Battery replacement system and battery replacement method

Abstract

The invention discloses a battery replacing system and method, the battery replacing system comprises a charging module and an AGV battery replacing robot, the charging module comprises a charging rack capable of hanging a battery module, the charging rack comprises a rectangular outer frame body, the bottom of the outer frame body is provided with a plurality of supporting legs, and the height of the supporting legs is matched with the ground clearance of a chassis of a vehicle to be replaced; at least two supporting beams are transversely arranged on the outer frame body at intervals, and a battery rack used for hanging batteries is erected between every two adjacent supporting beams; the AGV battery replacement robot comprises at least one overall rectangular bracket, the bottom of the bracket is provided with a walking mechanism used for driving the bracket to horizontally move, the middle of the bracket is provided with a sunken or hollow battery bin, and a supporting plate used for loading batteries and a vertically-arranged lifting mechanism are horizontally arranged in the battery bin. The battery replacement system and the battery replacement method have the advantages that battery replacement can be completed without a trench structure, and the construction cost and the battery replacement difficulty can be reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of battery replacement for electric vehicles, and in particular to a battery replacement system and a battery replacement method. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of pure electric vehicles, pure electric commercial vehicles have also been gradually promoted and popularized, and battery replacement has become the preferred energy replenishment method for pure electric commercial vehicles. At present, pure electric commercial vehicles mainly use piggyback batteries and bottom-mounted batteries. Piggyback batteries are usually disassembled or installed by hoisting, which occupies a large transportation space and affects the loading capacity; their own inertia affects driving safety and other problems. The bottom-mounted battery hangs the battery under the bottom plate, making full use of the space under the chassis, solving the problems of the piggyback battery. However, due to the heavy weight of commercial vehicles and inconvenient lifting, the main way to replace the battery is to set up a trench below the battery replacement position. There are two ways to set up the trench. One is to set up a battery replacement tool in the trench, park the vehicle on the trench, and use the battery replacement tool to perform the battery replacement operation, but this trench has safety risks. The other is to set up a parking platform raised relative to the ground at the battery swap location, such as the "A Commercial Vehicle Chassis Battery Swap Station" disclosed in the Chinese patent literature, with the announcement number CN115230645B. The parking platform is provided with a bridge pad that can evade movement. The bridge pad can evade movement to the side away from the battery charging rack, and the battery swap robot is used to move between the battery charging rack and the chassis to complete the battery swap. However, this "ditch" bridge pad needs to withstand repeated rolling by commercial vehicles, which affects the service life of the bridge pad and its bottom track. Therefore, how to achieve commercial vehicle battery swap without the "ditch" structure has become an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of the above-mentioned deficiencies in the prior art, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is: how to provide a battery replacement system and a battery replacement method with an ingenious structural design, which can complete the battery replacement without a "trench" structure, and is conducive to reducing construction costs and the difficulty of battery replacement.

[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions: A battery replacement system, comprising a charging module for charging a battery module and an AGV battery replacement robot for replacing the battery module, the charging module comprising a charging rack on which the battery module can be mounted, the charging rack comprising an outer frame in an overall rectangular shape, a plurality of legs being arranged at the bottom of the outer frame, the height of the legs matching the height from the ground of a chassis of a vehicle to be replaced, and a minimum spacing between two adjacent legs on at least one side being greater than a maximum spacing between two adjacent front and rear wheels of the vehicle to be replaced; the outer frame having a transversely arranged supporting beam, at least two of the supporting beams being arranged at intervals, a distance between two adjacent supporting beams The frame is provided with a battery rack for hanging batteries; the AGV battery-exchanging robot includes at least one bracket in a rectangular shape as a whole, a walking mechanism for driving the bracket to move horizontally is arranged at the bottom of the bracket, and a battery compartment with a recessed or hollow arrangement in the middle of the bracket, a pallet for loading batteries and a vertically arranged lifting mechanism are arranged horizontally in the battery compartment, the lifting mechanism is arranged on the outside of the pallet, and the edge of the pallet is hung on the upper end of the lifting mechanism through an upwardly extending supporting mechanism; the sum of the lowest height of the pallet and the thickness of the battery is less than the battery exchange spacing between the chassis to be exchanged and the ground in the battery exchange state.

[0005] Furthermore, at least two charging racks are provided, and outer frames of two adjacent charging racks are fixedly connected by bolts.

