Snow sweeping robot and snow sweeping system
By installing a charging module and a snow deflector at the bottom of the snow-sweeping robot, the problem of the charging module being covered by snow was solved, enabling the snow-sweeping robot to automatically charge and operate intelligently.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Patents(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- SHENZHEN HANYANG TECHNOLOGY CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2023-06-16
- Publication Date
- 2026-05-08
AI Technical Summary
Existing snow-clearing robots often encounter charging difficulties because the charging module is easily covered by snowflakes or forms hard snow blocks.
The charging structure adopts a bottom-up approach, with the charging module located at the bottom of the vehicle body. It is equipped with a movable enclosure and snow deflector. The enclosure extends outwards when not charging to prevent snow accumulation, and the snow deflector prevents snow from entering the vehicle body.
This effectively prevents snow from accumulating on the surface of the charging module, ensuring normal charging and enabling automated charging and intelligent operation of the snow-sweeping robot.
Smart Images

Figure CN116591092B_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of robotics, and in particular to a snow-sweeping robot and snow-sweeping system. Background Technology
[0002] With the rapid development of robotics technology, robots are beginning to permeate every corner of our lives. Snow-sweeping robots, as a type of snow-sweeping robot, consist of a snow-sweeping device and a carrier used to move the device around the yard. The carrier is typically a wheeled or tracked vehicle. The snow-sweeping device mainly includes a snow-rolling mechanism and a snow-throwing mechanism. The snow-rolling mechanism gathers snow from the ground into a snow-rolling chamber, and then the snow-throwing mechanism throws the snow from the chamber in a designated direction.
[0003] In pursuit of low-carbon, environmentally friendly, energy-saving, and emission-reducing principles, traditional fuel-powered snow-clearing robots are gradually being phased out. Current snow-clearing robot development primarily utilizes battery-powered electric structures. Existing charging modules are mainly located at the rear or side of the mobile vehicle, which moves horizontally to approach the charging station. Since snow-clearing robots typically clear snow while it's snowing, regardless of whether the charging module is located at the rear or side, it is extremely prone to being covered by snowflakes or having hardened snow blocks form on its surface, posing significant challenges to charging the snow-clearing robot. Summary of the Invention
[0004] The present invention aims to provide a snow-sweeping robot that can solve the technical problem of charging difficulties in existing snow-sweeping robots.
[0005] The technical solutions adopted by the embodiments of the present invention to solve their technical problems are as follows:
[0006] This application discloses a snow-sweeping robot, comprising:
[0007] Snow removal equipment is used to clear snow from the ground.
[0008] The vehicle body is fixedly connected to the snow removal device and is used to carry the snow removal device for mobile operation;
[0009] The charging module is provided with a battery mounting position for installing a storage battery. The charging module is used to charge the storage battery. The charging module includes a charging contact that is adapted to the power contact of the charging pile during charging. The charging contact is located at the bottom of the vehicle body.
[0010] As another improvement to the snow-sweeping robot of this application, the power contact includes a transmitting coil, the charging contact is a receiving coil for coupling with the transmitting coil, the charging module also includes an encapsulation shell for fixing the receiving coil, the receiving coil is electrically connected to the battery, and the encapsulation shell is fixed to the bottom of the vehicle body.
[0011] As another improvement to the snow-sweeping robot of this application, the encapsulation shell is provided with a charging surface corresponding to the transmitting coil, and the charging surface is exposed on the bottom surface of the vehicle body.
[0012] As another improvement to the snow-sweeping robot of this application, the vehicle body is provided with a charging compartment for storing the charging contact, the encapsulation shell is provided with a charging surface, the charging contact can move in the charging compartment, and the position of the charging contact in the charging compartment has an outward position that allows the charging surface to protrude from the chassis surface, and a storage position that allows the charging surface to be hidden in the charging compartment.
[0013] As another improvement to the snow-sweeping robot of this application, the charging contact is a conductor used to contact the power contact to achieve electrical connection between the two. The charging contact is movably connected to the bottom of the vehicle body. The charging contact has a retracted position and an extended position during its active stroke. When the charging contact is in the retracted position, it retracts into the vehicle body. When the charging contact is in the extended position, it extends to the surface of the vehicle body. In the charging state, the charging contact is located in the retracted position, and in the non-charging state, the charging contact is located in the extended position.
[0014] As another improvement to the snow-sweeping robot of this application, the charging module is provided with a charging slot for receiving the charging contact, and the charging slot is provided with a reset mechanism for resetting the charging contact from the receiving position to the extended position when not charging.
[0015] As another improvement to the snow-sweeping robot of this application, snow deflectors are provided on both sides of the vehicle body to prevent snow from entering the underside of the vehicle body.
[0016] As another improvement to the snow-sweeping robot of this application, the vehicle body is provided with tracks on both sides for walking, and the snow deflector is fixedly installed on the side of the area enclosed by the tracks.
