A battery swapping center for electric vehicles

Abstract

The present invention discloses a battery swapping center for electric vehicles, which includes at least one charging loop and at least one battery swapping loop. Both the charging loop and the battery swapping loop include chute guides, and the chute guides of the charging loop and the chute guides of the battery swapping loop are connected by an exchange device; a driving chain and a driving bracket are connected inside the chute guide, and the driving chain is connected to the driving bracket; a shaft bracket is movably connected inside the driving bracket, the shaft bracket is connected to a battery pack bracket for placing a battery pack, and the shaft bracket is also connected to a direction constraint bracket; the exchange device includes a guide rail device, the guide rail device is arranged between the chute guides of the charging loop and the chute guides of the battery swapping loop, and a driving slider is connected to the guide rail device, and the driving slider is used to move the shaft bracket in the chute guide of the charging loop to the chute guide of the battery swapping loop, or move the shaft bracket in the chute guide of the battery swapping loop to the chute guide of the charging loop; This application can support a large number of, real-time, and rapid battery swapping requirements.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of tram charging, and particularly relates to a battery swapping center for electric vehicles. Background Art

[0002] Current power battery and charging technologies have achieved charging 80% of the battery in half an hour, but there is still a significant gap compared with the refueling time of traditional fuel vehicles. The currently highly promoted fast charging technology will cause irreversible damage to the power battery itself - affecting its service life, and the large-power and high-current charging piles supporting it are also one of the potential safety hazards, and the actual promotion and construction are also restricted by many factors.

[0003] Compared with the current charging technology, the battery swapping technology has the following significant advantages: The battery swapping time can be very short, even faster than the refueling process of traditional vehicles; The battery swapping process can be fully automated, providing a better user experience; The battery swapping technology and the battery rental business complement each other, and the latter can effectively avoid the depreciation loss caused by the rapid iteration and upgrade of power battery technology; It is convenient to regularly inspect and maintain the battery, and it is easier to recycle and scrap the battery; The application of battery fast charging technology in specific areas enables centralized risk control; It avoids the installation and maintenance of a large number of high-power, high-risk, and high-cost super fast charging piles, saving resources overall; The battery charging time period is independent of the electric vehicle usage time period, making it more flexible, with a wider range of applicable scenarios. It can be charged slowly at low power during the day and quickly at high power at night, achieving the best match with the power supply curve of the power grid.

[0004] In the existing battery swapping technology solutions, the battery swapping process is cumbersome, requiring the vehicle to be parked in a narrow space and even requiring dedicated personnel; The battery swapping time is relatively long, significantly exceeding the refueling time of traditional vehicles; A single battery swapping center can only serve electric vehicles of the same brand and platform, with low flexibility and poor versatility; The number of battery packs that a single battery swapping center can accommodate is small, unable to support a large number of real-time battery swapping demands; The mechanical devices of the battery swapping system are complex, with poor manufacturing costs, reliability, durability, and maintainability, and the operation and maintenance costs are also relatively high. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a battery swapping center for electric vehicles to solve the problem that the existing battery swapping centers cannot support a large number of real-time and fast battery swapping demands.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the present invention is implemented by the following technical solutions:

[0007] A battery swapping center for electric vehicles includes at least one charging loop and at least one battery swapping loop. Both the charging loop and the battery swapping loop include chute rails, and the chute rails of the charging loop and the chute rails of the battery swapping loop are connected by an exchange device;

[0008] A drive chain and a plurality of drive brackets are connected within the chute guide rail. The drive chain is connected to the drive brackets to drive the drive brackets to move along the chute guide rail. An axle bracket is movably connected within the drive bracket. The axle bracket is connected to a battery pack bracket for placing a battery pack, and the axle bracket is also connected to a direction constraint bracket for restricting its attitude.

[0009] The swapping device includes a guide rail device disposed between the chute guide rail of the charging ring and the chute guide rail of the swapping ring. A drive slider is connected to the guide rail device. The drive slider is used to move the axle bracket within the chute guide rail of the charging ring to the chute guide rail of the swapping ring, or to move the axle bracket within the chute guide rail of the swapping ring to the chute guide rail of the charging ring.

[0010] Furthermore, a drive chain sliding space for placing the drive chain is provided within the chute guide rail. An outer chute is provided on one side of the drive chain sliding space, and an inner chute is provided on the other side.

[0011] The drive chain includes a plurality of first rotating shafts. First rollers are connected to both ends of the first rotating shafts. A connecting rod is connected between two adjacent first rotating shafts. Two adjacent first rotating shafts are respectively slidably connected within the inner chute and the outer chute.

[0012] Furthermore, a drive bracket sliding space communicating with the drive chain sliding space is also provided within the chute guide rail.

[0013] The drive bracket includes a first bracket with one end open. The first bracket is slidably connected within the drive bracket sliding space, and the first bracket is hingedly connected to the first rotating shaft.

[0014] Furthermore, the axle bracket includes a flange bracket and a sleeve. The sleeve is slidably sleeved on the outer periphery of the flange bracket. The outer periphery of the sleeve is connected within the opening of the first bracket and can slide outside the first bracket. The flange surface of the flange bracket is connected to the battery pack bracket.

[0015] The drive bracket moves to enable the axle bracket to drive the battery pack bracket to move.

[0016] Furthermore, a direction constraint bracket sliding space communicating with the drive bracket sliding space is also provided within the chute guide rail. The direction constraint bracket is disposed within the direction constraint bracket sliding space.

