Locking mechanism and energy cabinet

Abstract

The locking mechanism is arranged on a frame body and used for locking a rechargeable battery, a plurality of pivots are arranged on a base of the locking mechanism, a positioning plate is arranged on the pivots, a spacing distance is formed between the positioning plate and the base, and a first shifting piece and a second shifting piece are respectively pivoted on one pivot and located between the base and the positioning plate. The locking mechanism locks the rechargeable battery by pivoting the first plectrum and the second plectrum respectively, since the plectrum is pivoted on the pivot instead of being directly riveted, unsmooth actuation caused by overlarge friction force of the plectrum can be avoided, the riveting tightness of the pivot does not need to be adjusted in a time-consuming manner when the locking mechanism is assembled, the assembling time is saved, and the assembling efficiency is improved. The swing amplitude of the shifting piece is limited through the positioning plate and the base, the shifting piece can be prevented from loosening, and the energy cabinet improves the smoothness of locking the rechargeable battery by applying the locking mechanism.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a locking mechanism and an energy cabinet equipped with the locking mechanism and used for accommodating a plurality of rechargeable batteries. Background Art

[0002] Electric motorcycles use electricity as a driving energy source. Users can replenish the driving energy of the electric motorcycle by replacing the rechargeable battery inside the electric motorcycle. In order to facilitate users to replace the rechargeable battery, there is now an energy cabinet. Users can take out the rechargeable battery of the electric motorcycle and put it into the energy cabinet, and then take out another rechargeable battery from the energy cabinet and put it into the electric motorcycle to complete the replacement.

[0003] Since the rechargeable batteries are exchanged one-to-one, in order to prevent the user from taking out another rechargeable battery from the energy cabinet without putting one rechargeable battery into the energy cabinet, or the rechargeable batteries from being stolen, a plurality of racks for accommodating rechargeable batteries are provided in the energy cabinet, and each rack is provided with a locking mechanism. The rechargeable batteries in the energy cabinet are all locked by the locking mechanism of the rack. A controller electrically connected to the locking mechanism is provided in the energy cabinet. When the user puts a rechargeable battery into one of the racks in the energy cabinet, the locking mechanism of the rack will lock the rechargeable battery and transmit a signal to the controller. The controller then controls the locking mechanism of the rack to unlock, and the user can take out the rechargeable battery from the rack.

[0004] Wherein, each locking mechanism includes a base, a first paddle and a second paddle, and the first paddle and the second paddle are respectively pivotally connected to the base by rivets. When the locking mechanism is locked, the first paddle can hook the rechargeable battery, and the first paddle is abutted and limited by the second paddle, so that the rechargeable battery is locked. When the locking mechanism is to be unlocked, the second paddle of the locking mechanism will be pivoted, so that the second paddle stops abutting against the first paddle, and the first paddle will not be limited, but can pivot and release the rechargeable battery for the user to take out.

[0005] However, since the first paddle and the second paddle are respectively pivotally connected to the base by rivets, and each is fixed by only one rivet, if the rivet is fixed too tight, the rivet is pressed against the base more, resulting in insufficient tolerance, and the friction between the paddle and the base is too great, the paddle is difficult to pivot, and the locking mechanism is not smoothly locked and unlocked; if the rivet is not fixed tightly enough, resulting in insufficient pressing, the tolerance is too large, the paddle is easy to shake and difficult to lock against each other, and the locking mechanism is difficult to lock the rechargeable battery. Therefore, the staff needs to spend a lot of time to adjust the pressing amount of the rivet, resulting in an increase in the overall assembly operation time, and after a period of use, the rivet will be deformed and loosened due to being pulled by the paddle, resulting in an increase in the tolerance, making the paddle easy to loosen, so the durability of the locking mechanism is not good, and there is still room for improvement. Summary of the invention

[0006] The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a locking mechanism and an energy cabinet, hoping to improve the structure of the current locking mechanism, which increases the overall assembly time, and the paddle in the locking mechanism is only fixed by rivets. Therefore, after a period of use, the paddle is easy to loosen, resulting in the problem of poor durability of the locking mechanism.

