Visual positioning system, battery replacement equipment and battery replacement control method

Abstract

The present invention discloses a visual positioning system, a battery swapping device and a battery swapping control method, wherein the visual positioning system comprises a first visual sensor, a second visual sensor and a position acquisition unit; the first visual sensor is used to acquire a first image of a first position of a target device; the second visual sensor is used to acquire a second image of a second position of the target device; the position acquisition unit is used to obtain the position information of the target device according to the first image and the second image. The present invention obtains higher positioning accuracy through visual means, and realizes accurate positioning between the battery swapping device and the vehicle to be swapped.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of visual positioning technology, and in particular relates to a visual positioning system, a battery replacement device and a battery replacement control method. Background Art

[0002] Electric vehicles are developing rapidly and are being used more and more widely. When the battery is low, users can drive the electric vehicle into a battery swap station to replace the battery pack. In order to ensure the safety of the operation process, the battery packs are firmly locked on the battery bracket of the electric vehicle; therefore, during the battery swap process, the low-power battery pack must be removed before the fully charged battery pack can be installed. The key to removing the battery pack is to accurately position the battery swap equipment and the battery bracket so that the battery pack can be unlocked and removed. However, in the existing battery swap process, it is often difficult to quickly and accurately achieve accurate positioning of the battery swap equipment and the battery bracket, resulting in low battery swap efficiency. Summary of the invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to overcome the defect in the prior art that it is difficult to quickly and accurately achieve accurate positioning of the battery swapping equipment and the battery bracket, resulting in low battery swapping efficiency, and to provide a visual positioning system, a battery swapping equipment and a battery swapping control method.

[0004] The present invention solves the above technical problems through the following technical solutions:

[0005] The present invention provides a visual positioning system, comprising a first visual sensor, a second visual sensor, and a position acquisition unit;

[0006] The first visual sensor is used to obtain a first image of a first position of the target device;

[0007] The second vision sensor is used to obtain a second image of a second position of the target device;

[0008] The location acquisition unit is used to obtain location information of the target device according to the first image and the second image.

[0009] The visual positioning system acquires the image of the target device based on the visual sensor, obtains the position information of the target device based on the image processing algorithm, and obtains higher positioning accuracy through visual means.

[0010] Preferably, the position acquisition unit obtains the position adjustment amount according to the position information of the target device and the reference position information of the target device.

[0011] In this solution, a position adjustment amount is obtained based on the position information of the target device and the reference position information of the target device. The position adjustment amount can be used as a reference for adjusting the position. After moving the position based on the position adjustment amount, accurate positioning with the target device can be achieved.

[0012] Preferably, the position adjustment amount includes a horizontal displacement amount;

[0013] The position acquisition unit acquires the horizontal displacement according to the first image and the first reference image, or the position acquisition unit acquires the horizontal displacement according to the second image and the second reference image; the first reference image is a reference image including the first position, and the second reference image is a reference image including the second position.

[0014] In this solution, by obtaining the horizontal displacement, the corresponding horizontal displacement can be achieved to achieve positioning alignment with the target device in the horizontal direction. In this solution, the visual positioning system can obtain the horizontal displacement by comparing with the reference image, which can not only achieve positioning control in the horizontal direction, but also further improve the positioning control accuracy in the horizontal direction.

[0015] Preferably, the position adjustment amount includes a first vertical displacement amount and a second vertical displacement amount;

[0016] The position acquisition unit acquires a first vertical displacement according to the first image and the first reference image, and acquires a second vertical displacement according to the second image and the second reference image; the first reference image is a reference image including the first position, and the second reference image is a reference image including the second position.

[0017] In this solution, by obtaining the vertical displacement, the corresponding vertical displacement can be achieved to achieve positioning alignment with the target device in the vertical direction. Obtaining two vertical displacements can facilitate the use of two sets of vertical displacement units to implement vertical displacement operations respectively. In this solution, the visual positioning system can obtain the vertical displacement by comparing with the reference image, which can not only achieve positioning control in the vertical direction, but also further improve the positioning control accuracy in the vertical direction.

[0018] Preferably, the position adjustment amount includes a rotation angle amount;

[0019] The position acquisition unit obtains a rotation angle according to a first depth value and a second depth value; the first depth value is a depth value of a first position in the first image, and the second depth value is a depth value of a second position in the second image.

[0020] In this solution, the visual positioning system can obtain the rotation angle through at least two collected depth of field values ​​to achieve parallelism with the target device, while also ensuring the control accuracy of the rotation angle.

[0021] Preferably, there is a preset distance between the first position and the second position, the first visual sensor is arranged at a position corresponding to the first position, and the second visual sensor is arranged at a position corresponding to the second position.

[0022] In this solution, images at different positions of the target device can be acquired by using a plurality of image acquisition modules with a preset interval between each other, so as to improve the positioning control accuracy.

[0023] The present invention also provides a battery swapping device, comprising the visual positioning system of the present invention, wherein the visual positioning system is used for positioning so that the battery swapping device is aligned with a battery bracket locked with a battery pack.