[0017] As a further improvement to the snow-sweeping robot of this application, the snow-sweeping device includes:
[0018] A snow-rolling mechanism, wherein the snow-rolling mechanism is provided with a snow-rolling chamber, and the snow-rolling chamber is provided with snow-rolling blades for collecting snow;
[0019] The snow throwing mechanism includes a snow throwing chamber connected to the snow rolling chamber, and the snow throwing chamber is provided with snow throwing blades for throwing snow accumulated in the snow rolling chamber.
[0020] This application also discloses a snow removal system, including:
[0021] The snow-sweeping robot described above;
[0022] The charging station includes a base and a power contact for adapting to the charging contact. The power contact is disposed on the base, which is used for parking the snow removal robot. When the snow removal robot is parked on the base for charging, the power contact is located below the charging contact.
[0023] As a further improvement to the snow removal system of this application, the snow removal system also includes:
[0024] The transmitting module is installed in the charging pile, and the receiving module and control module are installed in the vehicle body;
[0025] The receiving module is used to receive electromagnetic waves emitted by the transmitting module and send the electromagnetic waves to the control module;
[0026] The control module processes the received electromagnetic waves to obtain electromagnetic wave intensity distribution information, and controls the movement trajectory of the snow sweeping robot based on the electromagnetic wave intensity distribution information.
[0027] The snow removal robot and snow removal system disclosed in this application adopt a charging structure with the power contact and charging contact from bottom to top. Since the charging module is located at the bottom of the vehicle, the entire vehicle body acts as a shield, preventing snowflakes from falling on the surface of the charging module during snowfall, thus solving the problem of snow accumulation on the surface of the charging module causing charging difficulties. The snow deflector can prevent snow from the ground from flowing into the bottom of the vehicle, thus preventing snow from flowing into the bottom of the vehicle and covering the charging contact, solving the problem of snow covering the surface of the charging module and affecting charging. Attached Figure Description
[0028] One or more embodiments are illustrated by way of example with reference numerals in the accompanying drawings. These illustrations do not constitute a limitation on the embodiments. Elements with the same reference numerals in the drawings are denoted as similar elements. Unless otherwise stated, the figures in the drawings are not to be limited by scale.
[0029] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the snow-sweeping robot disclosed in Embodiment 1 of the present invention;
[0030] Figure 2 This is a schematic view of the bottom structure of the snow-sweeping robot disclosed in Embodiment 1 of the present invention;
[0031] Figure 3This is a schematic structural view of the chassis of the snow-sweeping robot disclosed in Embodiment 1 of the present invention;
[0032] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the snow-sweeping robot provided in Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
[0033] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the snow-sweeping device structure of the snow-sweeping robot provided in Embodiment 1 of the present invention;
[0034] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure at the bottom of the snow-sweeping robot disclosed in Embodiment 2 of the present invention;
[0035] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the charging module structure of the snow-sweeping robot disclosed in Embodiment 2 of the present invention;
[0036] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the charging module from another angle, as shown in Embodiment 2 of the present invention, of the snow-sweeping robot.
[0037] Figure 9 This is an exploded view of the charging module of the snow-sweeping robot disclosed in Embodiment 2 of the present invention;
[0038] Figure 10 This is a schematic structural view of the snow-sweeping robot disclosed in Embodiment 2 of the present invention;
[0039] Figure 11 This is a schematic structural view of the cover of the snow-sweeping robot disclosed in Embodiment 2 of the present invention, taken from another angle.
[0040] Figure 12 This is a schematic view of the structure of the conductive disk in the snow-sweeping robot disclosed in Embodiment 2 of the present invention;
[0041] Figure 13 This is a schematic view of the structure of the guide column in the snow-sweeping robot disclosed in Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
[0042] The attached icon numbers and their corresponding meanings are as follows:
[0043] Snow sweeping device 1, snow throwing chamber 10, snow throwing blade 11;
[0044] Body 2, chassis 20, snow guard 21, tracks 22, battery mounting position 23, charging module mounting position 24;
[0045] Charging module 3, encapsulation shell 30, charging surface 300, charging platform 31, electrode assembly 32, conductive disk 320, compression spring 321, guide post 322, tail block 3220, retaining ring 3221, blocking part 323, electrode lead terminal 324, wiring post 325, housing 33, second opening 331, wiring port 332, wire frame 333, wiring groove 334, cover 34, receiving cavity 340, first opening 341, guide hole 342, positioning post 343, positioning groove 344, lead hole 345, fixing ear 346, front fixing plate 35, rear fixing plate 36;
[0046] Snow bucket 4. Detailed Implementation
[0047] To facilitate understanding of the present invention, a more detailed description is provided below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that when an element is described as being "fixed to" another element, it can be directly on the other element, or one or more intermediate elements may exist between them. When an element is described as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element, or one or more intermediate elements may exist between them. The terms "upper," "lower," "inner," "outer," "vertical," and "horizontal," etc., used in this specification to indicate orientation or positional relationships are based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description. They do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as limiting the present invention.