[0017] The direction constraint bracket includes a second bracket, the second bracket is connected to the flange bracket, and a plurality of third rollers are provided on the outer periphery of the second bracket, and the third rollers are slidably connected to the inner side wall of the chute guide rail;

[0018] A spline connection is provided between the second bracket and the flange bracket, and the screw penetrates through the end cover and is connected to the end of the flange bracket to limit the second bracket on the flange bracket;

[0019] The flange bracket drives the direction constraint bracket to slide within the sliding space of the direction constraint bracket to constrain the postures of the shaft bracket and the battery pack bracket.

[0020] Further, the swapping device further includes a guiding groove, the guiding groove is arranged between the chute guide rail of the charging ring and the chute guide rail of the swapping ring, and a guiding channel for limiting the shaft bracket is formed between the guiding grooves on both sides.

[0021] Further, the swapping device further includes a commutation bump, and the commutation bump is arranged between the guiding groove and the rail device;

[0022] A commutation channel is formed between the commutation bumps on both sides, a commutation protrusion is provided on the inner side surface of one of the commutation bumps, and the direction constraint bracket is slidably connected within the commutation channel, and the third roller of the direction constraint bracket contacts the commutation protrusion to change the posture of the direction constraint bracket.

[0023] Further, it further includes a commutation bump and a flat pad that are slidably connected to the rail device, a commutation channel is formed between the commutation bumps on both sides, a commutation protrusion is provided on the inner side surface of one of the commutation bumps, and a sliding channel is formed between the flat pads on both sides;

[0024] Slide the flat pad or the commutation bump to enable the direction constraint bracket to slide within the commutation channel or the sliding channel.

[0025] Further, the chute guide rail is a segmented chute guide rail.

[0026] Further, the battery pack bracket is of a frame type structure, and at least one battery pack installation station is provided on the battery pack bracket.

[0027] Further, it further includes a power device, the power device includes a toothed belt and a driving motor for driving the toothed belt to rotate, and at least one first rotating shaft in the driving chain is engaged between two adjacent driving teeth of the toothed belt.

[0028] Furthermore, it further includes a power supply device, the power supply device includes a power supply ring disposed on one side of the chute guide rail of the charging ring and an integrated brush device connected to the battery pack bracket, and the integrated brush device is connected to the power supply ring.

[0029] According to the above technical solution, the embodiments of the present invention have at least the following effects:

[0030] 1. By providing an exchange device between the chute guide rail of the charging ring and the chute guide rail of the battery swapping ring, the battery pack brackets in the chute guide rail of the charging ring and the chute guide rail of the battery swapping ring can be exchanged. The charging ring can continuously provide fully charged battery packs to the battery swapping ring, which can support a large number of real-time and rapid battery swapping requirements;

[0031] 2. Driving the driving bracket to move through the driving chain ensures the movement effect of the electric battery pack bracket, and further ensures the movement of the battery pack in the charging ring and the movement of the battery pack in the battery swapping ring, ensuring the battery swapping effect of the battery swapping ring and also ensuring the battery pack exchange effect between the charging ring and the battery swapping ring. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 2 is Figure 1 Schematic diagrams of different perspectives;

[0034] Figure 3 is Figure 1 the front view of;

[0035] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the chute guide rail in the specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the driving chain in the specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 6 It is a connection schematic diagram of the driving chain and the chute guide rail in the specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 7 is Figure 6 a partial cross-sectional view of;

[0039] Figure 8 It is a cross-sectional view of the driving chain in the specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 9 It is a connection schematic diagram of the driving chain and the driving bracket in the specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 10 Schematic diagram of the connection between the drive bracket and the chute guide rail in the specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 11 Schematic diagram of the connection between the battery pack bracket and the shaft bracket, the direction constraint bracket, and the drive bracket in the specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 12 is Figure 11 Partial structural schematic diagram;

[0044] Figure 13 Schematic diagram of different embodiments of the battery pack bracket in the specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 14 Cross-sectional view of the connection between the shaft bracket and the direction constraint bracket in the specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 15 Schematic diagram of the movement of the direction constraint bracket in the chute guide rail in the specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0047] Figure 16 Schematic diagram of the direction constraint bracket driving the battery pack bracket to move in the specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0048] Figure 17 Schematic diagram of the exchange device in the specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0049] Figure 18 is Figure 17 Schematic diagrams from different perspectives;

[0050] Figure 19 Schematic diagram of the exchange device during use in the specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0051] Figure 20 Schematic diagram of the installation of the exchange device in the specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0052] Figure 21 Schematic diagram of the movement of the direction constraint bracket in the exchange device in the specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0053] Figure 22 Schematic diagram of the power device in the specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0054] Figure 23 Schematic diagrams of different embodiments of the power device in the specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0055] Figure 24 Schematic diagram of the power supply device in the specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0056] Figure 25 Schematic diagram of the arrangement of the power supply ring and the charging ring in the specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0057] Figure 26 Schematic diagrams of the arrangements of the power supply ring and the charging ring in different embodiments of the specific implementation manners of the present invention;

[0058] Figure 27 Schematic diagrams of the arrangements of the power supply ring and the charging ring in different embodiments of the specific implementation manners of the present invention.

