Automatic charging method for electric vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to an automatic charging method for an electric vehicle. The method comprises the following steps that the position of a charging socket is obtained through an automatic charging device arranged on the side face of a parking space; the position of the charging plug is adjusted so that the charging plug can be aligned with a charging socket on the electric vehicle; the charging plug is driven to be inserted into the charging socket through the telescopic device; acquiring the state of the lock hook to judge whether the charging plug is inserted into a set position, if the charging plug is inserted into the set position, starting charging, otherwise, reinserting or alarming; when charging is completed, the unlocking device is started to enable the lock hook of the charging plug to be separated from the lock catch of the charging socket. And the charging plug is driven to be pulled out and retracted to the plugging device. According to the method, the position of the charging socket is obtained through the fixedly-arranged automatic charging device, then the charging plug is driven to be inserted into the charging socket through stretching out and drawing back, power supply and pulling out are controlled by obtaining the state of the lock hook, the overall control method is simple, related equipment is low in cost, and the occupied space is small.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a charging method for an electric vehicle, in particular to an automatic charging method for an electric vehicle. Background Art

[0002] In traditional electric vehicle charging, the charging plug is manually inserted into the socket of the electric vehicle. However, the charging plug is heavy and inconvenient to use. To solve this problem, an automatic charging device has emerged. For example, a charging robot and a charging implementation method disclosed in Chinese Patent CN107097678A. When the control box receives a charging instruction during charging, the chuck moves from the initial stationary position to the charging pile at the parking space in the stereoscopic garage, and grabs the charging gun; the charging cover at the charging interface of the vehicle to be parked is pushed open by the chuck, the charging gun is inserted into the charging interface, and the chuck returns to the initial stationary position; when the control box receives a full charge instruction, the chuck moves from the initial stationary position to the charging interface to unplug the charging gun, transports the charging gun to the charging pile and hangs it back in place, and the chuck returns to the initial stationary position. This method is relatively complex, and also requires a handling cart and a three-axis robotic arm, with a relatively high overall cost, complex control, and high space requirements, and cannot charge when there are vehicles in two adjacent parking spaces. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To solve the above problems, the present invention provides an automatic charging method for an electric vehicle, and the specific technical solution is as follows:

[0004] An automatic charging method for an electric vehicle includes the following steps:

[0005] Obtain the position of the charging socket through an automatic charging device provided on the side of the parking space;

[0006] Adjust the position of the charging plug so that the charging plug is aligned with the charging socket on the electric vehicle;

[0007] Drive the charging plug to be inserted into the charging socket through a telescopic device;

[0008] Obtain the state of the locking hook to determine whether the charging plug is inserted into the set position. If the charging plug is inserted into the set position, start charging; otherwise, reinsert or give an alarm;

[0009] When charging is completed, start the unlocking device to separate the locking hook of the charging plug from the locking buckle of the charging socket;

[0010] Drive the charging plug to be pulled out and retracted onto the plugging and unplugging device.

[0011] Preferably, when obtaining the position of the charging socket, input the model of the vehicle or obtain the position of the charging socket through a camera provided on the charging plug.

[0012] Preferably, the telescopic device includes: a telescopic base provided with a telescopic groove and a guiding groove communicating with the telescopic groove; a telescopic wheel rotatably arranged in the telescopic groove; a telescopic motor arranged on the telescopic base and connected to the telescopic wheel; a telescopic steel belt movably arranged in the telescopic groove and the guiding groove and wound around the telescopic wheel, one end of the telescopic steel belt being arranged on the telescopic wheel; a telescopic rod with two ends respectively connected to the telescopic base and the charging plug, the telescopic rod including a plurality of telescopic sleeves sleeved in sequence to achieve axial telescoping; wherein, the telescopic steel belt is also movably arranged in the telescopic rod, and the other end of the telescopic steel belt is connected to the end of the telescopic rod for pushing the telescopic rod to telescope.

[0013] Preferably, when adjusting the position of the charging plug, it is adjusted through a vertical lifting device, a horizontal moving device and an angle adjusting device.