[0048] Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," etc., are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance. Words such as "comprising" or "including" mean that the element or object preceding the word encompasses the elements or objects listed after the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects. Words such as "connected" or "linked" are not limited to physical or mechanical connections but can include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. Unless otherwise defined, the features such as "parallel," "perpendicular," and "identical" used in embodiments of the present invention include strictly defined "parallel," "perpendicular," and "identical," as well as cases where "approximately parallel," "approximately perpendicular," and "approximately identical" include a certain margin of error. For example, "approximately" as described above may indicate that the difference between the compared objects is within 10% or 5% of the average value of the compared objects. Unless otherwise specified in the following embodiments of the present invention, the quantity of a component or element is implied; it means that the component or element may be one or more, or can be understood as at least one. "At least one" means one or more, and "more" means at least two.
[0049] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in this specification have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. The terminology used in this specification is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the invention. The term "and / or" as used in this specification includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
[0050] Furthermore, the technical features involved in the different embodiments of the present invention described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the described embodiments of the present invention without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.
[0051] Example 1
[0052] The snow-sweeping robot disclosed in this application, such as Figures 1-3 As shown, the device includes a snow removal device 1, a vehicle body 2 for supporting the snow removal device 1 and enabling it to move and operate, and a charging module 3 mounted on the vehicle body 2. The vehicle body 2 includes a chassis 20 for supporting the battery and the charging module 3. The charging module 3 is used to charge the battery and is located at the bottom of the vehicle body 2, i.e., the bottom of the chassis 20. The chassis 20 has a battery mounting position 23 for installing the battery and a charging module mounting position 24 for installing the charging module 3.
[0053] In this embodiment, the snow-sweeping robot uses a wireless charging structure for charging. The charging module 3 includes a charging contact that is electrically connected to the battery, and a power contact is provided on one side of the charging pile. The charging contact is used to make electrical contact with the power contact during charging, thereby realizing the charging of the battery.
[0054] Specifically, the charging module 3 includes a receiving coil for electrical connection with the battery and an encapsulation shell 30 for fixing the receiving coil. The vehicle body 2 is provided with a first charging circuit, through which the receiving coil is electrically connected to the battery. The encapsulation shell is fixedly connected to the lower surface of the chassis 20 to achieve a fixed connection between the receiving coil and the chassis 20. A transmitting coil electrically connected to a power source is provided at the charging pile, and wireless charging can be achieved by coupling the transmitting coil and the receiving coil. The charging pile is provided with a charging platform 31, and the transmitting coil is disposed on the charging platform 31. When the snow-sweeping robot moves to the charging pile and the charging module 3 is directly opposite the charging platform 31, the battery inside the vehicle body 2 can be charged. In this embodiment, the charging platform 31 serves as a power contact at the charging pile, and the receiving coil serves as a charging contact.
[0055] In this embodiment, the vehicle body 2 adopts a bottom-up charging structure. Since the charging module 3 is located on the lower surface of the chassis 20, the entire vehicle body 2 is covered above the charging module 3. When it snows, snowflakes are blocked by the vehicle body and will not fall onto the surface of the charging module 3, thus avoiding the problem that the charging module 3 cannot be charged normally due to the surface being covered by snow.
[0056] The transmitting coil at the charging station is electrically connected to the power supply via a frequency converter. The frequency converter adjusts the frequency of the input voltage. If the input voltage is AC, the frequency of the AC voltage is controlled by the frequency converter to control the charging efficiency. If the input voltage is DC, it needs to be filtered by an oscillation circuit to become pulsating DC. The charging efficiency is then controlled by changing the frequency of the pulsating DC. The receiving coil is electrically connected to the battery via a first charging circuit, which includes rectification, filtering, and voltage regulation circuits. The receiving coil charges the battery with the induced voltage from the first charging circuit after rectification, filtering, and voltage regulation. Since rectification, filtering, and voltage regulation circuits are standard technologies in the field of electrical engineering, they will not be described in detail here.
[0057] Specifically, such as Figure 2 As shown, the encapsulation shell 30 is provided with a charging surface 300 corresponding to the charging platform 31. Wireless charging can then commence when the vehicle body 2 moves over the charging platform 31 and the charging surface 300 contacts and overlaps with it. In winter, when there is a large temperature difference between day and night, clumps (frost, snow, or ice) easily form on the surface of the charging surface 300. During blizzards, a small amount of snowflakes may also be swept into the bottom of the vehicle body 2 and condense on the surface of the charging surface 300. These clumps can encase the charging surface 300 and adhere it to the surface of the chassis 20, preventing the charging surface 300 from contacting the charging platform 31 and thus hindering charging. To address this issue, in other embodiments of this application, the charging module 3 further includes a charging compartment for housing the encapsulation shell 30. The encapsulation shell 30 can move within the charging compartment. The encapsulation shell 30 has an extended position and a retracted position relative to the charging compartment. When the encapsulation shell 30 is in the retracted position, it retracts into the charging compartment, meaning the charging surface 300 is located above the bottom surface of the chassis 20, and the power contact extends into the charging compartment and contacts the charging surface 300. When the encapsulation shell 30 is in the extended position, the power contact separates from the charging surface 300. At this time, the charging surface 300 can either protrude from the surface of the chassis 20 or be flush with the surface of the chassis 20. The charging contact has both a retracted position and an extended position, meaning the encapsulation shell 30 has two switchable positions within the charging compartment: a retracted position and an extended position. In the charging state, the encapsulation shell 30 is in the retracted position, meaning the charging surface 300 retracts into the charging compartment; in the non-charging state, the encapsulation shell 30 is in the extended position, meaning the charging surface 300 extends out of the charging compartment.