[0006] In this way, the charging rack can be assembled flexibly according to the site, which greatly reduces the construction cost.

[0007] Furthermore, a vertically retractable elastic floating component is provided between the battery rack and the supporting beam.

[0008] When mounting the battery, in order to make all the locking mechanisms on the battery fully cooperate with the locking structure, the battery needs to be lifted upward as much as possible. At this time, the battery rack will be subjected to the upward force, which will act on the elastic floating component and move upward. During the upward movement of the battery rack, the battery rack will adaptively adjust its posture to fit the top of the battery, so that all the locking mechanisms and the locking structure on the battery rack can be matched in place for reliable locking. The elastic floating component allows the battery rack to have space to move, so as to avoid the battery being directly squeezed on the battery rack during the lifting process and causing damage, which is beneficial to extend the battery life and reduce safety risks. After the battery is mounted, the battery rack is reset again using the battery's own gravity.

[0009] Furthermore, the supporting beam is provided with a vertically arranged guide rod, the battery rack includes a base erected on the supporting beam along the length direction and a hanger for hanging batteries, the base is provided with a clearance hole arranged corresponding to the guide rod, and the guide rod is passed through the clearance hole; the elastic floating component is an adjustment spring sleeved on the guide rod, and the two ends of the adjustment spring respectively act between the base and the supporting beam.

[0010] Furthermore, the adjusting spring is sleeved on one end of the guide rod passing through the clearance hole, a baffle is detachably fixedly mounted on the upper end of the guide rod, and the adjusting spring abuts between the base and the baffle.

[0011] In this way, the guide rod and the baffle are installed on the supporting beam and remain fixed as a whole. During the process of lifting the battery, the battery rack is pushed upward, moves upward along the guide rod as a whole through the clearance hole and squeezes the adjustment spring sleeved on the guide rod to achieve stable floating adjustment. After the hanging is completed, the adjustment spring exerts a downward force on the battery rack, so that the battery rack can be smoothly reset under the gravity of itself and the battery and the spring force.

[0012] Furthermore, the supporting beam has a vertically arranged guide column, the upper end of which is tapered; the base has a guide hole arranged corresponding to the guide column, and the inner diameter of the guide hole matches the outer diameter of the guide column.

[0013] Furthermore, the battery rack has a charging connector arranged corresponding to the charging hole of the battery; the battery rack has a coolant connector arranged corresponding to the coolant hole of the battery; and the battery rack has a sensor for detecting the state of the locking structure.

[0014] Furthermore, at least two of the brackets are detachably arranged side by side along the width direction, and among two adjacent brackets, the side surface of any one of the brackets has a protruding pin structure, and the side surface of the other bracket has a socket structure corresponding to the pin structure; the two brackets are detachably connected via the pin structure and the socket structure.

[0015] In the same series of commercial vehicles, the battery adopts a modular design. The battery capacity can be combined according to the number of modules, or the width can be fixed to adjust the battery capacity combination according to the length. The bracket is detachably connected through a pin structure and a socket structure, and can be used in combination with different numbers of modules and battery lengths to meet the battery replacement needs of various models, increase compatibility and reduce costs.

[0016] Furthermore, the bracket is provided with an electric control system for controlling the walking mechanism and the lifting mechanism; among two adjacent brackets, the side of any one of the brackets has a protruding electrical plug, and the side of the other bracket has an electrical socket corresponding to the electrical plug; the electrical plug and the electrical socket are respectively connected to the corresponding electric control systems, and the electric control systems of the two brackets are detachably connected via the electrical plug and the electrical socket.

[0017] In this way, the electric control systems on two adjacent brackets are detachably connected through the electrical plug and the electrical socket, which can meet both the independent control of a single bracket and the synchronous control of the bracket combination.

[0018] A battery replacement method, firstly obtains the battery replacement system as described above, and when replacing the battery, parks the vehicle to be replaced in the battery replacement area; comprising the following steps: S1. Disassembly and charging of batteries to be charged: The AGV battery-swapping robot moves horizontally to the bottom of the vehicle to be charged, lifts the pallet to the bottom of the battery module through the lifting mechanism, and lowers it to the lowest position after supporting the disassembled battery module; the AGV battery-swapping robot loads the battery module and moves horizontally to the bottom of the empty battery rack in the charging rack, lifts the battery module to the bottom of the battery rack through the lifting mechanism, and lowers the pallet after the battery module is hung in place, completing the charging and loading of the battery module; S2. Disassembly and replacement of fully charged batteries: The AGV battery-swapping robot moves horizontally to the bottom of the fully charged battery module in the charging rack, lifts the pallet to the bottom of the battery module through the lifting mechanism, supports the disassembled battery module and then descends to the lowest position; the AGV battery-swapping robot loads the battery module and moves horizontally to the bottom of the chassis of the vehicle to be replaced, lifts the battery module to the bottom of the chassis through the lifting mechanism, and lowers the pallet after the battery module is installed in place to complete the battery replacement and loading work.