[0007] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the locking mechanism of the present invention is installed on a frame, and the frame is used to accommodate a rechargeable battery. The locking mechanism includes:

[0008] A base, which is mounted at the end of the frame and has a notch;

[0009] A plurality of pivots, the plurality of pivots being disposed on the base;

[0010] a positioning plate, the positioning plate being disposed on at least two of the plurality of pivots, and a spacing distance being formed between the positioning plate and the base;

[0011] a first paddle, the first paddle being pivotally disposed on one of the plurality of pivots and being located between the base and the positioning plate, the first paddle having a hook portion;

[0012] a second paddle, the second paddle being pivotally disposed on one of the plurality of pivots and being located between the base and the positioning plate, the second paddle having a stopper; wherein when the rechargeable battery enters the frame and extends into the notch of the base, the rechargeable battery pushes against and causes the first paddle to rotate until the locking mechanism is in a locked state, at which time the hook of the first paddle and the notch of the base jointly limit the rechargeable battery, and the stopper of the second paddle abuts against and limits the first paddle;

[0013] a first switch disposed on the base, the first paddle being capable of triggering the first switch so that the first switch sends a signal to a remote controller; and

[0014] A second switch is disposed on the base. The second paddle can trigger the second switch, so that the second switch sends a signal to the remote controller.

[0015] The locking mechanism of the present invention can be used to lock the rechargeable battery accommodated in the frame, wherein, since the first paddle and the second paddle are located between the base and the positioning plate, and the base and the positioning plate are fixed with the spacing distance by the multiple pivots, the swing amplitude of the first paddle and the second paddle can be limited to the spacing distance by the base and the positioning plate, and there is no need to consider the allowable tolerance between the multiple pivots and the first paddle and the second paddle. Therefore, when assembling the locking mechanism, the staff only needs to install the first paddle and the second paddle on the multiple pivots and simply rivet the multiple pivots to the base and the positioning plate, without spending extra time adjusting the riveting pressing amount and riveting tightness of the multiple pivots, thereby effectively saving working time.

[0016] Furthermore, since the first paddle and the second paddle are not directly riveted and fixed by the plurality of pivots, even if the first paddle or the second paddle is deformed, it will not affect the smoothness of the operation of the first paddle and the second paddle. In addition, since the plurality of pivots are fixed by the base and the positioning plate, and the base and the positioning plate are both fixed structures, the plurality of pivots are not easy to be pulled and loosened, so the first paddle and the second paddle are not easy to be loosened, thereby improving the durability of the locking mechanism.

[0017] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the energy cabinet of the present invention is used to accommodate a plurality of rechargeable batteries and comprises:

[0018] A cabinet body, in which a controller is arranged;

[0019] A plurality of racks are disposed in the cabinet at intervals, and each of the racks can accommodate one of the rechargeable batteries; and

[0020] A plurality of locking mechanisms as described above are provided, each of which is respectively disposed corresponding to one of the plurality of frames, and a first switch and a second switch of each locking mechanism are electrically connected to a controller of the cabinet and transmit signals to the controller.

[0021] The energy cabinet of the present invention can be used to accommodate the multiple rechargeable batteries. When accommodated in the frame, the rechargeable batteries will be locked by the locking mechanism installed in the frame. The energy cabinet of the present invention can improve the smoothness of unlocking or locking the multiple rechargeable batteries by applying the multiple locking mechanisms, thereby improving user convenience and reducing maintenance costs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 : It is a schematic diagram of an exploded view of a preferred embodiment of the energy cabinet of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 2 : It is a schematic diagram of the exploded view of the frame and locking mechanism of the energy cabinet of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 3 : is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the locking mechanism of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 4 : It is a top plan view schematic diagram of the locking mechanism of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 5 : It is a side plan view schematic diagram of the locking mechanism of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 6 : is an exploded schematic diagram of the pivot of the locking mechanism of the present invention before being riveted.