[0058] With this mechanism design, the encapsulation shell 30 is in the outward position when not charging. When clumps (frost, snow, or ice) form on the surface of the charging surface 30, the encapsulation shell 30 will retract upward above the surface of the chassis 20 when charging. Therefore, the clumps on the surface of the charging surface 300 will be subjected to the normal stress caused by the obstruction of the chassis 20, which will cause them to be squeezed together and broken and detached from the chassis 20. This ensures normal contact between the charging surface 300 and the charging platform 31, and completes the charging process.
[0059] Furthermore, when the vehicle body 2 travels on snow, the snow on both sides of the vehicle body 2 will surge towards the bottom of the vehicle, causing the snow from the ground to come into contact with the charging module 3, resulting in snow or ice blocks forming on the surface of the charging module 3. To solve this problem, in this embodiment, as follows... Figure 4 As shown, snow deflectors 21 are also provided on both sides of the vehicle body 2. The snow deflectors 21 extend vertically downwards from the chassis 20 of the vehicle body 2, covering the sides of the chassis 20. In this way, when the snow-sweeping robot is moving in the snow, the snow deflectors 21 can prevent snow from the ground from flowing into the bottom of the vehicle body 2 from the sides, thereby preventing snow from the ground from contacting the charging module 3 and solving the problem that the surface of the charging module 3 is covered by snow due to the snow on the ground, which affects charging.
[0060] Specifically, such as Figure 5 As shown, in this embodiment, the vehicle body 2 is equipped with tracks 22 on both sides, and snow deflectors 21 are disposed on the sides of the tracks 22, completely enclosing the sides of the area enclosed by the tracks 22. Since the bottom of the tracks 22 is in direct contact with the ground, the sides of the vehicle body 2 are completely blocked by the tracks 22 and the snow deflectors 21, while the front of the vehicle body 2 is blocked by the snow sweeping device 1. Therefore, even if the vehicle body 2 travels on snow of a certain thickness, snow cannot flow into the undercarriage through the sides of the vehicle body 2. On the other hand, when encountering blizzard weather, since the tracks 22 and the snow deflectors 21 completely cover the sides of the chassis 20, snowflakes blown by the wind cannot enter the undercarriage through the tracks 22. In this way, snow from the sky and the ground cannot contact the charging module 3, facilitating automatic charging of the vehicle body.
[0061] The snow removal device 1 includes a snow-rolling mechanism and a snow-throwing mechanism. The snow-rolling mechanism has a snow-rolling chamber 10, which contains snow-rolling blades 11 for collecting snow. The snow-rolling chamber 10 is connected to a snow-throwing chamber, which contains snow-throwing blades for throwing the snow from the snow-rolling chamber 10. The snow-throwing chamber is located on the central axis of the snow-rolling chamber 10. The snow-rolling blades 11 are fixed on the snow-rolling output shaft, and two sets of snow-rolling blades 11 are symmetrically arranged about the central axis of the snow-rolling chamber 10. The spiral guide of each set of snow-rolling blades faces the central axis of the snow-rolling chamber 10. Therefore, when the snow-rolling output shaft rotates, it will drive the two sets of snow-rolling blades 11 to simultaneously collect the snow in the snow-rolling chamber 10 towards the center of the snow-rolling chamber. As the vehicle body 2 continues to move forward, the snow accumulated in the center of the snow-rolling chamber 10 is pushed deeper into the snow-rolling chamber 10 by the continuous influx of new snow. That is, the snow is pushed to the snow-throwing chamber connected to the snow-rolling chamber 10, and after the snow-throwing blades do their work, the snow is thrown out along the snow-throwing bucket 4.
[0062] Specifically, such as Figure 5 As shown, the snow collection chamber 10 has a semi-enclosed structure with an opening facing forward, so that when the vehicle body 2 moves, the snow collection chamber 10 will collect the oncoming snow. A snow throwing chamber is located on the side of the snow collection chamber 10 away from the opening. A snow throwing bucket 4, connected to the snow throwing chamber, is located outside the snow sweeping device 1. The interior of the snow collection chamber 10 is a curved cavity, the cross-section of which gradually narrows from the opening to the snow throwing chamber. Thus, the snow-collecting blades 11 gather the snow inside the snow collection chamber. As the vehicle body 2 moves forward, the snow accumulated in the snow collection chamber 10 is gathered by the gradually narrowing cross-section of the chamber walls and flows towards the snow throwing chamber. The snow is then thrown out by the snow throwing blades of the snow throwing chamber through the snow throwing bucket 4.
