A new energy vehicle side charging device

Abstract

The present invention discloses a side charging device for new energy vehicles, comprising a side extendable mechanism arranged on or hidden on the side of or on the vehicle body, a pantograph that contacts a charging network arranged laterally beside the road to achieve electrical conduction, the side extendable mechanism is provided with a mechanical arm, a brake base movably hinged to the vehicle body, and a posture adjustment connection seat. The side charging device for new energy vehicles can queue up multiple vehicles for charging together without stopping, thus solving the problem of waiting in line at charging stations and congestion caused by a large number of charging vehicles; the vehicle can enter a dedicated charging lane in the case of traffic congestion and insufficient power, thus solving the problem of battery exhaustion and breakdown; the side extendable mechanism can dynamically control the contact pressure between the pantograph and each wire of the charging network to be equal, and the power supply is continuous and stable, cooperating with the on-board electronic control system to stably charge the battery. The device can be widely used in long-distance sections of domestic highways, sections before or after service areas with a low number of charging piles installed, and sections of highways with a sharp increase in traffic volume.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of new energy vehicles, and in particular to a side charging device for a new energy vehicle. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of new energy vehicles in China, ternary lithium batteries or lithium iron phosphate batteries have become the mainstream storage batteries for new energy vehicles. However, due to the limitations of current battery technology, the range of onboard batteries is only about 700 km. Few pure electric vehicles can exceed 800 km. Even newly developed sodium-ion batteries, semi-solid-state batteries, and solid-state batteries are difficult to widely use in new energy vehicles without full market verification and sufficient technical demonstration.

[0003] Therefore, the current demand for charging new energy vehicles is high, and charging stations are being built everywhere. Whether it's AC slow charging or high-voltage DC fast charging, neither can match the efficiency of traditional fuel vehicles, which recharge in just three to five minutes. Even with current high-voltage DC fast charging, charging a new energy vehicle can take over half an hour. With a shortage of charging stations, large numbers of new energy vehicles are forced to queue for charging. This significantly prolongs the time it takes to recharge vehicles, reducing the convenience, comfort, and accessibility of transportation.

[0004] Some automakers have proposed battery swapping strategies, but numerous operational issues have emerged. For companies, deploying battery swapping stations is prohibitively expensive, with a medium-sized station costing over 3 million yuan. Furthermore, the high cost of battery swapping is not low, and the subsequent operational costs are also passed on to car buyers. The concept of battery swapping stations has yet to gain widespread acceptance, hindering the industry's development due to the high costs borne by both companies and users. Furthermore, large-scale battery swapping stations are difficult to build in remote towns, mountainous areas, and rural areas, and management costs are high.

[0005] A particular complaint among pure electric vehicle owners is the long distances between adjacent service areas on highways, with the vehicle's remaining range insufficient to reach the next service area, leading to breakdowns mid-flight. Furthermore, the number of charging stations currently installed at service areas along highways remains limited. During holiday periods when highway traffic is heavy, waiting in line for charging is a major concern for current owners of new energy vehicles. This testing of waiting times tests drivers' patience and increases travel time. Furthermore, in cold northern regions, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles is generally low. This is because the batteries in current new energy pure electric vehicles experience extremely low range in low temperatures. Even with the newly developed sodium-ion batteries, which offer a theoretical range of 800-1000 km, these batteries struggle to achieve a high range. Consequently, range anxiety persists among pure electric vehicles.

[0006] Therefore, installing a fast charging solution for new energy vehicles on highways could significantly extend the range of new energy vehicle owners. It's like being on a city road with limited range and being able to find a charging station within 10km, which is very convenient and reduces anxiety for drivers. However, stopping to recharge on highways is not an option, as it can easily lead to traffic congestion and even traffic accidents. Therefore, it is necessary to design a new solution for non-stop fast charging and extending the range of pure electric vehicles. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The purpose of the present invention is: to enable pure electric new energy vehicles to be quickly recharged on highways, without having to worry about whether the pure electric range can reach the charging station in the next service area, without having to worry about whether the number of charging piles in the service area is sufficient, without having to worry about the time spent queuing for charging, without having to worry about the increased travel time due to parking for charging, without having to worry about the charging network not being fully adapted to vehicles of different heights and sizes, and without having to worry about the low rate of pure electric range in severe cold temperature environments. We have designed a side charging device for new energy vehicles. By cooperating with the charging network provided outside the roadside guardrails on the highway, the pantograph extended by the side flip mechanism is in sliding contact with the wires to provide non-stop charging services to the batteries of pure electric new energy vehicles, so that the on-board batteries can be quickly recharged and the cruising range can be improved.