[0024] In the present solution, based on the first position and the second position of the battery bracket image respectively captured by two visual sensors, the first position and the second position are further compared with the reference position corresponding to the battery bracket, so as to obtain the position adjustment amount of the unlocking mechanism. The adjustment control module further adjusts the position of the unlocking mechanism according to the position adjustment amount, thereby further improving the accuracy of positioning the unlocking mechanism before unlocking.

[0025] Preferably, the battery replacement device further comprises an unlocking mechanism and a position adjustment mechanism;

[0026] The unlocking mechanism is used to unlock the battery pack locked on the battery bracket.

[0027] The position adjustment mechanism is used to adjust the position of the unlocking mechanism according to at least one of the horizontal displacement, vertical displacement and rotation angle obtained by the visual positioning system until the unlocking mechanism and the unlocking member on the battery bracket are positioned.

[0028] In this solution, the unlocking mechanism is positioned by adjusting the position of the unlocking mechanism in the horizontal direction, vertical direction and angle according to at least one of the horizontal displacement, vertical displacement and rotation angle, so that the unlocking mechanism is precisely aligned with the unlocking piece on the battery bracket.

[0029] Preferably, the position adjustment mechanism includes a control unit, a horizontal moving unit, a vertical moving unit and a rotation unit. The control unit is communicatively connected to the visual positioning system, so as to control the horizontal moving unit, the vertical moving unit or the rotation unit to move to the adjustment position according to at least one of the horizontal displacement, the vertical displacement and the rotation angle.

[0030] In this solution, the battery exchange device can achieve position adjustment in the corresponding direction through at least one of the horizontal displacement, vertical displacement and angular rotation, and perform position adjustment from multiple dimensions to ensure the positioning accuracy requirements.

[0031] Preferably, the horizontal moving unit comprises a track, a guide wheel and a horizontal driver, and the horizontal driver is used to drive the guide wheel to move along the track according to the horizontal displacement.

[0032] In this solution, the unlocking structure can be automatically driven to move in the horizontal direction according to the horizontal displacement through the horizontal driver, and the efficiency and stability of the unlocking mechanism in the horizontal direction can be improved through the cooperation of the track and the guide rail.

[0033] Preferably, the vertical displacement includes a first vertical displacement and a second vertical displacement;

[0034] The vertical moving unit includes a first vertical driver, a second vertical driver, a first lifting mechanism, a second lifting mechanism and a battery swapping actuator, wherein the first vertical driver is connected to the first lifting mechanism, the second vertical driver is connected to the second lifting mechanism, and the first lifting mechanism and the second lifting mechanism are respectively connected to the two ends of the battery swapping actuator to drive the two ends of the battery swapping actuator to move up and down;

[0035] The first vertical driver is used to drive the first lifting mechanism according to the first vertical displacement, and the second vertical driver is used to drive the second lifting mechanism according to the second vertical displacement.

[0036] In this solution, the first vertical driver and the second vertical driver can automatically drive the first lifting mechanism and the second lifting mechanism to rise and fall according to the first vertical displacement and the second vertical displacement respectively, so as to drive the two ends of the battery replacement actuator to rise and fall, thereby further driving the two ends of the unlocking mechanism connected thereto to rise and fall to adjust the position of the unlocking mechanism in the vertical direction, thereby further improving the stability of the unlocking mechanism when adjusting the vertical position.

[0037] Preferably, the rotating unit includes a turntable and a rotating driver. The turntable is mounted on the bottom of the battery-swapping actuator. The rotating driver is connected to the turntable and is used to drive the turntable to rotate the battery-swapping actuator according to a rotation angle.

[0038] In this solution, the rotary driver can automatically drive the turntable to rotate according to the rotation angle to drive the battery replacement actuator to rotate, thereby further driving the unlocking mechanism connected thereto to rotate to adjust the angular position of the unlocking mechanism, further improving the stability of the unlocking mechanism when adjusting the angle.

[0039] The present invention also provides a battery replacement control method, which includes the following steps:

[0040] Get the location information of the battery bracket;

[0041] Acquire a position adjustment amount according to the position information and corresponding reference position information;

[0042] The position of the unlocking mechanism is adjusted according to the position adjustment amount until the unlocking mechanism is aligned with the unlocking member on the battery bracket.

[0043] The battery replacement control method can accurately obtain the position information of the battery bracket so that the battery replacement equipment and the battery bracket can be accurately positioned, thereby improving the battery replacement efficiency.

[0044] Preferably,

[0045] The steps of obtaining the location information of the battery bracket include:

[0046] Acquire a first image of a first position of a battery tray;

[0047] acquiring a second image of a second position of the battery tray;

[0048] The position information of the battery bracket is obtained according to the first image and the second image.

[0049] In this solution, according to the first image of the first position of the battery bracket and the second image of the second position of the battery bracket, the position information of the battery bracket is obtained based on the image processing algorithm, and a higher positioning accuracy is obtained by visual means.

[0050] Preferably,

[0051] The step of obtaining the position adjustment amount according to the position information and the corresponding reference position information comprises:

[0052] Acquire the horizontal displacement according to the first image and the first reference image corresponding to the first position or the second image and the second reference image corresponding to the second position; or

[0053] Obtain a first vertical displacement and a second vertical displacement according to the first image and the first reference image and the second image and the second reference image, respectively; or

[0054] The rotation angle is obtained according to the depth value of the first position in the first image and the depth value of the second position in the second image.