[0028] Figure 7 : is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the pivot of the locking mechanism of the present invention before being riveted.

[0029] Figure 8 :for Figure 4 AA cross-section diagram of .

[0030] Reference numerals list

[0031] 10: Base

[0032] 11: Missing slot

[0033] 20: Pivot

[0034] 20a: first paddle positioning axis

[0035] 20b: Second paddle positioning axis

[0036] 21: Step difference surface

[0037] 22: Butt section

[0038] 30: Positioning plate

[0039] 40: First paddle

[0040] 41:Hook

[0041] 42: Limiting part

[0042] 43: Force bearing part

[0043] 50: Second paddle

[0044] 51: Stopper

[0045] 52: Connecting part

[0046] 60: First switch

[0047] 70: Second switch

[0048] 80: Elastic parts

[0049] 90: Actuator

[0050] 100: Cabinet

[0051] 110:Frame

[0052] 101: Controller. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] See also Figures 2 to 5 , which is a preferred embodiment of the locking mechanism of the present invention, the locking mechanism is installed on a frame 110, and the frame 110 is used to accommodate a rechargeable battery. The locking mechanism includes a base 10, multiple pivots 20, a positioning plate 30, a first paddle 40, a second paddle 50, a first switch 60 and a second switch 70.

[0054] like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the base 10 is installed at the end of the frame 110 and has a notch 11 ; the plurality of pivots 20 are disposed on the base 10 .

[0055] like Figures 3 to 5As shown, the positioning plate 30 is arranged on at least two of the plurality of pivots 20, and a spacing distance is formed between the positioning plate 30 and the base 10; the first paddle 40 is pivoted on one of the plurality of pivots 20 and is located between the base 10 and the positioning plate 30, and the first paddle 40 has a hook portion 41; the second paddle 50 is pivoted on one of the plurality of pivots 20 and is located between the base 10 and the positioning plate 30, and the second paddle 50 has a stop portion 51; wherein the rechargeable battery When entering the frame 110 and extending into the notch 11 of the base 10, the rechargeable battery will push and rotate the first paddle 40 until the locking mechanism is in a locked state. At this time, the hook portion 41 of the first paddle 40 and the notch 11 of the base 10 jointly limit the rechargeable battery, and the stop portion 51 of the second paddle 50 abuts against and limits the first paddle 40. When the locking mechanism is in the locked state, the hook portion 41 of the first paddle 40 and the notch 11 of the base 10 form a closed contour to lock the rechargeable battery.

[0056] like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the first switch 60 is disposed on the base 10, and the first paddle 40 can trigger the first switch 60, so that the first switch 60 sends a signal to a remote controller; the second switch 70 is disposed on the base 10, and the second paddle 50 can trigger the second switch 70, so that the second switch 70 sends a signal to the remote controller. Further, when the locking mechanism is in the locked state, the first paddle 40 triggers the first switch 60 and the second paddle 50 triggers the second switch 70.

[0057] The locking mechanism of the present invention can be used to lock the rechargeable battery accommodated in the frame 110, wherein, since the first paddle 40 and the second paddle 50 are located between the base 10 and the positioning plate 30, and the base 10 and the positioning plate 30 are fixed with the spacing distance, the base 10 and the positioning plate 30 can limit the swinging amplitude of the first paddle 40 and the second paddle 50 to the spacing distance, and there is no need to consider the allowable tolerance between the multiple pivots 20 and the first paddle 40 and the second paddle 50. Therefore, when assembling the locking mechanism, the staff only needs to install the first paddle 40 and the second paddle 50 on the multiple pivots 20, and simply rivet the multiple pivots 20 to the base 10 and the positioning plate 30, without spending extra time adjusting the riveting pressing amount and riveting tightness of the multiple pivots 20, thereby effectively saving assembly operation time.