[0059] Wherein: 1, chute guide rail; 11, driving chain sliding space; 111, inner chute; 112, outer chute; 12, driving bracket sliding space; 13, direction constraint bracket sliding space; 2, driving chain; 21, connecting rod; 22, first rotating shaft; 23, first roller; 3, driving bracket; 31, first bracket; 32, second rotating shaft; 33, second roller; 4, shaft bracket; 41, flange bracket; 42, sleeve; 5, direction constraint bracket; 51, second bracket; 52, end cover; 53, third rotating shaft; 54, third roller; 6, battery pack bracket; 61, fastening device; 62, integrated charging device; 7, power device; 71, driving motor; 72, toothed belt; 73, tensioning pulley; 8, exchange device; 81, driving slider; 82, guide rail device; 83, guide groove; 84, commutation convex block; 841, commutation protrusion; 85, flat spacer; 9, power supply device; 91, power supply ring; 92, integrated brush device; 100, charging ring; 200, battery swapping ring. Specific implementation manners

[0060] In order to make the technical means, creative features, achieved purposes and functions of the present invention easy to understand, the present invention will be further described below in conjunction with specific implementation manners.

[0061] It should be noted that in the description of the present invention, the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "front", "rear", "left", "right", "upper", "lower", "inner", "outer", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and is only for the convenience of describing the present invention rather than requiring the present invention to be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, it should not be construed as a limitation to the present invention. The terms "front", "rear", "left", "right", "upper", "lower" used in the description of the present invention refer to the directions in the drawings, and the terms "inner" and "outer" respectively refer to the directions towards or away from the geometric center of a specific component.

[0062] Such as Figures 1 to 27As shown, a battery exchange center for electric vehicles includes at least one charging ring 100 and at least one battery exchange ring 200. The charging ring 100 and the battery exchange ring 200 both include a slide rail 1. The slide rail 1 of the charging ring 100 and the slide rail 1 of the battery exchange ring 200 are connected through an exchange device 8. A drive chain 2 and a plurality of drive brackets 3 are connected in the slide rail 1. The drive chain 2 and the drive bracket 3 are connected to drive the drive bracket 3 to move along the slide rail 1. The drive bracket 3 is movably connected with an axle bracket 4, and the axle bracket 4 and the battery pack are used to place the battery pack. The battery pack bracket 6 is connected, and the shaft bracket 4 is also connected to the direction constraint bracket 5 for limiting its posture; the exchange device 8 includes a guide rail device 82, and the guide rail device 82 is arranged between the slide groove guide rail 1 of the charging ring 100 and the slide groove guide rail 1 of the power changing ring 200. A driving slider 81 is connected to the guide rail device 82, and the driving slider 81 is used to move the shaft bracket 4 in the slide groove guide rail 1 of the charging ring 100 to the slide groove guide rail 1 of the power changing ring 200, or to move the shaft bracket 4 in the slide groove guide rail 1 of the power changing ring 200 to the slide groove guide rail 1 of the charging ring 100.

[0063] The present application sets an exchange device between the slide groove guide of the charging ring and the slide groove guide of the battery changing ring, so that the battery pack bracket in the slide groove guide of the charging ring and the battery pack bracket in the slide groove guide of the battery changing ring can be exchanged. The charging ring can continuously provide fully charged battery packs to the battery changing ring, and can support large-scale, real-time and fast battery changing needs.

[0064] The battery swap center designed by the present invention for electric vehicles is composed of two large annular conveying systems. One is a battery swap ring 200, which realizes the battery pack exchange between the battery swap center and the electric vehicle. The other is a charging ring 100, which realizes the storage and charging of the battery pack.

[0065] A battery swap center for electric vehicles includes at least one set of battery swap rings 200 and one set of charging rings 100, and may also include multiple sets of battery swap rings 200 and multiple sets of charging rings 100, which can be freely increased or decreased according to actual needs and changes in future needs.

[0066] like Figure 25 As shown, the upper and lower annular conveying systems are respectively a charging ring 100 and a battery-swapping ring 200; the main function of the charging ring 100 is to store and charge the battery packs; the main function of the battery-swapping ring 200 is to exchange the battery packs with the target vehicle and provide a preparation area and a buffer area for the battery packs, thereby greatly improving the battery-swapping efficiency.

[0067] In other embodiments, the storage system designed by the present invention can be changed in various ways according to actual needs, such as the volume and capacity of the charging ring 100, multiple battery exchange rings 200 with multiple charging rings 100, multi-directional connection between the charging ring 100 and the battery exchange ring 200, etc. Figure 26 andFigure 27 shown.

[0068] The battery exchange center designed by the present invention for electric vehicles includes the following components: a slide rail 1, a drive chain 2, a drive bracket 3, an axle bracket 4, a direction constraint bracket 5, a battery pack bracket 6, a power device 7, a switching device 8, and a power supply device 9. Figures 1 to 3 The following will explain the structure, working principle and unique advantages of each typical component.

[0069] Among them, the battery exchange ring 200 and the charging ring 100 both include a slide groove guide rail 1, and the slide groove guide rail 1 of the battery exchange ring 200 and the slide groove guide rail 1 of the charging ring 100 are connected by the exchange device 8 to exchange the battery pack bracket 6. The shaft bracket 4 is fixedly connected to the battery pack bracket 6, and the shaft bracket 4 is connected to the direction constraint bracket 5. The shaft bracket 4 and the direction constraint bracket 5 are transferred as the battery pack bracket 6 is transferred.

[0070] Slide rail 1 Figure 4 As shown, its core function is to provide a set of guide grooves, which, through the motion transfer of a series of components, ultimately constrain the movement path and direction of the battery pack bracket 6 and the battery pack. The slide rail 1 is also the main load-bearing component, one end of which is connected to the main frame (or outer wall) of the battery swap center, and the other end carries the battery pack bracket 6 and the battery pack.