[0055] In this solution, positioning control in multiple directions can be achieved through at least one of the horizontal displacement, vertical displacement and angular rotation, and position adjustment can be performed from multiple dimensions to ensure positioning accuracy requirements.

[0056] Preferably,

[0057] The step of adjusting the position of the unlocking mechanism according to the position adjustment amount until the unlocking mechanism is aligned with the unlocking member on the battery bracket comprises:

[0058] The position of the unlocking mechanism is adjusted according to the horizontal displacement amount, the vertical displacement amount or the rotation angle amount until the unlocking mechanism and the unlocking piece on the battery bracket are completely positioned.

[0059] In this solution, the unlocking mechanism is positioned by adjusting its position in the horizontal direction, vertical direction or angular direction according to the horizontal displacement, vertical displacement or rotation angle, so that the unlocking mechanism is precisely aligned with the unlocking member on the battery bracket.

[0060] Preferably,

[0061] Before the step of obtaining the position information of the battery bracket, the following steps are also included:

[0062] The unlocking mechanism is controlled to move to the coarse positioning position according to the preset value.

[0063] In this solution, the unlocking mechanism is controlled to move to the coarse positioning position according to the preset value, which can improve the efficiency of positioning and battery replacement.

[0064] Preferably,

[0065] After the step of adjusting the position of the unlocking mechanism according to the position adjustment amount until the unlocking mechanism is aligned with the unlocking member on the battery bracket, the following steps are also included:

[0066] Extend the unlocking mechanism until it engages with the unlocking piece and unlocks the device.

[0067] In this solution, efficient and accurate unlocking operation is achieved through accurate positioning.

[0068] The positive progressive effect of the present invention is that the present invention achieves precise positioning between the battery swapping equipment and the vehicle to be battery swapped by obtaining higher positioning accuracy through visual means. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0069] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the visual positioning system of Example 1 of the present invention.

[0070] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of obtaining the position information of the target device by the visual positioning system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0071] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of a first reference image of a visual positioning system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

[0072] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of a first image of a visual positioning system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

[0073] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of obtaining the first depth of field and the second depth of field of the visual positioning system of Example 2 of the present invention.

[0074] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a battery replacement device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

[0075] Figure 7 This is a three-dimensional diagram of the battery replacement device of embodiment 4 of the present invention.

[0076] Figure 8 This is a partial front view of the battery exchange device of embodiment 4 of the present invention.

[0077] Fig. 9 This is a schematic diagram of the rotating unit of the battery exchange device of embodiment 4 of the present invention.

[0078] Fig.10 This is a flow chart of the battery replacement control method of embodiment 5 of the present invention.

[0079] Fig.11 This is a flow chart of the battery replacement control method of embodiment 6 of the present invention.

[0080] Fig.12 This is a flowchart of step S91 of the battery replacement control method of embodiment 6 of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0081] The present invention is further described below by way of examples, but the present invention is not limited to the scope of the examples.

[0082] Example 1

[0083] This embodiment provides a visual positioning system. Figure 1 The visual positioning system includes a first visual sensor 501, a second visual sensor 502, and a position acquisition unit 503.

[0084] The first visual sensor 501 is used to obtain a first image of a first position of a target device; the second visual sensor 502 is used to obtain a second image of a second position of the target device. The position acquisition unit 503 is used to obtain the position information of the target device according to the first image and the second image.

[0085] When implementing it, refer to Figure 2 , the first visual sensor 501 acquires a first image of the target device along the direction indicated by the arrow, and the first image includes a first position A on the target device; the second visual sensor 502 acquires a second image of the target device along the direction indicated by the arrow, and the second image includes a second position B on the target device. After receiving the first image and the second image, the position acquisition unit 503 performs image processing to obtain the position information of the target device.

[0086] The visual positioning system of this embodiment obtains the image of the target device based on the visual sensor, and obtains the position information of the target device based on the image processing algorithm, and obtains higher positioning accuracy through visual means. When the visual positioning system of this embodiment is applied to the field of electric vehicle battery replacement, it can help to quickly and accurately realize the accurate positioning of the battery replacement equipment and the battery bracket.

[0087] Example 2

[0088] Based on the embodiment 1, this embodiment provides a visual positioning system. In this embodiment, the position acquisition unit 503 further obtains the position adjustment amount according to the position information of the target device and the reference position information of the target device.

[0089] As an optional implementation, the position acquisition unit 503 performs image processing based on the images acquired in real time by the first visual sensor 501 and the second visual sensor 502 and a preset reference image of the target device to obtain the position adjustment amount.

[0090] In an optional implementation, the position acquisition unit 503 acquires the horizontal displacement according to the first image and the first reference image. Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the first reference image G1 is given. The first reference image G1 is pre-stored in the position acquisition unit 503. The first reference image G1 includes a first position A on the target device. By analyzing the first reference image G1, the position acquisition unit 503 obtains the position of the pixel corresponding to the first position A on the target device in the first reference image G1 in the first reference image G1 as a reference for positioning, which is referred to as the "target position" for ease of explanation. The process of the position acquisition unit 503 obtaining the target position can be implemented by an algorithm that has been disclosed in the art, which can be implemented by those skilled in the art and will not be repeated here.