[0063] The snow sweeping device 1 also includes a drive component for driving the snow-rolling blades and snow-throwing blades. In this embodiment, the drive component is an electric motor. The electric motor is powered by a battery located in the vehicle body 2. Thus, compared to traditional fuel-powered snow sweeping robots, the complex internal combustion engine drive system of the snow sweeping robot disclosed in this embodiment can be smaller in size, achieving miniaturization.
[0064] Furthermore, the snow-throwing bucket 4 is fixedly connected to the outer shell of the snow-sweeping device 1 at its base. The snow-throwing bucket 4 is arc-shaped, with its end extending vertically while gradually bending horizontally. To achieve the maximum snow-throwing distance with limited energy consumption, the central angle of the center line of the snow-throwing bucket 4 in this embodiment is 45°, that is, the angle between the velocity direction of the snow at the moment it leaves the snow-throwing nozzle and the horizontal direction is 45°. Since the same mass of snow, with the same initial velocity, is thrown the farthest horizontally when thrown at a 45° upward angle, this structural design achieves the maximum snow-throwing distance without changing energy consumption (i.e., the initial velocity of the snow when it leaves the snow-throwing nozzle remains constant), thus throwing the snow further, improving the mechanical efficiency of the product, and reducing energy consumption.
[0065] Example 2
[0066] This embodiment is an improved technical solution based on Embodiment 1. The difference between this embodiment and Embodiment 1 is that in this embodiment, the charging module 3 charges the battery via wired charging. That is, the charging contact and the power contact are electrically connected through mutual contact, wherein both the power contact and the charging contact are conductors. (Here, electrical connection refers to the circuit being conducted through physical contact between conductors, which is different from the contactless wireless charging structure.)
[0067] like Figure 6 As shown, in this embodiment, the charging module 3 includes an electrode assembly 32, which is fixed to the lower surface of the chassis 20. The electrode assembly 3 includes a charging contact, which is electrically connected to the battery through a second charging circuit. The charging contact is movably connected to the bottom of the vehicle body 2, and has a retractable position and an extended position during its movement. When in the retractable position, the charging contact retracts into the vehicle body 2; when in the extended position, the charging contact extends to a position flush with the bottom surface of the vehicle body 2. The retractable position corresponds to the position of the charging contact during the charging state, and the extended position corresponds to the position of the charging contact during the non-charging state.
[0068] like Figure 8 and Figure 12 As shown, the charging contact in this embodiment is a conductive disk 320, with two conductive disks 320 spaced apart. The conductive disk 320 is a disc-shaped structure with a radial diameter much larger than its thickness. Compared with the traditional socket plug structure, this increases the contact area for connecting the power contact, allowing electrical connection to be achieved simply by having a contact point between the power contact and the conductive disk 320, thus reducing the requirements for the positioning accuracy of the vehicle body 2 and the charging pile during charging.
[0069] The second charging circuit includes a rectifier bridge, a filter circuit, a transformer, etc. The voltage is rectified, filtered, and stepped down by the second circuit before being fed into the battery for charging. It should be understood that in specific implementation examples, the component parameters in the second charging circuit need to be adjusted according to different power and voltage output requirements. Wired charging circuits are also a common technology in the field of electrical engineering, and will not be elaborated on here.
[0070] With this mechanism design, the conductive disk 320 is in an extended position when not charging, that is, flush with or protruding from the bottom surface of the vehicle body 2. When there are clumps (frost, snow or ice) on the surface of the charging surface 30, the conductive disk 320 will retract upward into the vehicle body 2 when charging. Therefore, the clumps on the surface of the conductive disk 320 are subjected to pressure from the chassis 20 as the conductive disk 320 retracts, which generates a large normal stress inside the clumps. As a result, the clumps break apart due to mutual compression and detach from the chassis 20 and the conductive disk 320. This ensures normal contact between the conductive disk 320 and the power contact element, and completes the charging process.
[0071] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as Figure 9 As shown, to reset the conductive disk 320 from its retracted position to its extended position, the electrode assembly 32 also includes a reset mechanism. In this embodiment, the reset mechanism includes an elastic element that acts on the conductive disk 320 to provide the restoring force required for its reset. This elastic element is a spring, specifically a compression spring 321 that abuts against the top surface of the conductive disk 320. When the power contact pushes the conductive disk 320 upward, the compression spring 321 begins to compress and store energy. After charging is completed, the compression spring 321 releases its elastic potential energy and pushes the conductive disk 320 downward, causing the conductive disk 320 to disengage from the power contact, thereby completing the reset from the retracted position to the extended position.
[0072] Multiple compression springs 321 are arranged around the geometric center of the conductive disk 320. In this embodiment, the conductive disk 320 is a circular metal disk, and four compression springs 321 are arranged at equal intervals on the same circumference around the center of the conductive disk 320.