[0019] In summary, the battery replacement system and battery replacement method of the present invention both have the advantages of being able to complete battery replacement without the need for a "trench" structure, which is beneficial in reducing construction costs and the difficulty of battery replacement. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the battery charging compartment and the battery-swapping robot in this embodiment.

[0021] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the battery charging compartment.

[0022] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the charging rack and battery swap robot.

[0023] Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of the supporting beam and the battery rack with mounted batteries.

[0024] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the connection structure between the T-shaped hanging rod structure and the strip hole on the battery module.

[0025] Figure 6 It is a structural schematic diagram of the supporting beam and battery rack.

[0026] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the structure of a single battery rack and supporting beam.

[0027] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the battery rack and the supporting beam.

[0028] Fig. 9 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the AGV battery-swapping robot.

[0029] Fig.10 Schematic diagram of the bracket structure with two support plates in this embodiment.

[0030] Fig.11 Schematic diagram of the bracket structure with a support plate in this embodiment.

[0031] Fig.12 It is a structural diagram of the walking mechanism.

[0032] Fig.13 It is a schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the linear telescopic mechanism and the steel ball locking mechanism. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with embodiments.

[0034] When implementing: Figures 1 to 13As shown, a battery exchange system includes a battery charging compartment and an AGV battery exchange robot, the battery charging compartment includes a charging rack 1, the charging rack includes an outer frame 11 which is generally rectangular, a plurality of legs are arranged at the bottom of the outer frame 11, the height of the legs matches the height from the ground of the chassis of the vehicle to be replaced, and the minimum spacing between two adjacent legs on at least one side is greater than the maximum spacing between two adjacent front and rear wheels of the vehicle to be replaced; the outer frame 11 has a laterally arranged supporting beam 12, at least two supporting beams 12 are arranged at intervals, and a battery rack 13 for hanging batteries is arranged between two adjacent supporting beams 12. The AGV battery-exchanging robot includes a bracket 21 which is rectangular as a whole, and a walking mechanism 22 for driving the bracket 21 to move horizontally is arranged at the bottom of the bracket 21. The middle part of the bracket 21 has a recessed or hollow battery compartment, and a tray 23 for loading batteries and a vertical lifting mechanism 24 are horizontally arranged in the battery compartment. The lifting mechanism 24 is arranged on the outside of the tray 23, and the edge of the tray 23 is hung on the upper end of the lifting mechanism 24 through an upwardly extending supporting mechanism; the sum of the lowest height of the tray 23 and the battery thickness is less than the battery exchange spacing between the chassis to be exchanged and the ground in the battery exchange state.

[0035] Since the battery compartment is set in the middle of the bracket in a concave or hollow space, and the edge of the pallet in the battery compartment is hung on the upper end of the lifting mechanism through an upwardly extending support mechanism, the pallet can sink to the bottom of the battery compartment, reducing the height of the battery during the battery replacement process, so that the AGV battery replacement robot can smoothly enter the bottom of the chassis for battery replacement. The height of the legs matches the height of the chassis from the ground, and the minimum spacing between two adjacent legs on at least one side is greater than the maximum spacing between two adjacent front and rear wheels, so that the AGV battery replacement robot adapted to the vehicle chassis can also smoothly move to the bottom of the outer frame.