[0008] The technical solutions adopted to solve the above problems are:

[0009] A new energy vehicle side charging device includes a lateral extendable mechanism arranged on or hidden on the side of or on the vehicle body, and a pantograph that contacts a charging network arranged laterally beside the road to achieve electrical conduction.

[0010] The lateral extensible mechanism adopts a foldable or extendable mechanical structure, including but not limited to a mechanical structure of one or more combinations of scissor-type folding, folding-line folding, telescopic cylinder extension or telescopic hydraulic cylinder extension.

[0011] The laterally extendable mechanism is provided with at least one extendable mechanical arm, a brake base movably hinged to the vehicle body, and a posture adjustment connection seat movably hinged to the pantograph. An extension component for adjusting the distance between the brake base and the posture adjustment connection seat is provided inside the mechanical arm. The extension component includes but is not limited to an electric push rod, a telescopic cylinder or a telescopic hydraulic cylinder. A transmission component for driving the mechanical arm to rotate is provided inside the brake base. The transmission component adopts one of the transmission modes of a motor, a rack and pinion transmission component, and a worm gear transmission component. The brake base cooperates with the mechanical arm to achieve the unchanged position of the posture adjustment connection seat relative to the wires of the charging network. The posture adjustment connection seat adopts a torsion spring or a motor to control the contact pressure between the pantograph and each wire of the charging network to be equal, so that when the vehicle deviates while driving on the road, the laterally extendable mechanism can be automatically adjusted to allow the pantograph to maintain continuous contact with the wires of the charging network with stable pressure.

[0012] The lateral extendable mechanism is provided with a pressure sensor for monitoring the contact pressure between the pantograph and the charging network wires, which is fed back to the vehicle-mounted control system, and then a control signal is sent to the lateral extendable mechanism, and the extension posture is automatically adjusted to ensure that the pantograph and the charging network wires are in continuous contact with stable pressure, the power is continuously and stably, and the battery is stably charged and replenished in cooperation with the vehicle-mounted electronic control system.

[0013] Furthermore, the laterally extendable mechanism obtains route markings on the road surface or roadside as a position reference through an on-board radar or on-board camera to control the transmission component to dynamically adjust the pantograph position so that the pantograph and the charging network wires are in continuous contact with stable pressure.

[0014] Furthermore, the pantograph adopts a special graphite plate that is both smooth and wear-resistant.

[0015] The beneficial effects of implementing the present invention are:

[0016] 1. This new energy vehicle side charging device can be widely used on long-distance sections of domestic highways, sections of service areas with long distances between each other, sections before or after service areas with a low number of charging piles, sections of highways with sharp increases in traffic volume during holidays, and other urban sections with standardized management;

[0017] 2. Suitable for charging and recharging new energy pure electric vehicles of different heights and sizes, overcoming the problem that the vertical contact wires used in existing light rail trams, rail transit, urban railways, and high-speed railways are too high to be easily reached by cars;

[0018] 3. The charging network provided outside the guardrail is relatively safe, and the charging voltage is controllable. With the continuous improvement of charging technology, it can adopt AC slow charging at low speeds and DC fast charging at high speeds. Charging for ten minutes can achieve a range of 100 kilometers.

[0019] 4. Multiple vehicles can queue up and charge together without stopping, solving the problem of waiting in line at charging stations and congestion caused by too many charging vehicles;

[0020] 5. When the vehicle is stuck in traffic and the battery is insufficient, it can enter the dedicated charging lane to avoid the problem of being stranded due to battery depletion;

[0021] 6. The lateral extendable mechanism drives the pantograph to flip sideways, and the pantograph and wires are kept at a height of more than 2 meters, which can prevent animals on the road from being electrocuted and children from touching them.