[0091] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the first image G11 is given. The first image G11 includes a first position A on the target device. By analyzing the first image G11, the position acquisition unit 503 obtains the position of the pixel corresponding to the first position A on the target device in the first image G11, which is called the real-time position for the sake of convenience. The process of the position acquisition unit 503 obtaining the target position can be implemented by an algorithm that has been disclosed in the art, which can be implemented by those skilled in the art and will not be repeated here.

[0092] In an optional embodiment, the position acquisition unit acquires the horizontal displacement according to the first image and the first reference image. According to the image processing algorithm, the position acquisition unit 503 obtains the first horizontal displacement and the first vertical displacement according to the target position and the real-time position. By moving the first visual sensor 501 by the first horizontal displacement and the first vertical displacement, the first visual sensor 501 can capture an image consistent with the first reference image G1. The process in which the position acquisition unit 503 obtains the first horizontal displacement and the first vertical displacement of the first visual sensor 501 can be implemented by an algorithm that has been disclosed in the art, which can be implemented by those skilled in the art and will not be repeated here. The position acquisition unit uses the first horizontal displacement as the horizontal displacement, and by moving the corresponding horizontal displacement, the corresponding horizontal displacement can be achieved to match the target device in the horizontal direction; similarly, by moving the corresponding vertical displacement, the corresponding vertical displacement can be achieved to match the target device in the vertical direction.

[0093] In another optional embodiment, the position acquisition unit acquires the horizontal displacement according to the second image and the second reference image. The position acquisition unit 503 acquires the second horizontal displacement and the second vertical displacement according to the second image and the pre-stored second reference image. By moving the second visual sensor 502 by the second horizontal displacement and the second vertical displacement, the second visual sensor 502 can capture an image consistent with the second reference image. The position acquisition unit uses the second horizontal displacement as the horizontal displacement, and by moving the corresponding horizontal displacement, a corresponding horizontal displacement can be achieved to match the target device in the horizontal direction; similarly, by moving the corresponding vertical displacement, a corresponding vertical displacement can be achieved to match the target device in the vertical direction.

[0094] In another optional implementation, the reference position information of the target device is pre-stored in the position acquisition unit 503. The position acquisition unit 503 obtains the position adjustment amount according to the pre-stored reference position information of the target device and the position information of the target device acquired in real time. By adjusting the first visual sensor 501 and the second visual sensor 502 according to the position adjustment amount, the first visual sensor 501 can capture an image consistent with the first reference image, and the second visual sensor 502 can capture an image consistent with the second reference image.

[0095] As an optional implementation, refer to Figure 5When the first visual sensor 501 and the second visual sensor 502 are arranged on the position adjustment mechanism 8, the first visual sensor 501 is arranged at a position corresponding to the first position A, and the second visual sensor 502 is arranged at a position corresponding to the second position B. There is a first preset spacing D3 between the first position A and the second position B, and there is a second preset distance L between the first visual sensor 501 and the second visual sensor 502. The position acquisition unit 503 performs image processing on the first image to obtain a first depth of field, and the first depth of field value is the depth of field value D1 of the first position A in the first image; the position acquisition unit 503 performs image processing on the second image to obtain a second depth of field, and the second depth of field value is the depth of field value D2 of the second position B in the second image. The specific manner in which the position acquisition unit 503 obtains the depth of field value can be implemented by using an algorithm disclosed in the art, which can be implemented by those skilled in the art and will not be repeated here. The position acquisition unit 503 obtains the difference D=|D2-D1| between the two depth of field values. The position acquisition unit 503 can obtain the rotation angle θ according to the difference D of the depth of field value, the distance L between the first visual sensor 501 and the second visual sensor 502, and the distance D3 between the first position A and the second position B according to the principle of trigonometric function. The position adjustment mechanism 8 rotates in the corresponding direction according to the rotation angle θ, so that the target device 7 and the position adjustment mechanism 8 are parallel.

[0096] The visual positioning system can realize positioning control in multiple directions through at least one of horizontal displacement, vertical displacement and angular rotation to ensure multi-dimensional positioning control requirements.

[0097] Example 3

[0098] This embodiment provides a battery replacement device for replacing batteries for electric vehicles. Figure 6 , the battery exchange device includes the visual positioning system 801 of embodiment 1 or embodiment 2. Taking the battery bracket of the electric vehicle as the target device, the first visual sensor obtains a first image of the first position of the battery bracket; the second visual sensor obtains a second image of the second position of the battery bracket; the position acquisition unit obtains the position information of the battery bracket according to the first image and the second image. The visual positioning system accurately positions the battery bracket by visual means, so that the battery exchange device is aligned with the battery bracket locked with the battery pack, thereby achieving accurate battery exchange.

[0099] Example 4

[0100] Based on the third embodiment, this embodiment provides a battery replacement device. Figure 7The battery replacement device also includes an unlocking mechanism 802 and a position adjustment mechanism. The unlocking mechanism 802 is used to unlock the battery pack locked on the battery bracket, and the position adjustment mechanism is used to adjust the position of the unlocking mechanism 802 according to at least one of the horizontal displacement, vertical displacement and rotation angle obtained by the visual positioning system until the unlocking mechanism 802 and the unlocking member on the battery bracket are positioned.