[0036] Usually, in order to facilitate the disassembly and assembly of the battery, there are two main locking structures between the battery and the chassis. One is to integrate the locking and unlocking mechanism on the chassis. The support plate 23 only needs to install the battery module in place, and the locking and unlocking structure on the chassis locks the battery module. The other is to provide a locking rod on the battery module that can be directly rotated and disassembled from the bottom. By rotating the locking rod, a connection is formed between the top of the locking rod and the chassis. The locking rod and the chassis can be threaded or can be fixed as shown in the figure. Figure 5In the structure shown, a T-shaped crossbar is provided at the top of the locking rod, and a strip hole is provided on the chassis. After the crossbar of the locking rod is passed through the strip hole, the locking rod is rotated 90°, and the battery module can be mounted on the chassis. Therefore, in the specific implementation, in view of the situation where a locking rod is provided on the battery module, the support plate 23 also has an unlocking mechanism corresponding to the locking rod of the chassis to be replaced, so that the AGV battery replacement robot can successfully complete the removal and installation of the battery. Correspondingly, the battery rack 13 also has a locking structure (such as a strip hole) consistent with the chassis to be replaced, which is convenient for battery mounting.

[0037] When replacing batteries, the AGV battery replacement robot uses the walking mechanism to move horizontally to the bottom of the chassis to be replaced, and after aligning with the battery, the lifting mechanism is used to raise the pallet to the bottom of the battery. At this time, the battery on the chassis is removed by the unlocking mechanism on the pallet 23 and dropped on the pallet 23; the lifting mechanism drives the pallet 23 to descend to the lowest position, and the walking mechanism is used to move horizontally to the bottom of the battery charging compartment to find an empty battery rack; the pallet is lifted to the bottom of the battery rack by the lifting mechanism, and the battery is installed on the locking mechanism on the battery rack 13 by the unlocking mechanism on the pallet 23, and the pallet 23 is lowered to the lowest position again, and moved horizontally to the bottom of the battery rack loaded with batteries, and the pallet 23 is lifted to the bottom of the battery, and the battery is removed from the battery rack 13 by the unlocking mechanism, and dropped on the pallet 23. After the pallet 23 is loaded with batteries and descends to the lowest position, it moves horizontally to the bottom of the chassis, lifts the battery under the chassis, and completes the installation by the unlocking mechanism, thereby completing the battery replacement operation.

[0038] In order to improve the efficiency of battery replacement, two AGV battery replacement robots can be used for synchronous operation. When one AGV battery replacement robot enters the chassis to remove the battery to be charged, the other AGV battery replacement robot enters the battery charging compartment to take out the fully charged battery, which can greatly improve the battery replacement efficiency.

[0039] In order to enable the AGV battery-swapping robot to accurately locate the battery mounting position on the chassis and the battery rack, the bracket 21 is provided with an upwardly disposed visual positioning mechanism, which is used to locate the target position of the battery.

[0040] Due to the low distance between the vehicle chassis and the ground, in order to allow the AGV battery-swapping robot to smoothly enter and exit the chassis on flat ground, its own height is also limited. Usually, the maximum height of the AGV battery-swapping robot itself is less than the minimum ground clearance of the battery mounted on the chassis in the battery-swapping state. The maximum height of the AGV battery-swapping robot loaded with the battery is adapted to the height of the chassis, so that the AGV battery-swapping robot can move under the chassis after loading the battery. After replacing the battery, the unloaded AGV battery-swapping robot can also smoothly pass under the battery and move out from under the chassis. In order for the AGV battery-swapping robot to lift the battery to the chassis for hanging, it is necessary to increase the maximum lifting height of the lifting mechanism 24 as much as possible. To this end, the lifting mechanism 24 uses a vertically arranged multi-stage electric cylinder or hydraulic cylinder.

[0041] However, there are multiple battery racks in the battery charging compartment. Since the height of the outer frame is designed to match the height of the chassis, the height of the battery mounted on the battery rack is similar to the height of the battery mounted on the chassis. This allows the AGV battery-swapping robot in an unloaded state to smoothly travel through the bottom of the battery charging compartment, and the lifting height of the AGV battery-swapping robot can also be suitable for replacing batteries in the battery charging compartment. However, when the AGV battery-swapping robot is loaded with batteries, since the batteries will be higher than the AGV battery-swapping robot, its overall height will be higher than the bottom of the batteries mounted on other battery racks (i.e., the minimum ground clearance of the batteries), thereby causing interference and preventing the AGV battery-swapping robot from walking smoothly at the bottom of the battery charging compartment. If the height of the battery rack is directly designed to be higher, in order to adapt to the height of the battery rack, the lifting stroke of the lifting mechanism 24 needs to be further increased. On the one hand, the cost of the lifting mechanism 24 will be greatly increased, and on the other hand, the stability of the lifting mechanism 24 will be reduced. As the number of uses increases, its positioning accuracy will gradually decrease, and the decrease in positioning accuracy increases the difficulty of disassembling and installing the battery. To this end, in this embodiment, the battery rack 13 is mounted on the supporting beam 12 via a vertically arranged lifting assembly 14. The battery rack is mounted using a lifting assembly. When the battery is removed and installed, the battery rack can be lowered via the lifting assembly so that the height of the battery rack matches the height of the chassis, which facilitates the AGV battery-swapping robot to remove and install the batteries on the battery rack. When the battery is charging, the battery rack is lifted as a whole via the lifting assembly to raise the bottom height of the mounted battery, thereby avoiding interference between the AGV battery-swapping robot loaded with batteries and the batteries mounted on the battery rack, thereby ensuring the smooth movement of the AGV battery-swapping robot. Figure 4 As shown, one group of battery racks 13 is lifted by the lifting assembly 14, thereby increasing the bottom space.