[0022] 7. The lateral extendable mechanism dynamically controls the contact pressure between the pantograph and each wire of the charging network. This allows the pantograph to automatically adjust to maintain constant contact pressure when the vehicle deviates from the road, ensuring continuous and stable power flow and cooperating with the onboard electronic control system to recharge the battery stably.

[0023] 8. It can reduce the main anxiety of car owners about the range of pure electric new energy vehicles, boost the market confidence of domestic new energy vehicles, rapidly develop domestic new energy vehicle technology, and lead the international new energy vehicle technology to a higher level. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the side-flip charging tail wing of a new energy vehicle in Example 1;

[0025] Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of the gradually unfolding tail wing of a new energy vehicle that is flipped sideways for charging in Example 1;

[0026] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the pantograph and the wire contact of the side-flip charging tail wing of a new energy vehicle in Example 1;

[0027] Figure 4 This is a top cross-sectional view of the charging tail wing described in Example 1;

[0028] Figure 5 for Figure 4 A partial enlarged view of point A in the middle;

[0029] Figure 6 for Figure 4 A partial enlarged view of point B in the middle;

[0030] Figure 7 for Figure 4 A partial enlarged view of point C in the middle;

[0031] Figure 8 This is a cross-sectional view of the charging tail wing described in Example 1;

[0032] Figure 9 This is a top cross-sectional view of the charging tail wing described in Example 2;

[0033] Figure 10 Schematic diagram of the structure for the robotic arm to dynamically adjust the pantograph position;

[0034] Among them, 1-tail body, 2-left bracket, 3-locking assembly, 4-right bracket, 5-first brake base, 6-second brake base, 7-mechanical arm, 8-attitude adjustment connection seat, 9-insulation part, 10-charging slide, 11-grounding slide, 12-charging line, 13-grounding line, 14-elastic support rod, 15-hanging string, 16-telephone pole, 17-guardrail, 18-slide plate shell, 19-pantograph attitude adjustment seat, 20-first torque motor, 21- Worm gear assembly, 22-locking seat, 23-second hollow shaft, 24-locking nut, 25-second torque motor, 26-charging cable, 27-first torque motor control wire, 28-grounding wire, 29-torsion spring, 30-charging wire, 31-pantograph hidden slot, 32-worm gear, 33-worm, 34-first hollow shaft, 35-wiring hole, 36-hollow cavity, 37-car body, 38-electric push rod, 39-third torque motor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The technical solutions of the present invention will be described clearly and completely below in the form of embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of the present invention.

[0036] Example 1 :

[0037] See also Figures 1 to 3 This embodiment proposes a side-flip charging tail wing for a new energy vehicle, comprising a tail wing body 1, a left bracket 2, a right bracket 4, a side-flippable mechanical arm 7, and a pantograph that contacts a charging network arranged laterally beside the road to achieve electrical conduction.

[0038] See Figure 2 and Figure 3 The right bracket 4 is revolvable and contains a first brake base 5, which drives the tail body 1 in rotation. The left bracket 2 is releasable and contains a second brake base 6. This second brake base 6 drives the rotation of a mechanical arm 7, the other end of which is movably connected to a pantograph. The right bracket 4 and left bracket 2 can be alternately positioned similarly, depending on whether the charging grid is located on the left or right side of the road.

[0039] See Figure 7 The first brake base 5 is equipped with a first torque motor 20, a worm gear assembly 21, and a first hollow shaft 34. The first torque motor 20 drives the worm gear assembly 21 in meshing transmission. The worm gear 32 is coaxially connected to the first hollow shaft 34, which is fixedly connected to the tail body 1, thereby driving the tail body 1 to flip laterally. The center of the first hollow shaft 34 is sheathed with the charging cable 12 and communication power wires for other electrical components. Bearing blocks are provided on both sides of the first hollow shaft 34, which cooperate with the vehicle body to ensure the stability of the lateral flipping movement of the tail body 1.