[0101] The battery swapping equipment of this embodiment is arranged at a battery swapping station. When the electric vehicle enters the battery swapping station and parks at a preset parking space, the battery swapping equipment of this embodiment moves toward the electric vehicle under the control of the position adjustment mechanism, and adjusts the position of the unlocking mechanism 802 according to at least one of the horizontal displacement, vertical displacement and rotation angle obtained by the visual positioning system until the unlocking mechanism 802 is positioned with the unlocking part on the battery bracket.

[0102] As an optional implementation, the first visual sensor 501 and the second visual sensor 502 are arranged on the unlocking mechanism 802. By adjusting and unlocking the unlocking mechanism 802 according to the position adjustment amount obtained by the visual positioning system, the unlocking mechanism 802 and the unlocking member on the battery bracket can be positioned. The first visual sensor 501 and the second visual sensor 502 are arranged on the unlocking mechanism 802, and the battery bracket position information obtained by the visual positioning system intuitively reflects the positional relationship between the unlocking mechanism and the battery bracket, which helps to improve the positioning accuracy and facilitate the battery replacement operation.

[0103] In a specific implementation, the position adjustment mechanism includes a control unit, a horizontal moving unit, a vertical moving unit and a rotation unit. The control unit is communicated with the visual positioning system, so as to control the horizontal moving unit, the vertical moving unit or the rotation unit to move to the adjustment position according to at least one of the horizontal displacement, the vertical displacement and the rotation angle.

[0104] In an optional implementation, the initial position of the battery swapping device of this embodiment matches the parking space in the battery swapping station. When an electric vehicle is parked in a parking space and is ready to swap batteries, the parking state of the electric vehicle is often difficult to match the accurate battery swapping position, but there is a deviation. At this time, the battery swapping device can position the battery swapping device according to the parking state of the electric vehicle and adjust the position of the battery swapping device to achieve precise alignment with the electric vehicle, achieving fast and efficient positioning without adjusting the parking position of the electric vehicle, thereby improving the efficiency of battery swapping.

[0105] In order to achieve horizontal movement, the horizontal movement unit includes a track, a guide wheel and a horizontal driver, and the horizontal driver is used to drive the guide wheel to move along the track according to the horizontal displacement. Figure 7 , Figure 8The track includes a ceiling rail 701 and a ground rail 702, and the guide wheel includes a ceiling rail guide wheel 703 and a ground rail guide wheel 704. The ceiling rail guide wheel 703 is arranged corresponding to the ceiling rail 701, and the ground rail guide wheel 704 is arranged corresponding to the ground rail 702. The horizontal driver drives the ceiling rail guide wheel 703 to move along the ceiling rail 701 in the X-axis direction (i.e., the horizontal direction), and drives the ground rail guide wheel 704 to move along the ground rail 702, thereby realizing the horizontal movement of the unlocking mechanism. Figure 7 In the figure, the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis are perpendicular to each other. Figure 8 The framework of the battery swap actuator 803 is shown, but the specific structure is not shown. The specific structure of the battery swap actuator can be implemented by those skilled in the art and will not be repeated here.

[0106] When an electric vehicle is parked in a parking space and is ready to change batteries, if there is a horizontal deviation between the parking state of the electric vehicle and the accurate battery changing position, the unlocking mechanism is moved according to the horizontal displacement. This allows the unlocking mechanism to match the position of the battery bracket of the electric vehicle in the horizontal direction with high precision, providing a guarantee for accurate unlocking.

[0107] In this embodiment, the unlocking structure can be automatically driven to move in the horizontal direction according to the horizontal displacement through the horizontal driver, and the efficiency and stability of the unlocking mechanism in the horizontal direction can be improved through the cooperation of the track and the guide rail.

[0108] The vertical displacement acquired by the visual positioning system includes a first vertical displacement and a second vertical displacement, wherein the first vertical displacement is obtained based on the first image, and the second vertical displacement is obtained based on the second image.

[0109] As a specific embodiment, the vertical moving unit includes a first vertical driver 61, a second vertical driver 62, a first lifting mechanism, a second lifting mechanism and a battery swapping actuator 803. The first vertical driver is connected to the first lifting mechanism, the second vertical driver is connected to the second lifting mechanism, the first lifting mechanism and the second lifting mechanism are respectively connected to the two ends of the battery swapping actuator to drive the two ends of the battery swapping actuator to move up and down; the first vertical driver is used to drive the first lifting mechanism according to the first vertical displacement, and the second vertical driver is used to drive the second lifting mechanism according to the second vertical displacement.

[0110] In specific implementation, the first lifting mechanism includes a first chain 706 and a corresponding first sprocket 611. The first chain 706 drives the first sprocket 611 to move in the vertical direction (i.e., the Z-axis direction) under the drive of the first vertical driver 61, so as to drive the battery-swapping actuator 803 to move in the vertical direction. The second lifting mechanism includes a second chain 621 and a corresponding second sprocket 622. The second chain 621 drives the second sprocket 622 to move in the vertical direction under the drive of the second vertical driver 62, so as to drive the battery-swapping actuator 803 to move in the vertical direction.