[0058] Furthermore, since the first paddle 40 and the second paddle 50 are not directly riveted and fixed by the plurality of pivots 20, even if the first paddle 40 or the second paddle 50 is deformed, it will not affect the smoothness of the operation of the first paddle 40 and the second paddle 50. The base 10 and the positioning plate 30 are parallel to each other, and the spacing distance between the base 10 and the positioning plate 30 can allow the first paddle 40 and the second paddle 50 to deform within a certain degree. In addition, since the plurality of pivots 20 are fixed by the base 10 and the positioning plate 30, and the base 10 and the positioning plate 30 are both fixed structures, the plurality of pivots 20 are not easily loosened by pulling, so the first paddle 40 and the second paddle 50 are not easily loosened, thereby improving the durability of the locking mechanism.

[0059] In addition, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the number of the plurality of pivots 20 is two, and the first paddle 40 and the second paddle 50 are respectively disposed on different pivots 20. However, in other embodiments, the number of the plurality of pivots 20 may be more than two, such as three or four.

[0060] like Figures 3 to 5 As shown, the locking mechanism includes an elastic member 80 and an actuator 90, the two ends of the elastic member 80 are respectively connected to the first paddle 40 and the second paddle 50, the actuator 90 is controlled by the remote controller and is connected to and can push the second paddle 50, when the actuator 90 pushes the second paddle 50 to pivot, the elastic member 80 pulls the first paddle 40 to pivot, so that the locking mechanism is out of the locked state, the actuator 90 is preferably a motor or a solenoid valve.

[0061] When the rechargeable battery is accommodated in the frame 110 and the locking mechanism is in the locked state, the hook portion 41 of the first paddle 40 hooks and limits the rechargeable battery. When the rechargeable battery is to be released, the actuator 90 is controlled by the remote controller to actuate the second paddle 50, and the elastic member 80 is used to pivot the first paddle 40 by elastic force, so that the locking mechanism can be released from the locked state, and the hook portion 41 of the first paddle 40 will release the rechargeable battery, so that the rechargeable battery can be taken out of the frame 110. By designing the actuator 90 in conjunction with the elastic member 80, only one actuator 90 is needed in the locking mechanism to actuate the first paddle 40 and the second paddle 50, thereby simplifying the structure of the locking mechanism.

[0062] like Figure 3 and Figure 4As shown, the first paddle 40 has a limiting portion 42. When the locking mechanism is in the locked state, the limiting portion 42 of the first paddle 40 is abutted against the stopping portion 51 of the second paddle 50. The elastic member 80 is connected to a force-bearing portion 43 of the first paddle 40. One of the plurality of pivots 20 is defined as a first paddle positioning axis 20a. The first paddle 40 is pivotally disposed on the first paddle positioning axis 20a, and the pivotal position of the first paddle 40 and the first paddle positioning axis 20a is located between the limiting portion 42 and the force-bearing portion 43. In other words, the positions of the limiting portion 42 and the force-bearing portion 43 on the first paddle 40 are respectively located on both sides of the pivotal position of the first paddle 40 and the first paddle positioning shaft 20a. When the locking mechanism is in the locked state, the force-bearing portion 43 is pulled by the elastic force of the elastic member 80, which will cause the limiting portion 42 to be pushed toward the stop portion 51 of the second paddle 50. Therefore, the snap-fit ​​relationship between the first paddle 40 and the second paddle 50 is more secure. When the actuator 90 pushes the second paddle 50 to rotate so that the stop portion 51 is away from the limiting portion 42, the elastic member 80 is also pulled by the rotating second paddle 50 to increase the elastic force, and the first paddle 40 is pulled to rotate by the elastic force of the elastic member 80. Therefore, the first paddle 40 will be linked with the second paddle 50, so that only one actuator 90 is required in the locking mechanism.