[0014] Furthermore, the vertical lifting device includes a linear lifting module or a lifting electric cylinder; the horizontal moving device includes a linear moving module or a moving electric cylinder.

[0015] Preferably, the unlocking device includes: an unlocking driving component arranged on the charging plug; an unlocking slider arranged on the unlocking driving component and provided with a first pushing inclined surface; and an unlocking push block arranged on the locking hook and provided with a second pushing inclined surface arranged opposite to the first pushing inclined surface; wherein, the unlocking driving component drives the unlocking slider to drive the locking hook to separate from the locking buckle through the first pushing inclined surface and the second pushing inclined surface.

[0016] Preferably, when obtaining the state of the locking hook, it is obtained by whether a micro switch is touched by the locking hook.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0018] An automatic charging method for an electric vehicle provided by the present invention obtains the position of a charging socket through a fixedly arranged automatic charging device, then drives the charging plug to be inserted into the charging socket through telescoping, and controls power supply and unplugging by obtaining the state of the locking hook. The overall control method is simple, the equipment cost involved is low, and the occupied space is small. Description of the Drawings

[0019] Figure 1 is the flowchart of this application;

[0020] Figure 2 is the perspective three-dimensional view of the automatic charging device from the first perspective;

[0021] Figure 3 is the perspective three-dimensional view of the automatic charging device from the second perspective;

[0022] Figure 4It is a side view of the automatic charging device;

[0023] Figure 5 It is an assembly schematic diagram of the horizontal movement device and the angle adjustment device;

[0024] Figure 6 It is a structural schematic diagram of the telescopic device and is in the extended state;

[0025] Figure 7 It is Figure 6 a cross-sectional view of;

[0026] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the telescopic device in the retracted state;

[0027] Figure 9 It is a structural schematic diagram of the telescopic rod;

[0028] Figure 10 It is a structural schematic diagram of the charging plug;

[0029] Figure 11 It is a structural schematic diagram of the charging plug after hiding the outer housing;

[0030] Figure 12 It is an exploded view of the charging plug;

[0031] Figure 13 It is an assembly schematic diagram of the locking hook and the unlocking push block;

[0032] Figure 14 It is a structural schematic diagram of the unlocking drive assembly;

[0033] Figure 15 It is a structural schematic diagram of the automatic charging device with an outer housing;

[0034] Figure 16 It is a schematic diagram of the automatic charging device charging an electric vehicle in a parking space. Detailed implementation manners

[0035] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0036] As Figure 1 shown, an automatic charging method for an electric vehicle includes the following steps:

[0037] Obtain the position of the charging socket through the automatic charging device provided on the side of the parking space; when obtaining the position of the charging socket, input the model of the vehicle or obtain the position of the charging socket through the camera provided on the charging plug;

[0038] Adjust the position of the charging plug so that the charging plug is aligned with the charging socket on the electric vehicle;

[0039] Drive the charging plug to insert into the charging socket through the telescopic device;

[0040] Obtain the status of the locking hook to determine whether the charging plug is inserted into the set position. If the charging plug is inserted into the set position, start charging; otherwise, re-insert it or give an alarm. The status of the locking hook is obtained by whether the micro switch is touched by the locking hook.

[0041] When charging is completed, start the unlocking device to separate the locking hook of the charging plug from the locking buckle of the charging socket.

[0042] Drive the charging plug to be pulled out and retracted onto the plugging and unplugging device.

[0043] When charging a fixed electric vehicle, after the electric vehicle is parked in the parking space, manually open the charging cover of the electric vehicle, and then start the charging device through the button 61 on the controller 6. The camera 91 detects the position of the charging socket, and controls the up and down lifting device 1, the horizontal moving device 2, and the angle adjusting device 4 to move the charging plug 5 to a state coaxial with the charging socket according to the position of the charging socket, and then start the telescopic device 4. The telescopic device 4 drives the charging plug 5 to be accurately inserted into the charging socket. This solves the problem that the position of the charging socket is not fixed due to different parking positions each time, and is applicable to the charging of fixed vehicles.