[0111] When an electric vehicle is parked in a parking space and is ready to change batteries, if there is a vertical deviation between the parking state of the electric vehicle and the accurate battery changing position, the unlocking mechanism is moved according to the vertical displacement. This allows the unlocking mechanism to match the position of the battery bracket of the electric vehicle in the vertical direction with high precision, providing a guarantee for accurate unlocking.

[0112] In this embodiment, the first vertical driver and the second vertical driver can automatically drive the first lifting mechanism and the second lifting mechanism to rise and fall according to the first vertical displacement and the second vertical displacement respectively, so as to drive the two ends of the battery replacement actuator to rise and fall, thereby further driving the two ends of the unlocking mechanism connected thereto to rise and fall to adjust the position of the unlocking mechanism in the vertical direction, thereby further improving the stability of the unlocking mechanism when adjusting the vertical position.

[0113] In an optional embodiment, referring to Fig. 9 The rotating unit includes a turntable 811 and a rotating driver 812. The turntable 811 is mounted on the bottom of the battery swap actuator 803. The rotating driver 812 is connected to the turntable 811 and is used to drive the turntable 811 to rotate the battery swap actuator 803 according to the rotation angle.

[0114] When an electric vehicle is parked in a parking space and is ready to be replaced, if there is an angle deviation between the parking state of the electric vehicle and the accurate replacement position, it will be difficult for the unlocking device to be aligned with the unlocking target after being extended, or it will be difficult for the replacement actuator to be aligned with the battery bracket after being extended. The replacement device of this embodiment can obtain the angle deviation between the parking state of the electric vehicle and the accurate replacement position through the visual positioning system, for example, Figure 5 The angle θ shown is used as the rotation angle to adjust the posture of the battery swapping device, so that the posture of the battery swapping device matches the parking state of the electric vehicle, so that the unlocking mechanism is aligned with the unlocking part on the battery bracket, thereby realizing efficient and accurate battery swapping operation.

[0115] In this embodiment, the rotary driver can automatically drive the turntable to rotate according to the rotation angle to drive the battery replacement actuator to rotate, thereby further driving the unlocking mechanism connected thereto to rotate to adjust the angular position of the unlocking mechanism, further improving the stability of the unlocking mechanism when adjusting the angle.

[0116] Example 5

[0117] This embodiment provides a battery replacement control method. Fig.10 , the battery replacement control method includes the following steps:

[0118] Step S91, obtaining the position information of the battery bracket.

[0119] Step S92: Obtain a position adjustment amount according to the position information and the corresponding reference position information.

[0120] Step S93: adjusting the position of the unlocking mechanism according to the position adjustment amount until the unlocking mechanism is aligned with the unlocking member on the battery bracket.

[0121] In an optional embodiment, the battery replacement control method is implemented using the battery replacement device of Example 4. The visual positioning system obtains the position information of the battery bracket, and obtains the position adjustment amount according to the position information and the corresponding reference position information. Then, the position adjustment mechanism adjusts the position of the unlocking mechanism 802 according to the position adjustment amount until the unlocking mechanism 802 is aligned with the unlocking member on the battery bracket to achieve unlocking and battery replacement.

[0122] The battery replacement control method of this embodiment can accurately obtain the position information of the battery bracket, thereby achieving accurate battery replacement.

[0123] Example 6

[0124] Based on Example 5, this embodiment provides a battery replacement control method. As an optional implementation, the battery replacement control method is implemented using the battery replacement device of Example 4.

[0125] Reference Fig.11 Before step S91, the battery replacement control method further includes the following steps:

[0126] Step S90: controlling the unlocking mechanism to move to the coarse positioning position according to a preset value.

[0127] By driving the horizontal moving unit and the vertical moving unit, the unlocking mechanism can be controlled to move to a preset coarse positioning position. In specific implementation, the above-mentioned battery swapping equipment is arranged at a battery swapping station. When a vehicle enters the battery swapping station for battery swapping, it will be parked in the corresponding parking space. The preset coarse positioning position corresponds to the corresponding parking space. When the unlocking mechanism 802 moves to the preset coarse positioning position, the positional relationship between the unlocking mechanism 802 and the battery bracket of the vehicle has reached the estimated range. Next, according to the positioning of the battery bracket by the above-mentioned visual positioning system, the unlocking mechanism 802 and the unlocking member on the battery bracket can be accurately positioned.

[0128] In an optional embodiment, referring to Fig.12 , step S91 comprises:

[0129] Step S911: Acquire a first image of a first position of a battery bracket.

[0130] Step S912: Acquire a second image of the second position of the battery bracket.

[0131] Step S913: Obtaining location information of the battery bracket according to the first image and the second image.

[0132] During the battery replacement process, the battery bracket is used as the target device for the visual positioning system. The battery bracket is preset with a first position A and a second position B. Figure 2 , the first visual sensor 501 acquires a first image of the target device along the direction indicated by the arrow, and the first image includes a first position A on the target device; the second visual sensor 502 acquires a second image of the target device along the direction indicated by the arrow, and the second image includes a second position B on the target device. After receiving the first image and the second image, the position acquisition unit 503 performs image processing to obtain the position information of the target device.