[0040] See Figure 5 The second brake base 6 is arranged at the bottom of the left bracket 2 and includes a second torque motor 25, a second hollow shaft 23, a locking nut 24 and a locking seat 22. The second torque motor 25 is arranged inside the left bracket 2, with the second hollow shaft 23 as the main rotation axis. The second hollow shaft 23 is sleeved with the communication power wires of the charging cable and other electrical components. The second hollow shaft 23 is positioned and connected to one end of the robotic arm 7 through the locking nut 24. Under the drive of the second torque motor 25 to maintain a certain torque force, the robotic arm 7 rotates stably and at a uniform speed. The locking seat 22 is symmetrically arranged on both sides of the bottom of the left bracket 2, and can be pushed and locked by the top assembly arranged at the corresponding positions on both sides of the vehicle body. The top assembly is a conical hard rubber that is pushed toward each other by an electric push rod 38, a telescopic cylinder or a telescopic hydraulic cylinder. When charging and energy replenishment is required, the locking seat 22 of the top component is released; when not charging, the locking seat 22 of the top component is locked. The tail wing body 1 has a stable structure and no abnormal noise. It only plays the role of offsetting part of the lift, reducing the car's buoyancy, reducing the impact of wind resistance, allowing the car to drive close to the road, and improving driving stability, etc., which are the normal functions of the tail wing.

[0041] See Figure 5 、 Figure 6 and Figure 9 The robotic arm 7 is hidden inside the tail body 1, and the other end of the robotic arm 7 is movably connected to the pantograph through the pantograph attitude adjustment seat 19. A torsion spring 29 is provided in the pantograph attitude adjustment seat 19. The torsion spring 29 maintains the torque between the pantograph and the robotic arm 7 at the initial charging posture, and can adjust the pantograph according to the swing posture of the robotic arm 7 to keep good contact with each wire of the charging network.

[0042] See Figure 10 Through the transmission of the first torque motor 20, the tail wing body 1 is driven to flip sideways at a certain angle, and the transmission of the second torque motor 25 drives the mechanical arm 7 to rotate at a certain angle. The two angle changes can keep the position and posture of the pantograph unchanged to compensate for the offset of the vehicle traveling left or right on the charging lane.

[0043] See Figure 4、 Figure 6 and Figure 8 The pantograph includes a charging skateboard 10, an insulating part 9, a grounding skateboard 11, and a skateboard protective shell 18. An insulating part 9 is arranged between the charging skateboard 10 and the grounding skateboard 11. The charging skateboard 10 is connected to the charging wire 30, and the grounding skateboard 11 is connected to the grounding wire 28. The charging wire 30 and the grounding wire 28 both pass through the pantograph attitude adjustment seat 19 and enter the mechanical arm 7. The skateboard protective shell 18 is sleeved on the outside of the charging skateboard 10, the insulating part 9 and the grounding skateboard 11, and only one side that contacts and slides with the wires of the charging network is exposed. The skateboard protective shell 18 is fixedly connected to the pantograph attitude adjustment seat 19 to keep the structure stable and reliable.

[0044] Example 2 :

[0045] See Figure 9 The present embodiment proposes a side-flip charging tail wing for a new energy vehicle, comprising a tail wing body 1, a left bracket 2, a right bracket 4, a side-flippable mechanical arm 7, and a pantograph that is electrically conductive with a charging network arranged laterally beside the road. The technical features distinguishing this embodiment from Example 1 are that an electric push rod 38 is provided in the mechanical arm 7, the base of the electric push rod 38 is fixedly connected to the mechanical arm 7, the top push rod of the electric push rod 38 is fixedly connected to the pantograph posture adjustment seat 19, a third torque motor 39 is provided in the pantograph posture adjustment seat 19, and the skateboard guard 18 is positioned and connected in conjunction with the third hollow rotating shaft and the second locking screw sleeve 24, the charging wire 30 and the grounding wire 28 are passed through the third hollow rotating shaft and then into the mechanical arm 7, and then through the hollow top push rod of the electric push rod 38 and then into the second hollow rotating shaft 23.