[0063] like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the elastic member 80 is connected to a connecting portion 52 of the second paddle 50, one of the plurality of pivots 20 is defined as a second paddle positioning axis 20b, the second paddle 50 is pivotally disposed on the second paddle positioning axis 20b, and the pivotal position of the second paddle 50 and the second paddle positioning axis 20b is located in the extension direction of the connecting portion 52 toward the stop portion 51. In other words, on the second paddle 50, the connecting portion 52, the stopping portion 51 and the pivotal position of the second paddle 50 and the second paddle positioning axis 20b are arranged in sequence and are approximately in a straight line, and the distance from the connecting portion 52 to the pivotal position is greater than the distance from the stopping portion 51 to the pivotal position. If the pivotal position is used as a fulcrum and the principle of leverage is utilized, the elastic force of the elastic member 80 can generate a larger torque applied to the stopping portion 51, thereby increasing the force of the stopping portion 51 pushing against the limiting portion 42 of the first paddle 40, thereby enhancing the locking ability of the locking mechanism.

[0064] like Figures 6 to 8As shown, each pivot 20 is respectively defined with two spaced-apart step-difference surfaces 21, the base 10 abuts against one of the two step-difference surfaces 21, and the positioning plate 30 abuts against the other step-difference surface 21, so that the spacing distance is formed between the positioning plate 30 and the base 10. In addition, each pivot 20 is respectively defined with two abutting portions 22, the two abutting portions 22 are respectively located at the two ends of the pivot 20, the two abutting portions 22 abut against the base 10 and the positioning plate 30, so that the base 10 and the positioning plate 30 abut against the two step-difference surfaces 21 of the pivot 20.

[0065] When assembling the locking mechanism, the staff installs the positioning plate 30 and the base 10 on the plurality of pivots 20 and abuts against the step difference surfaces 21 of the plurality of pivots 20, and simply rivets the plurality of pivots 20 to the base 10 and the positioning plate 30, so that the abutting portions 22 of the plurality of pivots 20 are formed, and the positioning plate 30 and the base 10 abut against the two abutting portions 22 and the two step difference surfaces 21, respectively, without spending extra time to adjust the plurality of pivots 20. The two-section differential surface 21 of the plurality of pivots 20 can be used to control the spacing distance. Preferably, the distance between the two-section differential surface 21 is greater than the thickness of the first paddle 40 and greater than the thickness of the second paddle 50, thereby reserving an allowable deformation amount for the first paddle 40 and the second paddle 50, so that the first paddle 40 and the second paddle 50 are not easily deformed and difficult to actuate, causing the locking mechanism to be unable to actuate, thereby improving the actuation smoothness of the locking mechanism.

[0066] See also Figure 1 and Figure 2 , is a preferred embodiment of the energy cabinet of the present invention, which is used to accommodate a plurality of rechargeable batteries and includes a cabinet body 100, a plurality of rack bodies 110 and a plurality of locking mechanisms.

[0067] A controller 101 is provided in the cabinet 100; the multiple racks 110 are arranged in the cabinet 100 at intervals, and each of the racks 110 can accommodate a rechargeable battery; each of the locking mechanisms is correspondingly arranged at one of the racks 110 among the multiple racks 110, and the first switch 60 and the second switch 70 of each of the locking mechanisms are electrically connected to the controller 101 of the cabinet 100 and transmit signals to the controller 101.

[0068] The energy cabinet of the present invention can be used to accommodate the multiple rechargeable batteries. When accommodated in the frame 110, the rechargeable batteries will be locked by the locking mechanism installed in the frame 110. The energy cabinet of the present invention can improve the smoothness of unlocking or locking the multiple rechargeable batteries by applying the multiple locking mechanisms, thereby improving the convenience of users and reducing maintenance costs. In addition, the controller 101 is electrically connected to the first switch 60 and the second switch 70 of each of the locking mechanisms. The energy cabinet can distinguish whether the multiple locking mechanisms in the multiple frames 110 are in the locked state through the controller 101, and the controller 101 controls the actuators 90 of the multiple locking mechanisms in the multiple frames 110, thereby controlling the multiple locking mechanisms to unlock the rechargeable batteries.

