 controls the robotic arm to stop moving.

[0056] The working principle of this embodiment is as follows: After the electric vehicle is parked in the parking space, the visual recognition camera 22 captures an image of the electric vehicle's charging port. The controller 50 obtains the position and orientation information of the charging port based on the image. The controller 50 first controls the first linear drive mechanism 11 to adjust the position of the robotic arm body along the longitudinal direction of the parking space, and controls the second linear drive mechanism 12 to adjust the height of the automatic charging gun 19. Subsequently, the controller 50 controls the first rotary drive mechanism 13, the second rotary drive mechanism 14, and the third rotary drive mechanism 15 to move the automatic charging gun 19 to the vicinity of the electric vehicle's charging port.

[0057] When the automatic charging gun 19 approaches the electric vehicle charging port, the controller 50 controls the pitch angle adjustment mechanism 16 to adjust the pitch angle of the automatic charging gun 19, and controls the heading angle adjustment mechanism 17 to adjust the heading angle of the automatic charging gun 19, so that the insertion direction of the automatic charging gun 19 is consistent with or substantially consistent with the insertion direction of the electric vehicle charging port. Then, the robotic arm moves the automatic charging gun 19 to insert it into the electric vehicle charging port along the insertion direction. During insertion, if there is a visual recognition error, vehicle parking deviation, or charging port assembly deviation, the floating seat of the floating compensation mechanism 18 passively shifts relative to the fixed seat to compensate for the deviation and reduce insertion resistance.

[0058] During charging, if the position of the electric vehicle charging port changes due to external disturbances, the external force on the automatic charging gun 19 increases. When this external force exceeds the magnetic connection assembly's ability to maintain the connection between the automatic charging gun 19 and the floating compensation mechanism 18, the automatic charging gun 19 separates from the floating compensation mechanism 18. At this time, the retractable charging cable extends and maintains the electrical connection between the automatic charging gun 19 and the power supply end, thereby reducing the rigid impact on the electric vehicle charging port, the automatic charging gun 19, and the robotic arm end mechanism.

[0059] When a reconnection is required, the visual recognition camera 22 captures an image of the docking area of ​​the automatic charging gun 19 or the magnetic connection assembly. The controller 50 then controls the robotic arm to move to the reset position based on the captured image. The guide positioning structure aligns the automatic charging gun 19 with the floating compensation mechanism 18, and the controller 50 energizes the electromagnet to engage the engagement component, thus reconnecting the automatic charging gun 19 to the floating compensation mechanism 18.

[0060] After charging is complete, the robotic arm pulls the automatic charging gun 19 out of the electric vehicle charging port in the opposite direction of the insertion direction. During the unplugging process, the floating compensation mechanism 18 continues to compensate for small deviations between the automatic charging gun 19 and the electric vehicle charging port to reduce the risk of jamming during unplugging. After unplugging, the controller 50 controls the five-DOF robotic arm, pitch angle adjustment mechanism 16, and yaw angle adjustment mechanism 17 to reset to the standby position.

[0061] In another embodiment, the two passive degrees of freedom of the floating compensation mechanism 18 can be achieved through a planar floating structure, or through a cross slide structure, a universal flexible connection structure, or an elastic support structure. The elastic reset element can be set as multiple springs, or as an elastic rubber element or a leaf spring.

[0062] In another embodiment, the electromagnet in the magnetic connection assembly can be located on the automatic charging gun 19 or on the floating compensation mechanism 18; the engaging component is correspondingly located on the other side. The guiding and positioning structure can use a positioning post and a positioning hole, or it can use a conical guide, a keyway guide, or a multi-point convex-concave fit structure. The visual recognition camera 22 can be a monocular camera, a binocular camera, or a depth camera, as long as it can acquire the position information of the electric vehicle charging port or the docking area of ​​the magnetic connection assembly.

[0063] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the patent scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structural or procedural transformations made based on the content of the present invention's specification and drawings, or direct or indirect applications in other related technical fields, are similarly included within the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An automatic charging robotic arm for electric vehicles, comprising a robotic arm body and an automatic charging gun, characterized in that, The robotic arm body includes a first linear drive mechanism, a second linear drive mechanism, and a first rotary drive mechanism, a second rotary drive mechanism, and a third rotary drive mechanism arranged in series. The first linear drive mechanism, the second linear drive mechanism, the first rotary drive mechanism, the second rotary drive mechanism, and the third rotary drive mechanism together form a five-degree-of-freedom robotic arm body. The output end of the third rotary drive mechanism is sequentially connected to a pitch angle adjustment mechanism, a heading angle adjustment mechanism, and a floating compensation mechanism. The automatic charging gun is detachably connected to the floating compensation mechanism via a magnetic connection component. The pitch angle adjustment mechanism is used to actively adjust the pitch angle of the automatic charging gun, the heading angle adjustment mechanism is used to actively adjust the heading angle of the automatic charging gun, and the floating compensation mechanism has two passive degrees of freedom, which are used to compensate for positioning deviations during the process of plugging or unplugging the automatic charging gun from the charging port of the electric vehicle.