[0042] When hanging the battery, in order to make all the locking mechanisms between the battery and the battery rack fully fit in place, the battery needs to be lifted upward as much as possible. If there is an inclination angle between the mating surfaces of the battery and the battery rack, the first contact part between the two will be squeezed, which is easy to cause damage to the battery. In order to allow the battery rack to be adaptively adjusted, a vertically retractable elastic floating component 15 is provided between the battery rack 13 and the supporting beam 12 or the lifting component 14. In this embodiment, the supporting beam 12 has a vertically arranged guide rod 121, and the battery rack 13 includes a base 131 erected on the supporting beam 12 along the length direction and a hanger 132 for hanging the battery, and the base 131 has a clearance hole corresponding to the guide rod 121, and the guide rod 121 is inserted in the clearance hole; the elastic floating component 15 is an adjustment spring sleeved on the guide rod 121, and the two ends of the adjustment spring act between the base 131 and the supporting beam 12 respectively. In this way, when the battery rack is subjected to the upward force, it will act on the elastic floating assembly and move upward. During the upward movement of the battery rack, the battery rack will adaptively adjust its posture to fit the top of the battery, so that all the locking mechanisms and the locking structures on the battery rack can be matched in place for reliable locking. The elastic floating assembly allows the battery rack to have space to move, so as to avoid the battery being directly squeezed on the battery rack during the lifting process and causing damage, which is beneficial to extend the battery life and reduce safety risks. After the battery is mounted, the battery rack is reset again using the battery's own gravity.

[0043] Specifically, the adjustment spring is sleeved on one end of the guide rod 121 passing through the clearance hole, and a baffle 124 is detachably fixedly mounted on the upper end of the guide rod 121. The adjustment spring 123 abuts between the base 131 and the baffle 124. Figure 8 As shown. The guide rod and baffle are installed on the supporting beam and remain fixed as a whole. During the process of lifting the battery, the battery rack is pushed upward, moves upward along the guide rod as a whole through the clearance hole and squeezes the adjustment spring sleeved on the guide rod to achieve stable floating adjustment. After the installation is completed, the adjustment spring exerts a downward force on the battery rack, so that the battery rack can be smoothly reset under the gravity of itself and the battery and the spring force.

[0044] In addition, the supporting beam 12 has a vertically arranged guide column 122, the upper end of which is tapered; the base 131 has a guide hole arranged corresponding to the guide column 122, and the inner diameter of the guide hole matches the outer diameter of the guide column.

[0045] The lifting assembly 14 is an electric lifting cylinder symmetrically arranged at both ends of the base 131, and the bracket 132 has a support member 134 arranged corresponding to the lifting assembly 14, and the top of the support member 134 is installed on the upper end of the lifting assembly 14. The bracket 132 includes a frame body that is rectangular as a whole, and the support member 134 is a support column vertically arranged on the frame body. The top of the support column has a support portion that protrudes laterally, and the upper end of the lifting assembly 14 is installed on the support portion.

[0046] During specific implementation, in order to allow the battery to quickly enter the charging state, the battery rack 13 has a charging connector corresponding to the charging hole of the battery; the battery rack 13 has a coolant connector corresponding to the coolant hole of the battery; the battery rack 13 has a sensor for detecting the state of the locking structure.

[0047] In the charging station, the charging rack 1 is provided with at least two, such as Figure 1 As shown, the outer frames 11 of two adjacent charging racks 1 are fixedly connected by bolts. They can also be distributed on both sides of the battery exchange channel. In this way, the charging racks can be flexibly assembled according to the site, thereby greatly reducing the construction cost.