[0046] The advantages of Example 2 over Example 1 are:

[0047] The transmission of the first torque motor 20, the transmission of the second torque motor 25 and the transmission of the electric push rod 38 in the robotic arm 7 can be used to adjust a larger vehicle body driving offset, and the third torque motor 39 can accurately adjust the contact posture between the pantograph and the charging network wires to make the contact pressure between the pantograph and each wire equal.

[0048] If necessary, the pantograph can be actively controlled to cyclically slide vertically up and down to ensure uniform friction and wear at every contact surface between the charging and grounding slides 10 and 11. Alternatively, the charging grid wires can be caused to sag under their own weight, passively ensuring uniform friction and wear at every contact surface between the charging and grounding slides 10 and 11. Of course, the highest and lowest points of the drooping wires must fall within the height range where the charging and grounding slides 10 and 11 can make contact.

[0049] Example 3 :

[0050] See Figure 3 This embodiment proposes a side-flip charging tail wing for a new energy vehicle, comprising a tail wing body 1, a left bracket 2, a right bracket 4, a side-flippable mechanical arm 7, and a pantograph that contacts a charging network arranged laterally beside the road to achieve electrical conduction. The technical feature that distinguishes this embodiment from Embodiments 1 and 2 is that pressure sensors (not shown in the figure) are provided between the charging slide 10 and the slide protective shell 18, and between the grounding slide 11 and the slide protective shell 18.

[0051] The advantages of Example 3 over Examples 1 and 2 are:

[0052] Since the horizontal force on the charging network's wires is relatively uniform and measurable, by detecting the contact force between the charging skateboard 10 and the charging line 12, and the contact force between the grounding skateboard 11 and the grounding line 13, as long as the contact force exceeds the pressure measurement threshold, the on-board control system automatically adjusts the flipping posture and displacement of the tail wing body 1 and the robotic arm 7 to compensate for the height difference and displacement of the pantograph relative to the wires.

[0053] Based on the above three embodiments, the side charging device of the new energy vehicle can be set on the trunk lid of the vehicle body, on the rear window of the vehicle body, or on the skylight position of the vehicle body roof and the side of the vehicle body, and can be hidden or exposed.

[0054] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations can be made within the scope of knowledge possessed by ordinary technicians in this field without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is defined by the attached claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A side-flip charging tail wing for a new energy vehicle, comprising a tail wing body, a left bracket, and a right bracket arranged on the vehicle body, characterized in that: It also includes a mechanical arm that can be flipped and extended laterally and is arranged inside or outside the tail body, and a pantograph that contacts the charging network arranged laterally beside the road to achieve electrical conduction. The right bracket is movable and flippable, and a first brake base is provided in the right bracket, which drives the tail body to rotate. The left bracket is releasable, and a second brake base is provided in the left bracket, which drives the mechanical arm to rotate. The first brake base is provided with a first torque motor, a worm gear assembly, and a first hollow rotating shaft. The first torque motor drives the worm gear assembly to engage and transmit, and the worm gear is coaxially connected to the first hollow rotating shaft. The first hollow rotating shaft is fixedly connected to the tail body to drive the tail body to flip sideways. The second brake base includes a second torque motor, a second hollow rotating shaft, a locking screw sleeve and a locking seat that can be positioned and locked with the vehicle body. The second torque motor is arranged in the left bracket, and the center uses the second hollow rotating shaft as the main rotation axis. The second hollow rotating shaft is positioned and connected to one end of the mechanical arm, and the other end of the mechanical arm is connected to the pantograph attitude adjustment seat for adjusting the pantograph attitude. The pantograph posture adjustment seat is provided with a third torque motor for adjusting the pantograph posture. The pantograph includes a charging skateboard, an insulating part, a skateboard protective shell and a grounding skateboard. The insulating part is arranged between the charging skateboard and the grounding skateboard. The charging skateboard is connected to the charging wire, and the grounding skateboard is connected to the grounding wire. Pressure sensors are arranged between the charging skateboard and the skateboard protective shell, and between the grounding skateboard and the skateboard protective shell.

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