[0133] When an electric vehicle is parked in a parking space and is ready to replace the battery, the parking state of the electric vehicle is often difficult to be consistent with the accurate battery replacement position, but there is a deviation. At this time, the battery replacement control method according to this embodiment can position the battery replacement equipment according to the parking state of the electric vehicle and adjust the position of the battery replacement equipment to achieve precise alignment with the electric vehicle, achieving fast and efficient positioning without adjusting the parking position of the electric vehicle, thereby improving the battery replacement efficiency.

[0134] In specific implementation, step S92 includes:

[0135] Acquire the horizontal displacement according to the first image and the first reference image corresponding to the first position or the second image and the second reference image corresponding to the second position; or

[0136] Obtain a first vertical displacement and a second vertical displacement according to the first image and the first reference image and the second image and the second reference image, respectively; or

[0137] The rotation angle is obtained according to the depth value of the first position in the first image and the depth value of the second position in the second image.

[0138] As an optional implementation, in step S92, by analyzing the first reference image G1, the position acquisition unit 503 obtains the position of the pixel corresponding to the first position A on the target device in the first reference image G1 in the first reference image G1, which is used as a reference for positioning and is referred to as the "target position" for ease of explanation. By analyzing the first image G11, the position acquisition unit 503 obtains the position of the pixel corresponding to the first position A on the target device in the first image G11 in the first image G11, which is referred to as the real-time position for ease of explanation. According to the image processing algorithm, the position acquisition unit 503 obtains the first horizontal displacement and the first vertical displacement of the first visual sensor 501 according to the target position and the real-time position. By moving the first visual sensor 501 by the first horizontal displacement and the first vertical displacement, the first visual sensor 501 can capture an image consistent with the first reference image G1.

[0139] Similarly, the position acquisition unit 503 acquires the second horizontal displacement and the second vertical displacement according to the second image and the pre-stored second reference image. By moving the second visual sensor 502 by the second horizontal displacement and the second vertical displacement, the second visual sensor 502 can capture an image consistent with the second reference image.

[0140] Reference Figure 7 , Figure 8 The horizontal driver drives the ceiling rail guide wheel 703 to move along the ceiling rail 701 in the X-axis direction (ie, the horizontal direction), and drives the ground rail guide wheel 704 to move along the ground rail 702, thereby realizing the horizontal movement of the unlocking mechanism 802.

[0141] When an electric vehicle is parked in a parking space and is ready to change batteries, if there is a horizontal deviation between the parking state of the electric vehicle and the accurate battery changing position, the unlocking mechanism is moved according to the horizontal displacement. This allows the unlocking mechanism to match the position of the battery bracket of the electric vehicle in the horizontal direction with high precision, providing a guarantee for accurate unlocking.

[0142] Reference Figure 7 , Figure 8The first chain 706 drives the first sprocket 611 to move in the vertical direction (i.e., the Z-axis direction) under the drive of the first vertical driver 61, and the second chain 621 drives the second sprocket 622 to move in the vertical direction under the drive of the second vertical driver 62, so as to drive the battery replacement actuator 803 to move in the vertical direction.

[0143] When an electric vehicle is parked in a parking space and is ready to change batteries, if there is a vertical deviation between the parking state of the electric vehicle and the accurate battery changing position, the unlocking mechanism is moved according to the vertical displacement. This allows the unlocking mechanism to match the position of the battery bracket of the electric vehicle in the vertical direction with high precision, providing a guarantee for accurate unlocking.

[0144] The position acquisition unit 503 acquires the rotation angle according to the depth value of the first position in the first image and the depth value of the second position in the second image. Fig. 9 The rotation driver 812 drives the turntable 811 to rotate the battery replacement actuator 803 according to the rotation angle.

[0145] When an electric vehicle is parked in a parking space and is ready to replace the battery, if there is an angular deviation between the parking state of the electric vehicle and the accurate battery replacement position, it will be difficult for the unlocking device to be aligned with the unlocking target after being extended, or it will be difficult for the battery replacement actuator to be aligned with the battery bracket after being extended. According to the battery replacement control method of this embodiment, the angular deviation between the parking state of the electric vehicle and the accurate battery replacement position can be obtained, for example, Figure 5 The angle θ shown is used as the rotation angle to adjust the posture of the battery swapping device, so that the posture of the battery swapping device matches the parking state of the electric vehicle, so that the unlocking mechanism is aligned with the unlocking part on the battery bracket, thereby realizing efficient and accurate battery swapping operation.

[0146] After adjusting the position of the unlocking mechanism according to the position adjustment amount until the unlocking mechanism is aligned with the unlocking piece on the battery bracket, in step 94, the unlocking mechanism 802 is extended until it engages with the unlocking piece and is unlocked, thereby performing the battery replacement operation.