[0069] To sum up, in the locking mechanism, the base 10 and the positioning plate 30 are maintained at a fixed spacing distance by the multiple pivots 20, and the first paddle 40 and the second paddle 50 are limited by the base 10 and the positioning plate 30. Therefore, when assembling the locking mechanism, there is no need to spend extra time adjusting the riveting pressing amount and riveting tightness of the multiple pivots 20, which can effectively save assembly time. Even if the first paddle 40 or the second paddle 50 is deformed, it will not affect the smoothness of the operation of the first paddle 40 and the second paddle 50.

Claims

1. A locking mechanism, characterized in that: It is installed on a frame, the frame is used to accommodate a rechargeable battery, and the locking mechanism includes: A base, which is installed at the end of the frame and has a notch; a plurality of pivots, the plurality of pivots being disposed on the base; a positioning plate, the positioning plate being disposed on at least two of the plurality of pivots, and a spacing distance being formed between the positioning plate and the base; a first paddle, the first paddle is pivotally disposed on one of the plurality of pivots and is located between the base and the positioning plate, the first paddle having a hook portion; a second paddle, the second paddle is pivotally disposed on one of the plurality of pivots and is located between the base and the positioning plate, the second paddle having a stopper; wherein when the rechargeable battery enters the frame and extends into the notch of the base, the rechargeable battery pushes and rotates the first paddle until the locking mechanism is in a locked state, at which time the hook of the first paddle and the notch of the base jointly limit the rechargeable battery, and the stopper of the second paddle abuts against and limits the first paddle; a first switch disposed on the base, wherein the first paddle can trigger the first switch, so that the first switch sends a signal to a remote controller; and A second switch is disposed on the base, and the second paddle can trigger the second switch, so that the second switch sends a signal to the remote controller.

2. The locking mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The locking mechanism includes an elastic member and an actuator, the two ends of the elastic member are respectively connected to the first paddle and the second paddle, the actuator is controlled by the remote controller and is connected to and can push the second paddle, when the actuator pushes the second paddle to pivot, the elastic member pulls the first paddle to pivot, so that the locking mechanism is out of the locked state.

3. The locking mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first paddle has a limiting portion, and when the locking mechanism is in the locked state, the limiting portion of the first paddle is abutted against the stopping portion of the second paddle, the elastic member is connected to a force-bearing portion of the first paddle, one of the plurality of pivots is defined as a first paddle positioning axis, the first paddle is pivotally disposed on the first paddle positioning axis, and the pivotal position of the first paddle and the first paddle positioning axis is located between the limiting portion and the force-bearing portion.

4. The locking mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that: The elastic member is connected to a connecting portion of the second paddle, one of the plurality of pivots is defined as a second paddle positioning axis, the second paddle is pivotally disposed on the second paddle positioning axis, and the pivotal position of the second paddle and the second paddle positioning axis is located in an extension direction of the connecting portion toward the stop portion.

5. The locking mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each pivot axis is respectively defined by two spaced-apart step-difference surfaces, the base abuts against one of the two step-difference surfaces, and the positioning plate abuts against the other step-difference surface, so that the spacing distance is formed between the positioning plate and the base.

6. The locking mechanism according to claim 5, characterized in that: The distance between the two difference surfaces is greater than the thickness of the first paddle and greater than the thickness of the second paddle.

7. The locking mechanism according to claim 5, characterized in that: Each pivot is defined by two abutting parts, which are respectively located at two ends of the pivot. The two abutting parts abut against the base and the positioning plate respectively, so that the base and the positioning plate abut against the two differential surfaces of the pivot.

8. An energy cabinet, characterized in that: It is used to accommodate multiple rechargeable batteries and includes: A cabinet, wherein a controller is arranged in the cabinet; A plurality of racks, the plurality of racks are disposed in the cabinet at intervals, and each of the racks can accommodate one of the rechargeable batteries; and A plurality of locking mechanisms according to any one of claims 1 to 7, each of the locking mechanisms being respectively arranged on one of the plurality of frames, and a first switch and a second switch of each of the locking mechanisms being electrically connected to a controller of the cabinet and transmitting signals to the controller.

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