[0071] The slideway guide rail 1 is annular in shape as a whole, and its cross section is as follows Figure 4 As shown. The interior of the slideway guide rail 1 is mainly divided into three working areas, corresponding to: the drive chain sliding space 11, the drive bracket sliding space 12, and the direction constraint bracket sliding space 13. Among them, the drive chain sliding space is provided with two pairs of slideways, the inner slideway 111 and the outer slideway 112. In different areas of the annular slideway guide rail, the distance between the inner slideway 111 and the outer slideway 112 is changed, so as to achieve special effects.

[0072] The slideway guide rail 1 has a uniform cross section. In some embodiments, it can be manufactured in sections by using an aluminum alloy extrusion molding process, and then assembled on site. At the same time, the above manufacturing process can also easily meet the following requirements: free assembly to combine ring structures of different sizes; in the subsequent maintenance stage, the damaged section can be freely replaced without complete removal; the single piece has high precision, and it is easy to achieve high precision of the entire slideway guide rail.

[0073] The driving chain 2 is placed inside the slide rail 1, specifically in the driving chain sliding space 11, moves along the slide rail 1, and finally drives the battery pack bracket 6 and the battery pack to move through a series of transmissions.

[0074] like Figure 5As shown, the drive chain 2 is mainly composed of four parts: the first rotating shaft 22, the connecting rod 21, the gasket, and the first roller 23. The first rotating shaft 22 has a symmetric structure; it is divided into three sections, with a larger diameter in the middle section and smaller diameters on both sides. A snap ring groove is provided near the end to install a snap ring to limit the first roller 23 from slipping out. The connecting rods are pairwise hinged on both sides of the first rotating shaft 22; two pairs of connecting rods 21 are hinged to one first rotating shaft 22, one pair of connecting rods 21 is connected to the previous first rotating shaft 22, and the other pair is connected to the next first rotating shaft 22. The first rollers 23 are arranged in pairs on both sides of the first rotating shaft 22 and are connected in the form of a rotating pair. The first rotating shaft 22, the connecting rod 21, and the first roller 23 are separated from each other by gaskets, and the gaskets also play a role in self-lubrication, reducing friction, and reducing wear. Figure 8 It is a sectional view of the position of the rotating shaft of the drive chain, showing the relative installation relationship between the first rotating shaft 22, the connecting rod, the first roller 23, and the gasket.

[0075] The first roller 23 of the drive chain 2 is embedded in the chute of the chute guide rail 1, and both ends of the first rotating shaft are in sliding contact with the bottom surface of the chute, as Figure 6 shown. There are two pairs of chutes in the sliding space 11 of the drive chain. The adjacent two first rotating shafts 22 of the drive chain 2 are respectively placed in the inner chute 111 and the outer chute 112, and the drive chain 2 is placed inside the chute guide rail 1 in a folded form, as Figure 7 shown.

[0076] The length of the connecting rod 21 in the drive chain 2 is fixed. When the distance between the inner chute 111 and the outer chute 112 in the chute guide rail 1 changes in different regions, the folded retraction form of the drive chain 2 will also change. As Figure 11 shown, when the distance between the inner chute 111 and the outer chute 112 becomes larger, the drive chain 2 is "compressed", and the distance between the first rotating shafts 22 of the drive chain 2 in the same chute decreases; conversely, when the distance between the inner chute 111 and the outer chute 112 becomes smaller, the drive chain 2 is "stretched". Through this characteristic, it can be used to adjust the distance between battery packs in the ring-shaped conveying system.

[0077] The drive bracket 3 is mainly composed of components such as the first bracket 31, the second rotating shaft 32, the second roller 33, and the gasket. Among them, the second rotating shaft 32 and the second roller 33 are the same as the first rotating shaft 22 and the first roller 23 in the drive chain 2, as Figure 10 、 Figure 12 shown. The drive bracket 3 has a total of 4 second rotating shafts 32 and 4 pairs of second rollers 33. The second rollers 33 are in sliding contact with the inner bottom surface of the chute guide rail 1, and both ends of the second rotating shaft 32 are in sliding contact with the inner side wall of the chute guide rail. Under the constraint of the chute guide rail 1, the drive bracket 3 has only one degree of freedom of translation along the chute, as Figure 9 、 Figure 10As shown. A part of the driving bracket 3 extends into the driving chain sliding space 11 of the chute guide rail and is hinged to a certain first rotating shaft 22 of the driving chain 2, so that the remaining translational degree of freedom is also constrained, and it moves along the driving bracket sliding space 12 of the chute guide rail under the drive of the driving chain 2. The mutual relationship among the chute guide rail 1, the driving chain 2, and the driving bracket 3 is as Figure 9 shown.

[0078] The shaft bracket 4 is mainly composed of a flange bracket 41 and a sleeve 42, as Figure 12 , Figure 14 shown. The flange bracket 41 is in sliding contact with the sleeve 42, and the sleeve 42 is also in sliding contact with the driving bracket 3; the other end of the flange bracket 41 is rigidly connected to the battery pack bracket 6 through a flange surface as a whole. The shaft bracket 4 moves along the chute guide rail 1 under the drive of the driving bracket 3, and thus drives the battery pack bracket 6 and the battery pack to move together. There is a spline shaft on the outer side of the shaft bracket 4, which is spline-connected to the direction constraint bracket 5.