[0147] Although the specific embodiments of the present invention are described above, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that this is only for illustration and the protection scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims. Those skilled in the art may make various changes or modifications to these embodiments without departing from the principles and essence of the present invention, but these changes and modifications all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A visual positioning system, characterized in that: It includes a first visual sensor, a second visual sensor, and a position acquisition unit; The first visual sensor is used to acquire a first image of a first position of a target device; The second visual sensor is used to obtain a second image of a second position of the target device; The position acquisition unit is used to obtain the position information of the target device according to the first image and the second image, and to obtain the position adjustment amount according to the position information of the target device and the reference position information of the target device; The position adjustment amount includes a horizontal displacement amount; the position acquisition unit acquires the horizontal displacement amount according to the first image and the first reference image, or the position acquisition unit acquires the horizontal displacement amount according to the second image and the second reference image; the first reference image is a reference image including the first position, and the second reference image is a reference image including the second position; The position adjustment amount includes a first vertical displacement amount and a second vertical displacement amount; the position acquisition unit acquires the first vertical displacement amount according to the first image and the first reference image, and the position acquisition unit acquires the second vertical displacement amount according to the second image and the second reference image; The position adjustment amount includes a rotation angle amount; the position acquisition unit obtains the rotation angle amount according to a first depth of field value and a second depth of field value; the first depth of field value is the depth of field value of the first position in the first image, and the second depth of field value is the depth of field value of the second position in the second image.

2. The visual positioning system according to claim 1, characterized in that: There is a preset distance between the first position and the second position, the first visual sensor is arranged at a position corresponding to the first position, and the second visual sensor is arranged at a position corresponding to the second position.

3. A battery replacement device, characterized in that: It comprises a visual positioning system as described in any one of claims 1-2, and the visual positioning system is used to position so that the battery exchange device is aligned with the battery bracket locked with the battery pack.

4. The battery replacement device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The battery replacement device also includes an unlocking mechanism and a position adjustment mechanism; The unlocking mechanism is used to unlock the battery pack locked on the battery bracket. The position adjustment mechanism is used to adjust the position of the unlocking mechanism according to at least one of the horizontal displacement, vertical displacement and rotation angle acquired by the visual positioning system until the unlocking mechanism and the unlocking member on the battery bracket are positioned.

5. The battery replacement device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The position adjustment mechanism includes a control unit, a horizontal moving unit, a vertical moving unit and a rotation unit. The control unit is communicatively connected to the visual positioning system, so as to control the horizontal moving unit, the vertical moving unit or the rotation unit to move to an adjustment position according to at least one of the horizontal displacement, the vertical displacement and the rotation angle.

6. The battery replacement device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The horizontal moving unit includes a track, a guide wheel and a horizontal driver, and the horizontal driver is used to drive the guide wheel to move along the track according to the horizontal displacement.

7. The battery replacement device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The vertical displacement includes a first vertical displacement and a second vertical displacement; The vertical moving unit includes a first vertical driver, a second vertical driver, a first lifting mechanism, a second lifting mechanism and a battery swapping actuator, wherein the first vertical driver is connected to the first lifting mechanism, the second vertical driver is connected to the second lifting mechanism, and the first lifting mechanism and the second lifting mechanism are respectively connected to two ends of the battery swapping actuator to drive the two ends of the battery swapping actuator to move up and down; The first vertical driver is used to drive the first lifting mechanism according to the first vertical displacement, and the second vertical driver is used to drive the second lifting mechanism according to the second vertical displacement.

8. The battery replacement device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The rotating unit includes a turntable and a rotating driver. The turntable is mounted on the bottom of the battery-swapping actuator. The rotating driver is connected to the turntable and is used to drive the turntable to rotate the battery-swapping actuator according to the rotation angle.

9. A battery replacement control method, characterized in that: The battery replacement control method comprises the following steps: Get the location information of the battery bracket; Acquire a position adjustment amount according to the position information and corresponding reference position information; Adjusting the position of the unlocking mechanism according to the position adjustment amount until the unlocking mechanism is aligned with the unlocking member on the battery bracket; The step of obtaining the position information of the battery bracket comprises: Acquire a first image of a first position of the battery bracket; acquiring a second image of a second position of the battery bracket; Obtaining position information of the battery bracket according to the first image and the second image; The step of obtaining the position adjustment amount according to the position information and the corresponding reference position information comprises: Acquire a horizontal displacement according to the first image and a first reference image corresponding to the first position or the second image and a second reference image corresponding to the second position; Obtain a first vertical displacement and a second vertical displacement according to the first image and the first reference image and the second image and the second reference image respectively; The rotation angle is acquired according to the depth value of the first position in the first image and the depth value of the second position in the second image.

10. The battery replacement control method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The step of adjusting the position of the unlocking mechanism according to the position adjustment amount until the unlocking mechanism is aligned with the unlocking member on the battery bracket comprises: The position of the unlocking mechanism is adjusted according to the horizontal displacement amount, the vertical displacement amount, or the rotation angle amount until the unlocking mechanism and the unlocking piece on the battery bracket are positioned.

11. The battery replacement control method according to claim 9, characterized in that: Before the step of obtaining the position information of the battery bracket, the following steps are also included: The unlocking mechanism is controlled to move to a rough positioning position according to a preset value.

12. The battery replacement control method according to claim 9, characterized in that: After the step of adjusting the position of the unlocking mechanism according to the position adjustment amount until the unlocking mechanism is aligned with the unlocking member on the battery bracket, the following steps are also included: The unlocking mechanism is extended until it is engaged with the unlocking piece and unlocked.

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