[0044] When charging different electric vehicles, the position of the charging plug 5 can be automatically adjusted by controlling the up and down lifting device 1, the horizontal moving device 2, and the angle adjusting device 3 through the camera 91, so that the charging plug 5 is coaxial with the charging socket on the electric vehicle. At this time, the angle adjusting device 3 uses an angle adjusting electric cylinder, and both ends of the angle adjusting electric cylinder are hinged to the adjusting seat 34 and the moving bottom plate 22 respectively. At this time, it can only be applicable to the situation where the position difference of the charging sockets of electric vehicles is small and located on the same side of the electric vehicle, and cannot be used for the situation where the position difference of the charging sockets is large and not on the same side.

[0045] As Figures 2 to 16 shown, the automatic charging device includes a charging plug 5, an up and down lifting device 1, a horizontal moving device 2, an angle adjusting device 3, and a telescopic device 4. The bottom of the up and down lifting device 1 is fixed on the ground, the top of the up and down lifting device 1 is connected to the horizontal moving device 2, the horizontal moving device 2 is connected to the telescopic device 4 through the angle adjusting device 3, and the top of the telescopic device 4 is connected to the charging plug 5, and is used to drive the charging plug 5 to be inserted into the charging socket of the electric vehicle.

[0046] The up-and-down lifting device 1 and the horizontal moving device 2 achieve position adjustment in the height and left-right directions, while the angle adjustment device 3 enables the charging plug 5 and the charging socket to maintain a coaxial state, suitable for charging plugs 5 with a partial inclination. The telescopic device 4 inserts the charging plug 5 into the charging socket. When not charging, the charging plug 5 retracts above the horizontal moving device 2 through the telescopic device 4, occupying a small space and requiring a small operating space.

[0047] Since the simple-structured up-and-down lifting device 1, horizontal moving device 2 and telescopic device 4 are adopted to realize the insertion and extraction of the charging plug 5, the cost is greatly reduced.

[0048] The up-and-down lifting device 1 includes a lifting linear module or a lifting electric cylinder. The use of standard linear modules and electric cylinders can effectively reduce costs. The horizontal moving device 2 includes a moving linear module 21 and a moving bottom plate 22. The slide of the moving linear module 21 is installed on the lifting seat of the up-and-down lifting device 1, and the moving bottom plate 22 is fixed on the moving linear module 21. The moving linear module 21 is used to adjust the position along the length direction of the electric vehicle. The linear module is an existing commercially available product and will not be described in detail here.

[0049] In order to achieve automatic adjustment, the angle adjustment device 3 adopts an angle adjustment electric cylinder. The two ends of the angle adjustment electric cylinder are respectively hinged to the adjustment seat 34 and the moving bottom plate 22. When targeting a fixed vehicle, after the angle adjustment device 3 adjusts the angle, the angle can be fixed without adjustment each time. At this time, the angle adjustment device 3 includes a rotating frame 31, a rotating shaft 32, an adjustment seat 34, an adjustment screw 33, an adjustment nut and an adjustment spring 35. The rotating frame 31 is installed on the moving bottom plate 22 and is connected to the rotating shaft 32. The rotating shaft 32 is rotatably connected to the tail of the telescopic device 4; the adjustment seat 34 is installed on the telescopic device 4, and the adjustment seat 34 is provided with an adjustment groove 341, which can be a waist-shaped groove arranged along the length direction of the telescopic device 4. The adjustment screw 33 is connected to the moving bottom plate 22 by threads and the end is movably inserted into the adjustment groove 341. The adjustment nut is installed on the top of the adjustment screw 33 and is located above the adjustment groove 341; the adjustment spring 35 is movably sleeved on the adjustment screw 33, and the two ends of the adjustment spring 35 respectively abut against the moving bottom plate 22 and the bottom of the adjustment groove 341. Rotating the adjustment screw 33 can drive the telescopic device 4 to rotate an angle along the rotating shaft 32, so that the charging plug 5 and the charging socket are coaxial. A locking nut can also be installed on the adjustment screw 33. After the angle of the charging plug 5 is adjusted, rotate the locking nut so that the locking nut presses tightly on the moving bottom plate 22 to prevent the angle of the charging plug 5 from changing.