[0079] It should be noted that the first bracket 31 of the driving bracket 3 is integrally C-shaped with an opening. When the shaft bracket 4 is not restricted by other constraints, it can disengage from the driving bracket 3 through this opening.

[0080] The direction constraint bracket 5 is mainly composed of a second bracket 51, an end cover 52, a third rotating shaft 53, and a third roller 54. Among them, the third rotating shaft 53 and the third roller 54 are the same as the rotating shafts and rollers in the driving chain 2 and the driving bracket 3, as Figure 12 , Figure 14 shown. Among them, a screw through hole is provided at the center of the end cover 52, and a threaded hole is provided at the corresponding position of the shaft bracket 4. The end cover 52 together with the second bracket 51 can be fixed on the shaft bracket 4 through screws, as Figure 17 shown. The direction constraint bracket 5 has a total of four third rotating shafts 53 and four pairs of third rollers 54. The third rollers 54 are in sliding contact with the inner side wall of the chute guide rail 1, which makes the direction constraint bracket 5 have only one degree of freedom of translation along the chute guide groove. When the direction constraint bracket 5 slides on the straight section of the chute guide rail 1, its spatial direction remains unchanged; when sliding on the curved section of the chute guide rail 1, the direction will rotate accordingly, as Figure 15 , Figure 16 shown.

[0081] The direction constraint bracket 5 is spline-connected to the flange bracket 41 of the shaft bracket 4, thereby restricting the rotational degree of freedom of the flange bracket 41 around the sleeve 42. The flange bracket 41 is rigidly connected to the battery pack bracket 6. Furthermore, the postures of the battery pack, the battery pack bracket 6, and the shaft bracket 4 at any position in the chute guide rail 1 will be consistent with the direction constraint bracket 5.

[0082] The main annular form of the battery swapping center designed by the present invention is such that the chute guide rail 1 ultimately also forms a huge annular structure. When the battery pack slides around the chute guide rail 1 for one circle, under the action of the direction constraint bracket 5, relative to the earth coordinate system, the battery pack will rotate 360 degrees around the axis of the shaft bracket 4, as Figure 16 shown. At the same time, it can also be seen that the inner side of the battery pack bracket 6 always points to the inner side of the annular chute guide rail 1, and such a design facilitates the design of the power supply device 9.

[0083] The main function of the battery pack bracket 6 is to store the battery pack and charge the battery pack. As Figure 11 、 Figure 13 shown, the battery pack bracket 6 is a simple frame structure, which integrates a battery pack fastening device 61 and an integrated charging device 62 inside. An integrated brush device 92 is also installed on the battery pack bracket 6. Both sides of the battery pack bracket 6 are connected to the shaft bracket 4 by bolts and complete a series of movements driven by the shaft bracket 4. The function of the integrated brush device 92 is to draw power from the power supply ring 91 located at the center of the annular conveying form; then the current flows to the integrated charging device 62 and realizes the charging of the battery pack under the control of the latter; the fastening device 61 is used to quickly clamp and release the battery pack and can realize ultra-fast battery swapping.

[0084] Figure 11 The shown battery pack bracket 6 can only store one battery. The battery pack bracket 6 can also be designed as a vertically symmetric structure, so as to have the ability to carry and store two batteries, as Figure 13 shown.

[0085] In this application, the main function of the power device 7 is to provide driving force to move the driving chain 2, and the power device can adopt the design of a conventional power device. The following embodiments provide a special design suitable for the structure of this application, as Figure 22 shown, the power device 7 mainly consists of a driving motor 71, a tensioning wheel 73 and a toothed belt 72.

[0086] Both the driving motor 71 and the tensioning wheel 73 are rigidly fixed on the main skeleton or outer wall of the battery swapping center through adapter brackets. The driving motor 71 is a hub motor integrating a motor, a reducer and a controller - similar to the hub motor of an electric motorcycle. The inner side of the toothed belt 72 is in frictional contact with the output end of the driving motor 71 and the tensioning wheel 73, while the outer toothed structure meshes with the first rotating shaft 22 in the driving chain 2, and the power is transmitted to the driving chain 2 accordingly.

[0087] In some embodiments, as Figure 23As shown, the power device 7 can adopt a power scheme with a dual drive motor 71 and a single toothed belt 72. In some other embodiments, a scheme with a single drive motor 71 and a single toothed belt 72 can also be adopted. In addition, in the illustrated scheme, the toothed belt 72 meshes with two first rotating shafts 22 of the drive chain 2 at the same time; since the distance between two pairs of sliding grooves of the drive chain 2 at different positions of the annular conveying system may change, which means that the "stretched" or "compressed" states of the drive chain 2 are inconsistent, ultimately affecting the cooperation between the toothed belt 72 and the drive chain 2. To avoid the above problems: 1) The power device is preferably arranged in an area where the "expansion and contraction" states of the drive chain are consistent; 2) In some areas, a power combination of a single drive motor 71 and a single toothed belt 72 can be arranged, such as Figure 23 as shown. Through the above two design methods, the effect of the power device driving the drive chain 2 to move can be effectively ensured.

[0088] The arrangement of the power device 7 in the annular conveying system is very flexible, and it can be arranged at any position on the chute guide rail 1 as long as the power requirements and the meshing requirements between the toothed belt 72 and the drive chain 2 are met. Since the chute guide rails 1 appear in pairs, the distribution of the power devices also preferably satisfies symmetry.