[0048] like Figures 9 to 11 As shown, the walking mechanism 22 includes a suspension 221 arranged transversely on the bracket 21, an electric drive assembly is installed on the suspension 221, and the output end of the electric drive assembly is connected to a walking wheel 222; the bottom of the bracket 21 has a yielding opening arranged corresponding to the walking wheel 222. The walking wheel 222 can be a Mecanum wheel, an omnidirectional wheel or a steering wheel; the electric drive assembly includes a driving motor. Thus, the AGV battery-swapping robot can move in all directions.

[0049] like Fig.12 As shown, one end of the suspension 221 is rotatably mounted on the bracket 21 via a horizontally arranged hinge shaft, and the other end has a door-shaped bracket 223 straddling the suspension 221, and the lower end of the door-shaped bracket 223 is fixed to the bracket 21; the suspension 221 is connected to the door-shaped bracket 223 via a vertically arranged screw rod, and a spring 224 is sleeved on the screw rod, and the two ends of the spring 224 are respectively abutted between the suspension 221 and the door-shaped bracket 223.

[0050] When the vehicle's weight is unevenly distributed or due to external reasons such as suspension, there is a tilt angle between the chassis and the ground. During the battery replacement process, especially when the battery is installed, the battery will be lifted by the lifting mechanism 24 and the position that first contacts the chassis will be squeezed. At this time, the corresponding position of the AGV battery replacement robot will be subjected to reverse pressure, and the spring on this side will shrink to adapt to the angle matching between the battery and the chassis. This can not only avoid the battery from being damaged by hard squeezing, but also improve the battery replacement efficiency.

[0051] In the specific implementation, due to the influence of the wheelbase of the vehicle model, it is impossible to ensure that all vehicles use the same battery. However, in the same series of commercial vehicles, the body width is consistent, and only the wheelbase is different. In order to improve the versatility of the battery and reduce the production cost, the battery adopts a modular design. The battery capacity can be combined by the number of modules or adjusted according to the length. For models with a smaller wheelbase, the number of modules can be reduced or the length dimension can be reduced, or the battery modules can be installed in a dispersed manner. For models with a longer wheelbase, multiple modules can be used or the length dimension can be increased. In order to meet the battery replacement needs of models with different wheelbases, the AGV battery replacement robot can also adopt a minimum module design. As shown in the figure, at least two brackets 21 are detachably arranged side by side in the width direction, and in the two adjacent brackets 21, the side of any bracket 21 has a protruding pin structure, and the side of the other bracket 21 has a socket structure corresponding to the pin structure; the two brackets 21 are detachably connected by the pin structure and the socket structure.

[0052] In this embodiment, considering that a long-wheelbase vehicle is equipped with three battery modules or a longer battery pack, and a short-wheelbase vehicle is equipped with two battery modules or a shorter battery pack, two brackets 21 are detachably arranged side by side in the width direction, and the size of the pallet 23 matches the size of a single battery module. One of the battery compartments of one bracket 21 is provided with one pallet 23, and the battery compartment of the other bracket 21 has two pallets 23 arranged side by side. Two lifting mechanisms 24 are respectively provided at both ends of each pallet 23, and each lifting mechanism 24 is connected to the pallet 23 through a ball joint structure. That is, each pallet 23 is supported by four lifting mechanisms 24 at the four corners, and the horizontal posture of the pallet can be adjusted by adjusting the lifting height of each lifting mechanism, that is, adjusting the horizontal posture of the battery module, so as to facilitate the adaptation of the battery module to the horizontal posture of the chassis, so as to reliably replace the battery.

[0053] The latch structure includes a positioning column 251 and a locking column 261, and the socket structure includes a positioning hole 252 and a locking hole 262. The inner diameter of the positioning hole 252 matches the diameter of the positioning column 251, and the outer end has a trumpet-shaped guide hole; there are mutually matching spiral locking surfaces or mutually matching steel ball locking mechanisms between the locking column 261 and the locking hole 262, and the locking column 261 or the locking hole 262 is provided with a rotation driving mechanism for driving the relative rotation and locking of the two or a linear telescopic mechanism for locking and unlocking the steel ball locking mechanism.