[0050] The telescopic device 4 includes a telescopic base 41, a telescopic wheel 42, a telescopic motor 43, a telescopic steel belt 44 and a telescopic rod 45. The telescopic base 41 is rotatably mounted on the rotating shaft 32. Inside the telescopic base 41, there are a telescopic groove 411 and a guiding groove 412, and the guiding groove 412 communicates with the telescopic groove 411. The telescopic motor 43 is fixed on the telescopic base 41, and the motor shaft of the telescopic motor 43 is connected to the telescopic wheel 42 for driving the telescopic wheel 42 to rotate. The telescopic wheel 42 is movably located in the telescopic groove 411. One end of the telescopic steel belt 44 is fixed on the telescopic wheel 42 and wound around the telescopic wheel 42. The telescopic rod 45 includes a number of telescopic sleeves 451 sleeved in sequence to achieve axial telescoping. One end of the telescopic rod 45 is fixed on the telescopic base 41 and is disposed opposite to the guiding groove 412. The other end of the telescopic rod 45 is connected to the charging plug 5. The telescopic steel belt 44 is also movably inserted into the telescopic rod 45, and the other end of the telescopic steel belt 44 is connected to the other end of the telescopic rod 45 for pushing the telescopic rod 45 to telescope.

[0051] The cross-section of the telescopic sleeve 451 can be circular, elliptical, polygonal, etc.

[0052] When the telescopic motor 43 rotates forward, the telescopic wheel 42 releases the telescopic steel belt 44. Under the action of the guiding groove 412, the telescopic steel belt 44 extends towards the end of the telescopic rod 45, thereby driving the telescopic sleeve 451 to extend. The charging plug 5 at the end of the telescopic rod 45 is inserted into the charging socket.

[0053] The telescopic wheel 42, the telescopic motor 43 and the telescopic steel belt 44 form a winding structure, which can realize the extension and retraction of the telescopic steel belt 44, and drive the extension and retraction of the telescopic rod 45 through the telescopic steel belt 44.

[0054] Since the telescopic steel belt 44 is wound around the telescopic wheel 42, it occupies a small space. And the telescopic rod 45 can be telescoped so as not to occupy the space around the parking space when not working and not affect the parking of the car.

[0055] In order to make the telescopic steel belt 44 not easy to bend and improve the pushing force, the telescopic steel belt 44 is an arc-shaped steel belt.

[0056] In order to further improve the stability of the telescopic steel belt 44 and make the direction of the telescopic steel belt 44 consistent and not bend, a steel belt groove 453 is provided in the telescopic sleeve 451. The telescopic steel belt 44 is inserted into the steel belt groove 453. When the telescopic rod 45 extends, each telescopic sleeve 451 can support the telescopic steel belt 44, thereby ensuring that the telescopic steel belt 44 is not easy to bend during the entire extension stroke, maintaining a high strength, so as to ensure a reliable pushing force and enable the telescopic rod 45 to telescope smoothly. Among them, the steel belt groove 453 is provided on the fixed baffle 452, and the fixed baffle 452 is provided at the end of the telescopic sleeve 451, which can not only facilitate the fixing of the telescopic steel belt 44, but also improve the strength of the telescopic sleeve 451.

[0057] A telescopic spring 34 is further provided between the telescopic seat 41 and the rotating frame 31. The telescopic spring 34 is located on both sides of the telescopic seat 41 and is movably inserted on the rotating shaft 32. The two ends of the telescopic spring 34 respectively abut against the telescopic seat 41 and the rotating frame 31, improving the fault tolerance when the charging plug 5 is inserted into the charging socket.