[0089] Based on the characteristics of the annular conveying system, the drive chain 2 is connected into a complete ring inside the annular chute guide rail. The main load in the system is the battery pack, and the battery packs are basically evenly distributed on the annular drive chain. Thus, the entire annular conveying system is basically in a static equilibrium state. If you want to make the drive chain 2 rotate or stop, the power device 7 only needs to overcome the frictional resistance in the system and provide an appropriate acceleration / deceleration. Based on the above characteristics, when the power device adopts the scheme of a dual drive motor 71, one of the motors serves as the drive motor, and the other motor serves as a generator - providing braking force and recovering braking energy, thereby saving power consumption.

[0090] The present invention constructs several annular conveying systems, which are respectively used as the charging ring 100 and the battery swapping ring 200. The battery packs need to be exchanged between the battery swapping ring 200 and the electric vehicle, which is completed by a dedicated battery swapping system and battery swapping device. And the battery packs also need to be exchanged between the battery swapping ring 200 and the charging ring 100 of the present application, which is the function of the exchange device 8.

[0091] In an embodiment of the present application, as Figures 17 to 20 shown, the exchange device 8 mainly consists of four components, a guide groove 83, a commutation convex block 84, a guide rail device 82 and a drive slider 81.

[0092] When the battery pack is transferred between the annular conveying systems, it is accompanied by the battery pack bracket 6, and the shaft bracket 4 and the direction constraint bracket 5 also move synchronously with it, as Figure 27As shown in the figure. The actual function of the exchange device 8 is to drive the slider 81 to clamp the direction constraint bracket 5, together with the coaxial bracket 4, the battery pack bracket 6 and the battery pack, and transfer them from the "mouth" of the driving bracket in the annular chute guide rail 1 of the battery swapping ring 200 or the charging ring 100 to the "mouth" of the driving bracket in the annular chute guide rail 1 of the next charging ring 100 or battery swapping ring 200, as shown in Fig. 17. The guide groove 83 in the exchange device 8 just matches the sleeve 42 of the coaxial bracket 4. During the transfer process, the sleeve 42 rolls or slides relative to the guide groove 83. The coaxial bracket 4 is limited by the guide groove 83, ensuring the stability of the coaxial bracket 4 during the movement.

[0093] The general working process of the exchange device is as follows:

[0094] As Figures 17 to 20 shown, the driving slider 81 is provided with a C-shaped opening or an opening of other shapes, and the direction constraint bracket 5 is clamped through this opening. During the transfer of the battery pack, due to the interaction between the coaxial bracket 4 and the guide groove 83, the battery pack bracket 6 will not slide out of the driving slider 81; when the driving slider 81 moves to the topmost or bottommost position (connected to the chute guide rail 1 of the battery swapping ring 200 or the charging ring 100 respectively when at the topmost or bottommost position), the direction constraint bracket 5 can freely move in and out along the direction of the chute guide rail 1. When the direction constraint bracket 5 moves into the driving slider 81, then moving the driving slider 81 along the direction of the guide rail device 82 can realize the exchange of the battery pack bracket 6.

[0095] In addition, when the charging ring and the battery swapping ring are arranged vertically as shown in the figure, a notch needs to be opened at the lower part of the chute guide rail 1 of the upper charging ring 100 for the exchange and transfer of the battery pack. When the driving slider 81 in the exchange device 8 moves out downward, there is a risk that the subsequent battery pack will fall from this notch; therefore, after a battery pack exchange is completed, the driving slider 81 needs to move upward to the top dead center position; during actual operation, when moving a battery from the charging ring 100 to the battery swapping ring, generally a battery will be immediately moved from the battery swapping ring 200 to the charging ring 100, and the driving slider 81 also returns to the top dead center position. If the exchange device is arranged in the horizontal direction (instead of the gravity direction), the above problems can be avoided.

[0096] The commutation convex block 84 in the exchange device 8 cooperates with the direction constraint bracket 5. When the direction constraint bracket 5 passes through the commutation protrusion 841 section of the commutation convex block 84, it will flip 90 degrees along with the movement, as Figure 20As shown, point A of the direction constraint bracket is flipped 90°, just flipping the battery pack from a vertical state to a horizontal state. The guide rail device 82 in the exchange device 8 cooperates with the driving slider 81. According to actual needs, the guide rail device 82 can be provided with driving power to drive the slider 81 to move; additional driving devices, such as electric push rods, cylinders or hydraulic rods, can also be arranged to push the driving slider 81 to move.

[0097] The reversing protrusion 84 can be arranged not only in the exchange device 8, but also in a specific position of the annular slide rail 1. Its function is to allow the battery pack and the battery pack bracket 6 to rotate an angle (usually 90 degrees) after passing through the reversing protrusion 84. If the battery pack needs to be rotated 180 degrees, two groups of reversing protrusions 84 can be arranged continuously. In particular, when a single battery pack bracket 6 is used to carry two battery packs, it is necessary to arrange a plurality of reversing protrusions 84 on the slide rail 1 of the battery exchange ring 200, and flip the battery pack bracket 6 180 degrees so that one of the battery packs can be removed.

[0098] In some embodiments, the reversing protrusion 84 can be installed on a set of guide rail devices 82, and another set of guide rail devices and straight pads 85 can be installed in parallel; when the reversing function needs to be turned on, the driving device pushes the reversing protrusion 84 up and pushes the straight pad 85 down, and at this time the direction constraint bracket 5 changes direction through the reversing protrusion 84; when the reversing function is not needed, the straight pad 85 is pushed up and the reversing protrusion 84 is pushed down.