[0073] like Figures 9-11 As shown, the charging module 3 also includes a housing 33 fixed to the bottom of the vehicle body 2, and the electrode assembly 32 is housed inside the housing 33. The electrode assembly 32 also includes a cover 34 disposed within the housing 33, the cover 34 having a receiving cavity 340, the conductive disk 320 being housed within the receiving cavity 340 and capable of reciprocating within the receiving cavity 340. The bottom of the cover 34 (the end facing downwards from the vehicle body 2) has a first opening 341 through which the conductive disk 320 can pass, and the first opening 341 communicates with the receiving cavity 340. The reciprocating movement of the conductive disk 320 within the receiving cavity 340 allows it to switch between a retracted position and an extended position.
[0074] like Figures 9-11 As shown, the bottom of the housing 33 has a second opening 331 corresponding to the first opening 341. When the conductive disk 320 finishes charging, under the action of the compression spring 321, the conductive disk 320 passes through the first opening 341 and the second opening 331 and extends out of the surface of the housing 33 or is flush with the surface of the housing 33.
[0075] Furthermore, such as Figure 9As shown, the compression spring 321 is disposed between the cover 34 and the conductive disk 320. A guide member is also provided inside the cover 34. The guide member restricts the degree of freedom of the conductive disk 320 perpendicular to the extension direction, ensuring that the conductive disk 320 can only move along the extension direction of the guide member. The guide member is a guide post 322, one end of which is fixedly connected to the conductive disk 320, and the other end is movably connected to the cover 34.
[0076] Specifically, such as Figure 10 and Figure 11 As shown, the top of the cover 34 is provided with a guide hole 342 for the middle part of the guide post 322 to pass through, as... Figure 13 As shown, the guide post 322, located outside the cover 34, has a tailstock 3220 at its other end. The guide hole 342 allows the middle part of the guide post 322 to pass freely, but restricts the passage of the tailstock 3220. One end of the guide post 322 is threadedly connected to the conductive disk 320. A limiting component is also fixed on the guide post 322, such as... Figure 12 As shown, the limiting member is a retaining ring 3221 sleeved on the surface of the guide post 322. Of course, in other embodiments of this application, the retaining ring 3221 can also be disposed on the surface of the conductive disk 320. When the conductive disk 320 is in the outward position, the tail post 3220 contacts the top surface of the cover 34, restricting the conductive disk 320 from moving further downward. At this time, the conductive disk 320 reaches the limit position of the outward position. When the power contact member pushes the conductive disk 320 upward to switch it from the outward position to the retracted position, the guide post 322 moves upward through the guide hole 342. When the retaining ring 3221 contacts the top of the cover 34, the conductive disk 320 retracts to the limit position.
[0077] Therefore, in this example, the guide post 322 serves not only as a guide but also as a connector between the cover 34 and the guide disc 320. For example... Figure 10 As shown, the inner surface of the top of the cover 34 is provided with a positioning post 343 for fixing the compression spring 321, and the positioning post 343 passes through the top of the compression spring 321. Figure 12 As shown, the upper surface of the conductive disk 320 is provided with four positioning grooves 344 for fixing the compression spring 321, and correspondingly, the inner surface of the top of the cover 34 is provided with four positioning posts 343.
[0078] In this embodiment, the reset mechanism not only resets the conductive disk 320 from the storage position to the outward extension position, but the elastic element also ensures that the conductive disk 320 always remains in close contact with the power contact element, thus ensuring the continuous charging operation.
[0079] Furthermore, such as Figure 8As shown, the electrode assembly 32 includes two conductive pads 320 arranged side by side, with a blocking portion 323 between the two conductive pads 320. The blocking portion 323 remains relatively stationary with respect to the vehicle body 2. Specifically, the blocking portion 323 is formed on the housing 33 in the portion located between the two second openings 331. In the non-charging state, the conductive disk 320 is in the outward position. When there are lumps (ice, snow, or frost) on the end face of the conductive disk 320 and the surface of the housing 33, as the conductive disk 320 changes from the outward position to the retracted position, the lumps are attached to the surface of the conductive disk 320. Thus, the two ends of the lumps will be subjected to the upward pulling force of the conductive disk 320. Due to the obstruction of the blocking part 323, the inside of the lumps is subjected to both the normal stress from the bending moment and the shear stress from the blocking part 323. Even if the lumps are thick ice, they will break under the action of the blocking part 323 under the action of the shear stress. The broken ice into two small pieces will continue to break under the action of the continuously generated normal stress (during the movement of the conductive disk 320 from the outward position to the retracted position), thereby eliminating the problem of the conductive disk 320 being unable to complete charging due to ice on its surface.
[0080] When the conductive disk 320 is in the extended position, the surface of the blocking part 323 is flush with or protrudes from the bottom end face (lower surface) of the conductive disk 320. That is, the end face of the blocking part 323 cannot be higher than the bottom end face of the conductive disk 320 in the vertical direction. In this way, the blocking part 323 causes shear stress to be generated inside the agglomerate when the conductive disk 320 retracts.