2. The electric vehicle automatic charging robotic arm according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first linear drive mechanism includes a first guide member, a sliding seat, and a first drive member extending longitudinally along the parking space. The sliding seat is slidably engaged with the first guide member, and the first drive member is driveably connected to the sliding seat. The second linear drive mechanism is disposed on the sliding seat. The second linear drive mechanism includes a second guide member extending vertically, a lifting seat, and a second drive member. The lifting seat is slidably engaged with the second guide member, and the second drive member is driveably connected to the lifting seat.

3. The electric vehicle automatic charging robotic arm according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first rotary drive mechanism is disposed on the lifting seat, the second rotary drive mechanism is connected to the output end of the first rotary drive mechanism, and the third rotary drive mechanism is connected to the output end of the second rotary drive mechanism. The rotation axes of the first rotary drive mechanism, the second rotary drive mechanism and the third rotary drive mechanism are parallel to each other or intersect each other.

4. The automatic charging robotic arm for electric vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pitch angle adjustment mechanism includes a pitch support, a pitch drive motor, an adjusting gear, a gear movable component, a connecting rod, and a swing output component. The adjusting gear is rotatably mounted on the pitch support. The pitch drive motor is connected to the adjusting gear. The gear movable component is threadedly engaged with the adjusting gear. One end of the connecting rod is mounted to the gear movable component, and the other end of the connecting rod is mounted to the swing output component. The swing output component is rotatably connected to the pitch support and is connected to the heading angle adjustment mechanism.

5. The electric vehicle automatic charging robotic arm according to claim 4, characterized in that, The adjusting gear and the moving gear form a self-locking threaded transmission pair, so that the oscillating output component remains at the corresponding pitch angle position when the pitch drive motor stops driving.

6. The automatic charging robotic arm for electric vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that, The heading angle adjustment mechanism includes a heading support, a servo motor, a transmission assembly, and a heading output component. The servo motor is mounted on the heading support and is connected to the heading output component via the transmission assembly. The heading output component is connected to the floating compensation mechanism. The transmission assembly is a synchronous belt transmission assembly or a gear transmission assembly.

7. The automatic charging robotic arm for electric vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that, The floating compensation mechanism includes a fixed seat, a floating seat, and an elastic reset member. The fixed seat is connected to the heading angle adjustment mechanism. The floating seat is floatingly connected to the fixed seat through the elastic reset member. The floating seat can be passively offset relative to the fixed seat along a first direction and a second direction, the first direction and the second direction intersecting each other.

8. The automatic charging robotic arm for electric vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that, The magnetic connection assembly includes an electromagnet, a suction element, and a guide positioning structure. One of the electromagnet and the suction element is disposed on the automatic charging gun, and the other is disposed on the floating compensation mechanism. The guide positioning structure is used to limit the circumferential misalignment between the automatic charging gun and the floating compensation mechanism when they are magnetically connected.

9. The automatic charging robotic arm for electric vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a retractable charging cable and a visual recognition camera. One end of the retractable charging cable is electrically connected to the automatic charging gun, and the other end is used to be electrically connected to the power supply end. The cable extends to maintain the electrical connection when the automatic charging gun is separated from the floating compensation mechanism. The visual recognition camera is located at the end of the robotic arm body, the heading angle adjustment mechanism, or the automatic charging gun, and is used to collect images of the electric vehicle charging port and the docking area of ​​the magnetic connection component.

10. An automatic charging robot for electric vehicles, characterized in that, The device includes a column, a mounting base, a controller, and an automatic charging robot arm for electric vehicles as described in any one of claims 1 to 9. The column is disposed on the mounting base, and the automatic charging robot arm for electric vehicles is mounted on the column. The controller is electrically connected to the first linear drive mechanism, the second linear drive mechanism, the first rotary drive mechanism, the second rotary drive mechanism, the third rotary drive mechanism, the pitch angle adjustment mechanism, the heading angle adjustment mechanism, the magnetic connection assembly, and the visual recognition camera. Anti-pinch strips are provided on the top and / or the gripping risk edges of the automatic charging robot for electric vehicles.

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