[0099] The power supply device 9 of the present application mainly refers to a device that supplies power to the battery pack charger and then charges the battery pack. According to the solution of the present invention, the battery pack along with the battery pack bracket 6 will always move in the ring conveyor system, so it is necessary to solve the problem of current transmission between two parts in relative motion. The present invention adopts the following solution, such as Figure 24 As shown, the power supply device 9 is mainly composed of a rigid power supply ring 91 and an integrated brush device 92. The rigid power supply ring 91 is made up of sections of wear-resistant, self-lubricating conductors; the whole is a ring structure, which is installed on the main frame (or outer wall) of the battery exchange center through an adapter bracket and is sleeved on the inner or outer ring of the charging ring 100; the rigid power supply ring 91 is connected to the positive pole of the power supply of the battery exchange center.

[0100] The specific structure of the integrated brush device 92 is as follows: Figure 24 As shown, it is mainly composed of a conductive coating, a conductive arc-shaped spring sheet and an insulating bracket; the integrated brush device 92 is fixed to the battery pack bracket 6 by screw connection, and the current is transmitted to the wire inside the battery pack bracket 6 through the conductive metal screws; the conductive coating is sprayed on the arc-shaped spring sheet and is in friction contact with the power supply ring 91; the conductive coating is a friction consumable material, and its own consumption is also to reduce the friction loss of the rigid power supply ring, and subsequent maintenance only requires regular replenishment of the conductive coating.

[0101] In some embodiments, the power supply device 9 is provided with 3 independent power supply loops 91, and 3 independent integrated brush devices 92 are correspondingly arranged on the battery pack bracket 6, enabling multiple power supply combination schemes: directly supplying external three-phase alternating current to the charging system of the battery pack bracket 6, and the latter completes the conversion from alternating current to direct current and charges the battery pack; selecting 2 of the power supply loops 91 as the positive and negative poles of direct current, and the remaining one as the safety grounding loop; connecting all 3 power supply loops to the positive pole of the direct current power supply, and then all mechanical components of the storage system are grounded together.

[0102] Through the above design, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0103] This application constructs an annular conveying system, making the battery swapping operation, charging operation and storage operation in the battery swapping center independent of each other, ensuring the realization of the fast battery swapping scheme.

[0104] The annular conveying system of this application takes into account the storage function, and cleverly uses the annular structure to evenly distribute the battery packs, realizing internal gravity balance, reducing the driving force required for the annular conveying system, and reducing the energy consumption during long-term operation.

[0105] Based on the annular conveying system, this application can freely change various combination forms, and can realize the construction of battery swapping centers with different sizes, capacities and layout methods, and the subsequent transformation, upgrade and transformation of the battery swapping center are also relatively easy.

[0106] Most of this application is composed of simple basic structures and component combinations. These basic components have unified specifications, which are convenient for standardization, manufacturing, assembly, maintenance and reusable.

[0107] This application has complete functions, from battery pack conveying, storage to charging; other functions can also be upgraded later, such as battery pack detection, repair, maintenance, etc.

[0108] This application has strong compatibility with various battery packs, and the battery pack type, external dimension and weight are not greatly restricted; each battery pack bracket integrates a separate charging system, and the battery pack charging management is also more free, flexible, efficient and safe.

[0109] This application utilizes the retractable characteristic of the drive chain to be able to adjust the storage density of the battery packs according to actual needs; it is also possible to transform a certain section of the chute guide rail into electric adjustment to adjust the distance between the chutes and the circumference of the chute guide rail in real time, and then adjust the retractable length of the drive chain in real time, and finally adjust the distance between the battery packs in real time - that is, the battery pack storage density.

[0110] This application has strong application expansion: it can be degraded into an ordinary warehousing system to serve the logistics and express delivery industries; the battery pack bracket can be modified to store shared bicycles to serve the shared bicycle business; furthermore, it can be used to store electric bicycles / electric motorcycles to solve the problems of their storage and charging.

[0111] Based on the design of this application, the battery pack bracket can be modified into an electric bicycle bracket to realize the storage and charging of electric bicycles, alleviating a series of problems such as difficult parking and charging of electric bicycles in many current areas such as residential areas, subway stations, and company entrances. At the same time, it can also serve the electric bicycle sharing business by building a "sharing center" based on this warehousing system at transportation hubs to solve the problem of the last few kilometers of the journey for passengers.

[0112] As is known by technical common sense, the present invention can be implemented by other embodiments that do not depart from its spiritual essence or essential features. Therefore, the above-disclosed embodiments are illustrative in all respects and not exclusive. All changes within the scope of the present invention or within the scope equivalent to the present invention are encompassed by the present invention.