[0054] In this embodiment, a steel ball locking mechanism is used between the locking column 261 and the locking hole 262. Fig.13 As shown, the steel ball locking mechanism includes a clamping sleeve 263 arranged in the locking hole 262, the outer diameter of the clamping sleeve 263 is consistent with the inner diameter of the locking hole 262, and the clamping sleeve 263 is axially movably sleeved in the locking hole 262; the diameter of the locking column 261 matches the inner diameter of the clamping sleeve 263, and can be coaxially inserted into the clamping sleeve 263; the clamping sleeve 263 has a clamping hole arranged radially through, and a plurality of the clamping holes are evenly distributed along the circumference of the clamping sleeve 263, and the clamping holes are arranged in a uniform manner. A steel ball 264 is arranged in the snap-fit ​​hole; the locking column 261 has a snap-fit ​​groove 265 arranged in an annular shape along the circumferential direction, the diameter of the steel ball 264 is greater than the wall thickness of the snap-fit ​​sleeve 263, and the difference between the two matches the depth of the snap-fit ​​groove 261; the outward end of the locking hole 262 has an unlocking cavity with a larger diameter, so that the steel ball 264 on the snap-fit ​​sleeve 263 can be radially retreated into the unlocking cavity at the unlocking cavity; the telescopic end of the linear telescopic mechanism is axially connected to the snap-fit ​​sleeve 263.

[0055] In this way, the clamping sleeve is moved axially along the locking hole by the linear telescopic mechanism. Before locking, the steel ball is moved to the position of the unlocking cavity. When the locking column is inserted into the clamping sleeve, the steel ball is radially withdrawn into the unlocking cavity. After the locking column is coaxially inserted into the clamping sleeve, the clamping sleeve is moved toward the inside of the locking hole by the linear telescopic mechanism. At this time, the locking column also moves together. Since the outer diameter of the clamping sleeve matches the inner diameter of the locking hole, the steel ball moves toward the inside of the clamping sleeve under the action of the inner wall of the locking hole and enters the clamping groove. At this time, the clamping sleeve and the locking column are connected under the action of the steel ball and the clamping groove. The linear telescopic mechanism further pulls the clamping sleeve toward the inside of the locking hole, which can tighten the locking column, so that the two brackets are tightly fixed and connected.

[0056] like Fig.10 and Fig.11As shown, the bracket 21 is provided with an electric control system for controlling the walking mechanism 22 and the lifting mechanism 24; of the two adjacent brackets 21, the side of any of the brackets 21 has an electrical plug 271 protrudingly arranged, and the side of the other bracket 21 has an electrical socket 272 arranged corresponding to the electrical plug 271; the electrical plug 271 and the electrical socket 272 are respectively connected to the corresponding electric control system, and the electric control systems of the two brackets 21 are detachably connected through the electrical plug 271 and the electrical socket 272. In this way, the electric control systems on the two adjacent brackets are detachably connected through the electrical plug 271 and the electrical socket 272, which can meet both the independent control of a single bracket and the synchronous control of the bracket combination.

[0057] In order to enable the brackets 21 to be automatically assembled, a positioning module capable of determining the relative positions of the brackets 21 is provided on the brackets 21, and the positioning module is connected to the electronic control system. In this way, the positioning module can be used to move the brackets 21 to a position for mutual assembly, thereby realizing automated operation.

[0058] Furthermore, the side of the bracket 21 also has a visual positioning module, which is used to detect the position of the pin structure or the socket structure on another bracket 21. Therefore, the bracket 21 can find the assembly position more accurately based on the positioning module.

[0059] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principle of the invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A battery replacement system, characterized in that: The invention comprises a charging module for charging a battery module and an AGV battery-swapping robot for replacing the battery module, wherein the charging module comprises a charging rack (1) on which the battery module can be mounted, wherein the charging rack comprises an outer frame (11) which is in an overall rectangular shape, wherein a plurality of legs are arranged at the bottom of the outer frame (11), wherein the height of the legs matches the height above the ground of the chassis of the vehicle to be replaced, and wherein the minimum spacing between two adjacent legs on at least one side is greater than the maximum spacing between two adjacent front and rear wheels of the vehicle to be replaced; wherein the outer frame (11) has a transversely arranged supporting beam (12), wherein at least two supporting beams (12) are arranged at intervals, and a battery rack (12) for mounting the battery is arranged between two adjacent supporting beams (12). 3); the AGV battery-exchanging robot comprises at least one bracket (21) which is rectangular as a whole, a walking mechanism (22) for driving the bracket (21) to move horizontally is arranged at the bottom of the bracket (21), a battery compartment which is recessed or hollow is arranged in the middle of the bracket (21), a support plate (23) for loading batteries and a lifting mechanism (24) which is arranged vertically are arranged in the battery compartment, the lifting mechanism (24) is arranged on the outer side of the bracket (23), and the edge of the bracket (23) is hung on the upper end of the lifting mechanism (24) through a supporting mechanism extending upward; the sum of the lowest height of the bracket (23) and the thickness of the battery is less than the battery-exchanging distance between the chassis to be replaced and the ground in the battery-exchanging state.