[0081] Furthermore, such as Figure 3 As shown, the chassis 20 of the vehicle body 2 has a battery mounting position 23 for fixing the battery and a charging module mounting position 24 for fixing the charging module 3 at its bottom. Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown, the outer casing 33 is fixedly connected to the chassis at both ends via a front fixing plate 35 and a rear fixing plate 36, respectively. Figure 12 As shown, the conductive disk 320 has a terminal 325 at its center for fixing the electrode lead terminal 324, such as... Figure 10 and Figure 11 As shown, a lead hole 345 is provided on the top of the cover 34 for electrode leads to pass through. Figure 7 As shown, the surface of the housing 33 is provided with a wiring port 332 through which electrode leads pass. A wire guide 333 for wiring is also fixed to the surface of the housing 33, and an electrode lead guide groove 334 is formed on the wire guide 333. The electrode leads enter the guide groove 334 through the wiring port 332 and extend along the guide groove 334 to the battery mounting position 23, where they are electrically connected to a circuit board located at the battery mounting position 23. The circuit board integrates a second charging circuit, and the electrodes of the battery are electrically connected to the output terminal of the circuit board. The cover 34 has fixing ears 346 on both sides, and the cover 34 is fixedly connected to the housing 33 via the fixing ears 346.
[0082] In this embodiment, the power contact acts as the active component during charging, and the conductive disk 320 moves upward under the pressure of the power contact. Specifically, a lifting mechanism is provided at the bottom of the power contact. When the vehicle body 2 moves directly above the power contact, the lifting mechanism controls the power contact to rise until it docks with the conductive disk 320. After the charging process is completed, the power contact descends to its initial position and disengages from the charging disk 320.
[0083] Example 3
[0084] This embodiment also discloses a snow removal system, including the snow removal robot disclosed in the above embodiments and a charging station. The charging station includes a base and a power supply component, with the power supply component disposed on the base, which is used for parking the snow removal robot. The power supply component is adapted to the charging module 3. When the snow removal robot is parked on the base, the power supply component is located below the robot's charging module 3, enabling the power supply component to charge the battery from bottom to top.
[0085] The charging module 3 can adopt the wireless charging structure disclosed in Embodiment 1, with the power contact corresponding to the charging platform of Embodiment 1; or it can adopt the wired charging structure disclosed in Embodiment 2, with the power contact corresponding to the conductive disk 320 of Embodiment 2. Furthermore, the snow-sweeping robot disclosed in Embodiments 1 and 2 of this application can complete the charging action while preventing the charging module 3 from being covered by snow. Simultaneously, when clumps appear on the surface of the charging module 3, the charging contact can switch from an outward position to a retractable position to break up the clumps. This achieves intelligent operation of the snow-sweeping robot, enabling it to automatically charge in low-battery conditions, thereby maximizing automated operation and eliminating reliance on manual intervention.
[0086] Furthermore, the snow removal system of this embodiment also includes a transmitting module, a receiving module, and a control module. The transmitting module is located at the charging pile, while the receiving module and control module are located on the vehicle body 2. The transmitting module at the charging pile transmits electromagnetic waves, and the receiving module receives these electromagnetic waves and transmits them to the control module. Electromagnetic wave intensity distribution information is determined and sent to the control module. The electromagnetic waves are emitted by the transmitting module located within a preset control area. After receiving the electromagnetic waves from the receiving module, the control module processes them to obtain electromagnetic wave intensity distribution information. Based on this information, the control module corrects the current movement state of the snow removal robot and controls the robot to move towards the charging pile based on the correction result.
[0087] It should be noted that the receiving module is an electromagnetic wave sensor installed on the snow removal robot. For example, the receiving module can be composed of a resonant circuit and an amplification circuit, and the LC resonant circuit can be composed of an inductor and a capacitor. The receiving module is used to detect and receive electromagnetic waves. When it receives electromagnetic waves, it determines the electromagnetic wave intensity distribution information of the snow removal robot's current location based on the electromagnetic waves. The aforementioned electromagnetic wave intensity distribution information can be the electromagnetic wave intensity information of the snow removal robot's current location and the electromagnetic wave range distribution information.
[0088] The control module can be a functional module installed on the snow sweeping robot to control the movement state and movement of the snow sweeping robot. The control module receives and reads the electromagnetic wave intensity distribution information sent by the receiving module, processes the electromagnetic wave intensity distribution information, corrects the current movement state of the snow sweeping robot according to the processing result, and controls the movement of the snow sweeping robot according to the correction result.