[0058] To improve the reliability of the connection between the charging plug 5 and the charging socket, a locking hook 51 is provided on the charging plug 5, and a locking buckle is provided on the charging socket. When the charging plug 5 is inserted into the charging socket and reaches the set position, the locking hook 51 is latched onto the locking buckle. To facilitate the separation of the locking hook 51 from the locking buckle, an unlocking device 52 is further included. The unlocking device 52 is installed on the charging plug 5 and is disposed opposite to the locking hook 51, and is used to disengage the locking hook 51 on the charging plug 5 from the locking buckle on the charging socket. Specifically, the unlocking device 52 includes an unlocking driving assembly 521, an unlocking slider 522, and an unlocking push block 523. The unlocking driving assembly 521 is installed on the charging plug 5 and is connected to the unlocking slider 522. The unlocking slider 522 is disposed opposite to the unlocking push block 523. The unlocking push block 523 is disposed on the locking hook 51. The unlocking driving assembly 521 is provided on the charging plug 5; the unlocking slider 522 is provided with a first pushing inclined surface 525; the unlocking push block 523 is provided with a second pushing inclined surface 524 disposed opposite to the first pushing inclined surface 525; the unlocking driving assembly 521 drives the unlocking slider 522 to drive the locking hook 51 to separate from the locking buckle through the first pushing inclined surface 525 and the second pushing inclined surface 524. The unlocking driving assembly 521 includes a lead screw motor 5211 and a lead screw nut 5212. The lead screw motor 5211 is fixed on the charging socket, the lead screw nut 5212 is installed on the lead screw motor 5211 and is connected to the unlocking slider 522, and the unlocking slider 522 is slidably inserted into the slider groove 501 of the charging plug 5. When the lead screw motor 5211 rotates, it pushes the unlocking slider 522 to move. The unlocking slider 522 pushes the unlocking push block 523 through the second pushing inclined surface 524 and the second pushing inclined surface 524 to drive the locking hook 51 to rotate downward, thereby separating the locking hook 51 from the locking buckle and facilitating the removal of the charging plug 5. The tail of the locking hook 51 is rotatably installed on the charging plug 5 through a shaft, and a locking spring is further provided between the tail of the locking hook 51 and the charging plug 5. The locking spring keeps the locking hook 51 in a downward pressing state, and when the locking hook 51 contacts the locking buckle, it can automatically push the locking hook 51 to latch onto the locking buckle. The unlocking driving assembly 521 can also use an electromagnet to push the unlocking slider 522 to move.

[0059] In order to conveniently obtain the state of the lock hook 51, a micro switch 55 is provided in the charging plug 5. The micro switch 55 is arranged opposite to the lock hook 51 and is used to detect the state of the lock hook 51. When the charging plug 5 is plugged into the charging socket, when the charging plug 5 is plugged into the set position, the lock hook 51 is stuck on the lock buckle. At this time, the lock hook 51 presses on the micro switch 55, and the micro switch 55 transmits a signal to the charger 6, indicating that the charging plug 5 has been inserted and power can be supplied. When the charging plug 5 is ready to be unplugged, the unlocking drive component 521 drives the unlocking slider 522 to push the unlocking push block 523, and the unlocking push block 523 makes the lock hook 51 rise, and the lock hook 51 is away from the micro switch 55, and the telescopic device 4 drives the charging plug 5 to be unplugged.

[0060] The charger 6 is provided with a button 61 , through which the automatic charging device is started.

[0061] According to the model of the electric vehicle, the up and down lifting device 1 drives the charging plug 5 to rise and fall to a height matching the charging socket on the electric vehicle, and then the horizontal moving device 2 moves the charging plug 5 to a state where it is coaxial with the charging socket. If the charging socket has an angle, the adjusting screw 33 is rotated to rotate the charging plug 5 to coincide with the axis of the charging socket, and then the telescopic device 4 is started, and the telescopic device 4 drives the charging plug 5 to be inserted into the charging socket.