2. The battery replacement system according to claim 1, characterized in that: At least two charging racks (1) are provided, and the outer frames (11) of two adjacent charging racks (1) are fixedly connected by bolts.

3. The battery replacement system according to claim 1, characterized in that: A vertically retractable elastic floating component (15) is provided between the battery rack (13) and the supporting beam (12).

4. The battery replacement system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The supporting beam (12) is provided with a vertically arranged guide rod (121); the battery rack (13) comprises a base (131) arranged on the supporting beam (12) along the length direction and a hanger (132) for hanging batteries; the base (131) is provided with a clearance hole arranged corresponding to the guide rod (121); the guide rod (121) is inserted into the clearance hole; the elastic floating component (15) is an adjustment spring sleeved on the guide rod (121); two ends of the adjustment spring act respectively between the base (131) and the supporting beam (12).

5. The battery replacement system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The adjusting spring is sleeved on one end of the guide rod (121) passing through the clearance hole, a baffle (124) is detachably fixedly mounted on the upper end of the guide rod (121), and the adjusting spring abuts between the base (131) and the baffle (124).

6. The battery replacement system according to claim 5, characterized in that: The supporting beam (12) has a vertically arranged guide column (122), the upper end of the guide column (122) being tapered; the base (131) has a guide hole arranged corresponding to the guide column (122), the inner diameter of the guide hole matching the outer diameter of the guide column.

7. The battery replacement system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The battery rack (13) has a charging connector arranged corresponding to the charging hole of the battery; the battery rack (13) has a coolant connector arranged corresponding to the coolant hole of the battery; and the battery rack (13) has a sensor for detecting the state of the locking structure.

8. The battery replacement system according to claim 1, characterized in that: At least two of the brackets (21) are detachably arranged side by side in the width direction, and of the two adjacent brackets (21), a side surface of any one of the brackets (21) has a protruding latch structure, and a side surface of the other bracket (21) has a socket structure corresponding to the latch structure; the two brackets (21) are detachably connected via the latch structure and the socket structure.

9. The battery replacement system according to claim 8, characterized in that: The bracket (21) is provided with an electric control system for controlling the walking mechanism (22) and the lifting mechanism (24); of two adjacent brackets (21), a side surface of any one of the brackets (21) has a protruding electrical plug (271), and a side surface of the other bracket (21) has an electrical socket (272) corresponding to the electrical plug; the electrical plug (271) and the electrical socket (272) are respectively connected to the corresponding electric control system, and the electric control systems of the two brackets (21) are detachably connected via the electrical plug and the electrical socket.

10. A battery replacement method, characterized in that: First, obtain the battery swap system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9. When swapping batteries, park the vehicle to be swapped in the battery swap area; comprising the following steps: S1. Disassembly and charging of batteries to be charged: The AGV battery-swapping robot moves horizontally to the bottom of the vehicle to be charged, lifts the pallet to the bottom of the battery module through the lifting mechanism, and lowers it to the lowest position after supporting the disassembled battery module; the AGV battery-swapping robot loads the battery module and moves horizontally to the bottom of the empty battery rack in the charging rack, lifts the battery module to the bottom of the battery rack through the lifting mechanism, and lowers the pallet after the battery module is hung in place, completing the charging and loading of the battery module; S2. Disassembly and replacement of fully charged batteries: The AGV battery-swapping robot moves horizontally to the bottom of the fully charged battery module in the charging rack, lifts the pallet to the bottom of the battery module through the lifting mechanism, supports the disassembled battery module and then descends to the lowest position; the AGV battery-swapping robot loads the battery module and moves horizontally to the bottom of the chassis of the vehicle to be replaced, lifts the battery module to the bottom of the chassis through the lifting mechanism, and lowers the pallet after the battery module is installed in place to complete the battery replacement and loading work.

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