Claims

1. A battery swapping center for electric vehicles, characterized in that, It includes at least one charging ring (100) and at least one battery swapping ring (200). Both the charging ring (100) and the battery swapping ring (200) include a chute guide rail (1), and the chute guide rail (1) of the charging ring (100) is connected to the chute guide rail (1) of the battery swapping ring (200) through an exchange device (8). A drive chain (2) and a plurality of drive brackets (3) are connected inside the chute guide rail (1). The drive chain (2) is connected to the drive brackets (3) to drive the drive brackets (3) to move along the chute guide rail (1). A shaft bracket (4) is movably connected inside the drive bracket (3). The shaft bracket (4) is connected to a battery pack bracket (6) for placing a battery pack, and the shaft bracket (4) is also connected to a direction constraint bracket (5) for restricting its attitude. The exchange device (8) includes a guide rail device (82). The guide rail device (82) is arranged between the chute guide rail (1) of the charging ring (100) and the chute guide rail (1) of the battery swapping ring (200). A drive slider (81) is connected to the guide rail device (82). The drive slider (81) is used to move the shaft bracket (4) in the chute guide rail (1) of the charging ring (100) into the chute guide rail (1) of the battery swapping ring (200), or move the shaft bracket (4) in the chute guide rail (1) of the battery swapping ring (200) into the chute guide rail (1) of the charging ring (100). When the charging ring and the battery swapping ring are vertically arranged, a notch is provided at the lower part of the chute guide rail (1) of the charging ring (100) located above for battery pack exchange and transfer. After a battery pack exchange is completed, a battery is moved from the charging ring (100) to the battery swapping ring (200), causing the drive slider (81) to return to the top dead center position.

2. The battery swapping center for an electric vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that, A drive chain sliding space (11) for placing the drive chain (2) is provided inside the chute guide rail (1). An outer chute (112) is provided on one side of the drive chain sliding space (11), and an inner chute (111) is provided on the other side. The drive chain (2) includes a plurality of first rotating shafts (22). First rollers (23) are connected to both ends of the first rotating shaft (22). A connecting rod (21) is connected between two adjacent first rotating shafts (22). Two adjacent first rotating shafts (22) are respectively slidably connected in the inner chute (111) and the outer chute (112).

3. The battery swapping center for electric vehicles according to claim 2, wherein, A drive bracket sliding space (12) communicating with the drive chain sliding space (11) is further provided inside the chute guide rail (1). The drive bracket (3) includes a first bracket (31) with one end open. The first bracket (31) is slidably connected in the drive bracket sliding space (12). The first bracket (31) is hinged to the first rotating shaft (22).

4. The battery swapping center for electric vehicles according to claim 3, characterized in that, The shaft bracket (4) includes a flange bracket (41) and a sleeve (42). The sleeve (42) is slidably sleeved on the outer periphery of the flange bracket (41). The outer periphery of the sleeve (42) is connected within the opening of the first bracket (31) and can slide out of the first bracket (31). The flange surface of the flange bracket (41) is connected to the battery pack bracket (6). The driving bracket (3) is moved to drive the shaft bracket (4) to drive the battery pack bracket (6) to move.

5. The battery swapping center for an electric vehicle according to claim 4, wherein, The chute guide rail (1) further has a direction constraint bracket sliding space (13) communicating with the sliding space (12) of the driving bracket. The direction constraint bracket (5) is disposed within the direction constraint bracket sliding space (13). The direction constraint bracket (5) includes a second bracket (51). The second bracket (51) is connected to the flange bracket (41). A plurality of third rollers (54) are provided on the outer periphery of the second bracket (51). The third rollers (54) are slidably connected to the inner side wall of the chute guide rail (1). A spline connection is provided between the second bracket (51) and the flange bracket (41). The screw penetrates through the end cover and is connected to the end of the flange bracket (41) to limit the second bracket (51) on the flange bracket (41). The flange bracket (41) drives the direction constraint bracket (5) to slide within the direction constraint bracket sliding space (13) to constrain the postures of the shaft bracket (4) and the battery pack bracket (6).

6. The battery swapping center for an electric vehicle according to claim 5, characterized in that, The swapping device (8) further includes a guide groove (83). The guide groove (83) is provided between the chute guide rail (1) of the charging ring (100) and the chute guide rail (1) of the battery swapping ring (200). A guide channel for limiting the shaft bracket (4) is formed between the two guide grooves (83).

7. The battery swapping center for an electric vehicle according to claim 6, wherein The swapping device (8) further includes a commutation bump (84). The commutation bump (84) is provided between the guide groove (83) and the rail device (82). A commutation channel is formed between the two commutation bumps (84). A commutation protrusion (841) is provided on the inner side surface of one of the commutation bumps (84). The direction constraint bracket (5) is slidably connected within the commutation channel. The third roller (54) of the direction constraint bracket (5) contacts the commutation protrusion (841) to change the posture of the direction constraint bracket (5).

8. The battery swapping center for an electric vehicle according to claim 6, characterized in that, It further includes a commutation bump (84) and a flat pad (85) slidably connected to the rail device (82). A commutation channel is formed between the two commutation bumps (84). A commutation protrusion (841) is provided on the inner side surface of one of the commutation bumps (84). A sliding channel is formed between the two flat pads (85). The flat pad (85) or the commutation bump (84) is slid to enable the direction constraint bracket (5) to slide within the commutation channel or the sliding channel.

9. The battery swapping center for an electric vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that, The chute guide rail (1) is a segmented chute guide rail.

10. The battery swapping center for an electric vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that, The battery pack bracket (6) is of a frame structure. At least one battery pack installation station is provided on the battery pack bracket (6).

11. The battery swapping center for an electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein It further includes a power device (7), the power device (7) includes a toothed belt (72) and a drive motor (71) for driving the toothed belt (72) to rotate, and at least one first rotating shaft (22) in the drive chain (2) is engaged between two adjacent drive teeth of the toothed belt (72).

12. The battery swapping center for an electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein, It further includes a power supply device (9), the power supply device (9) includes a power supply ring (91) arranged on one side of the chute guide rail (1) of the charging ring (100) and an integrated brush device (92) connected to the battery pack bracket (6), and the integrated brush device (92) is connected to the power supply ring (91).

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