[0062] In order to facilitate automatic insertion and further improve the accuracy of automatic insertion, a camera 91 is also provided on the charging plug 5, and the camera 91 drives the up-down lifting device 1 and the horizontal moving device 2 to realize automatic alignment of the charging plug 5 with the charging plug 5. The charging plug 5 is also provided with an LED lamp bead 92, which provides supplementary light for the camera 91.

[0063] In order to facilitate the movement of the charging cable 7, a roller 8 is further provided on the rotating frame 31, and the charging cable 7 is located on the roller 8. The charging cable 7 is movably inserted into the telescopic rod 45, and is inserted into the interior of the telescopic rod 45 through the cable hole 40 of the telescopic seat 41. One end of the charging cable 7 is connected to the charging plug 5, and the other end is connected to the charger 6.

[0064] In order to protect the automatic charging device and improve the waterproof performance, it also includes an outer cover shell 81 and a movable cover plate 82. The outer cover shell 81 is fixed to the movable bottom plate 22. The movable cover plate 82 is rotatably mounted on the outer cover shell 81 and is arranged opposite to the charging socket of the outer cover shell 81 to close the charging socket when the charging plug 5 is retracted. When the charging plug 5 is extended for charging, the movable cover plate 82 can be automatically pushed open.

[0065] The technical principles of the present invention have been described above in conjunction with specific embodiments. These descriptions are only for explaining the principles of the present invention and cannot be construed as limiting the protection scope of the present invention in any way. Based on the explanations herein, those skilled in the art can readily conceive of other specific embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts, and these embodiments will fall within the protection scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. An automatic charging method for an electric vehicle, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: The location of the charging socket is obtained by an automatic charging device arranged on the side of the parking space; Adjust the position of the charging plug so that it is aligned with the charging socket on the electric vehicle; The charging plug is driven to be inserted into the charging socket through the telescopic device; Get the state of the lock hook to determine whether the charging plug is inserted into the set position. If the charging plug is inserted into the set position, start charging; otherwise, reinsert it or alarm. When charging is completed, the unlocking device is activated to separate the lock hook of the charging plug from the lock catch of the charging socket; The drive charging plug is pulled out and retracted onto the plug-in device.

2. The automatic charging method for electric vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that: When acquiring the location of the charging socket, the model of the vehicle is input or the location of the charging socket is acquired through a camera arranged on the charging plug.

3. The automatic charging method for electric vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that: The telescopic device comprises: A telescopic seat, provided with a telescopic slot and a guide slot communicating with the telescopic slot; A telescopic wheel, rotatably disposed in the telescopic slot; A telescopic motor, disposed on the telescopic seat and connected to the telescopic wheel; A telescopic steel belt is movably arranged in the telescopic groove and the guide groove and wound on the telescopic wheel, and one end of the telescopic steel belt is arranged on the telescopic wheel; A telescopic rod, two ends of which are respectively connected to the telescopic seat and the charging plug, and the telescopic rod includes a plurality of telescopic sleeves which are sequentially sleeved to achieve axial telescopic expansion; The telescopic steel belt is also movably arranged in the telescopic rod, and the other end of the telescopic steel belt is connected to the end of the telescopic rod to push the telescopic rod to extend and retract.

4. The automatic charging method for electric vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that: The position of the charging plug is adjusted through an up and down lifting device, a horizontal moving device and an angle adjusting device.

5. The automatic charging method for electric vehicles according to claim 4, characterized in that: The up and down lifting device includes a lifting linear module or a lifting electric cylinder; The horizontal moving device includes a moving linear module or a moving electric cylinder.

6. The automatic charging method for electric vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that: The unlocking device comprises: An unlocking drive assembly, provided on the charging plug; An unlocking slider, disposed on the unlocking drive assembly and provided with a first pushing inclined surface; and An unlocking push block is arranged on the lock hook and is provided with a second push inclined surface arranged opposite to the first push inclined surface; The unlocking drive assembly drives the unlocking slider to drive the lock hook to separate from the lock buckle through the first pushing inclined surface and the second pushing inclined surface.

7. The automatic charging method for electric vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that: The state of the lock hook is obtained by checking whether the micro switch is touched by the lock hook.

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