[0089] A transmitting module is pre-installed or set at the charging station. The transmitting module includes a waveform generating circuit for generating an AC square wave and an output coil for generating electromagnetic waves based on the AC square wave and transmitting the electromagnetic waves. It should be understood that, to effectively prevent the snow-sweeping robot from deviating from its route while moving towards the charging station, the receiving module in this embodiment receives the electromagnetic waves emitted by the transmitting module pre-installed at the charging station and sends them to the control module. The control module processes the received electromagnetic waves to obtain electromagnetic wave intensity distribution information. Based on this information, the control module corrects the current movement state of the snow-sweeping robot and controls its movement accordingly. This effectively avoids the problem of the robot failing to accurately locate the charging station while moving for charging, thus significantly improving the robot's charging efficiency.
[0090] In the snow removal robot and snow removal system disclosed in this application, the conductive disk 320 is in an extended position when not charging, that is, flush with or protruding from the bottom surface of the vehicle body 2. When there are clumps (frost, snow or ice) on the surface of the charging surface 30, the conductive disk 320 will retract upward into the vehicle body 2 when charging. Therefore, the clumps on the surface of the conductive disk 320 are subjected to pressure from the chassis 20 as the conductive disk 320 retracts, which causes a large normal stress to be generated inside the clumps. As a result, the clumps break apart due to mutual compression and detach from the chassis 20 and the conductive disk 320. This ensures normal contact between the conductive disk 320 and the power contact element, and completes the charging. The charging structure adopts a bottom-up design. Since the charging module is located on the lower surface of the chassis, the entire vehicle body acts as a shield, preventing snowflakes from falling onto the surface of the charging module and avoiding the problem of snow accumulation on the charging module surface causing charging difficulties. The snow deflector can prevent snow from the ground from flowing into the undercarriage, thus preventing snow from the ground from contacting the charging module and solving the problem of snow covering the surface of the charging module and affecting charging.
[0091] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and not to limit them; under the concept of the present invention, the technical features of the above embodiments or different embodiments can also be combined, the steps can be implemented in any order, and there are many other variations of different aspects of the present invention as described above, which are not provided in detail for the sake of brevity; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features; and these modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.
Claims
1. A snow-sweeping robot, characterized in that, include: Snow removal equipment is used to clear snow from the ground. The vehicle body is fixedly connected to the snow removal device and is used to carry the snow removal device for mobile operation; The charging module is provided with a battery mounting position for installing a storage battery. The charging module is used to charge the storage battery. The charging module includes a charging contact that is adapted to the power contact of the charging pile during charging. The charging contact is located at the bottom of the vehicle body. The charging contact is movably connected to the bottom of the vehicle body. The charging contact has a retractable position and an extended position during its travel. When the charging contact is in the retractable position, it retracts into the vehicle body. When the charging contact is in the extended position, it extends to the surface of the vehicle body. In the charging state, the charging contact is located in the retractable position. In the non-charging state, the charging contact is located in the extended position.
2. The snow-sweeping robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The power contact includes a transmitting coil, and the charging contact is a receiving coil for coupling with the transmitting coil. The charging module also includes an encapsulation shell for fixing the receiving coil. The receiving coil is electrically connected to the battery, and the encapsulation shell is fixed to the bottom of the vehicle body.
3. The snow-sweeping robot according to claim 2, characterized in that, The encapsulation shell has a charging surface corresponding to the transmitting coil, and the charging surface is exposed on the bottom surface of the vehicle body.
4. The snow-sweeping robot according to claim 2, characterized in that, The vehicle body is provided with a charging compartment for housing the charging contact, the encapsulation shell is provided with a charging surface, and the charging contact can move within the charging compartment.
5. The snow-sweeping robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The charging contact is a conductor used to contact the power contact to achieve an electrical connection between the two.
6. The snow-sweeping robot according to claim 5, characterized in that, The charging module is provided with a charging slot for receiving the charging contact, and the charging slot is provided with a reset mechanism for resetting the charging contact from the receiving position to the extended position when not charging.
7. The snow-sweeping robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The vehicle body is equipped with snow deflectors on both sides to prevent snow from entering the area under the vehicle body.
8. The snow-sweeping robot according to claim 7, characterized in that, The vehicle body is equipped with tracks on both sides for walking, and the snow shield is fixedly installed on the side of the area enclosed by the tracks.
9. A snow removal system, characterized in that, include: The snow-sweeping robot as described in claims 1-8; The charging station includes a base and a power contact for adapting to the charging contact. The power contact is disposed on the base, which is used for parking the snow removal robot. When the snow removal robot is parked on the base for charging, the power contact is located below the charging contact.
10. The snow removal system according to claim 9, characterized in that, Also includes: The transmitting module is installed in the charging pile, and the receiving module and control module are installed in the vehicle body; The receiving module is used to receive electromagnetic waves emitted by the transmitting module and send the electromagnetic waves to the control module; The control module processes the received electromagnetic waves to obtain electromagnetic wave intensity distribution information, and controls the movement trajectory of the snow sweeping robot based on the electromagnetic wave intensity distribution information.
Citation Information
Patent Citations
Underbody wireless charging system for electric vehicle
CN109228900A
Intelligent snow sweeping robot and intelligent snow sweeping method
CN114808828A
Cited By
Self-walking device, operational robot, and charging system
EP4752285A1