Intelligent efficient battery replacement mechanical arm grabbing device and method

Abstract

The invention relates to an intelligent efficient battery replacement mechanical arm grabbing device and method. The device comprises a rotary platform, a guide rail mechanism, a mechanical arm body, a mechanical claw translation rotary mechanism, a mechanical claw lifting mechanism, a front-end mechanical claw, a rear-end mechanical claw, a visual sensor and a torque sensor. The rotary platform controls the mechanical arm body to rotate horizontally, and the guide rail mechanism is installed on the rotary platform and controls the mechanical arm to move front and back in the horizontal direction. A front-end mechanical claw and a rear-end mechanical claw are mounted at the tail end of the mechanical arm, and the mechanical claw translation and rotation mechanism drives the double mechanical claws to move front and back and rotate horizontally to switch positions of new and old batteries; the lifting mechanism controls the mechanical claw to move vertically, and grabbing and mounting of the battery are completed. The visual sensor recognizes characteristic points of a vehicle battery bin, feedback of the torque sensor is combined, accurate positioning and self-adaptive adjustment of the mechanical arm are achieved, deviation existing in vehicle parking is allowed, the battery replacing time is shortened, the battery replacing efficiency is improved, and the equipment cost and the manual intervention requirement are reduced.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of electric vehicle battery replacement equipment, in particular to an intelligent and efficient battery replacement mechanical arm grabbing device and method. BACKGROUND

[0002] Under the trend of rapid development of new energy electric vehicles, electric vehicles have been widely used in daily travel, engineering construction and other fields. However, the endurance problem is still the key link restricting its further development. At present, the charging rate of electric vehicles has been significantly improved, but in order to further solve the endurance problem of vehicles, battery replacement technology has gradually become an important energy supplement method. Compared with the traditional charging mode, the battery replacement technology has obvious advantages such as short energy supplement time and prolonging the service life of the battery, and therefore is widely used in electric trucks, logistics vehicles and high-end electric vehicles.

[0003] The core of the battery replacement technology is fast and accurate battery replacement, and the process mainly includes vehicle positioning, old battery disassembly, new battery installation and system self-checking steps. However, the existing battery replacement equipment still faces many problems in actual application. The existing equipment requires accurate parking of the vehicle, and if the parking deviation is large, repeated adjustment or manual intervention is required, which reduces the battery replacement efficiency. The battery replacement process is complicated, and the time consumption of single battery replacement is long, which is difficult to meet the demand of high-flow battery replacement station. The safety mechanism is not perfect, and there is a lack of real-time detection and safety protection measures during battery installation, which has a great safety hazard. Therefore, an integrated safe, intelligent and efficient battery replacement mechanical arm system is needed to meet the demand of high-precision, high-efficiency and high-safety battery replacement. SUMMARY

[0004] In view of the deficiencies of the prior art, the present application provides an intelligent and efficient battery replacement mechanical arm grabbing device and method, which realizes fast switching and accurate installation of new and old batteries through double mechanical claw structure, multi-stage rotary mechanism, vision-torque fusion control and other technologies, solves the problems of low efficiency, insufficient positioning accuracy and poor safety of the existing battery replacement equipment, significantly improves the battery replacement efficiency and safety, and reduces the equipment cost and the demand for manual intervention.

[0005] To achieve the above purpose, the present application provides the following technical scheme: an intelligent and efficient battery replacement mechanical arm grabbing device, comprising: a rotary platform, a guide rail mechanism and a mechanical arm body connected in sequence from bottom to top; The rotary platform is used to drive the guide rail mechanism to rotate horizontally; The guide rail mechanism is installed on the rotary platform and is used to control the movement of the mechanical arm in the front and back directions, and cooperates with the rotary platform to realize the positioning of the horizontal plane X and Y directions; The mechanical arm body is installed on the guide rail mechanism, and the end is provided with a mechanical claw, which is a side-by-side double mechanical claw including a front mechanical claw and a rear mechanical claw, respectively used for grabbing old batteries and new batteries; The mechanical arm body end is provided with a mechanical claw translation and rotation mechanism for driving the mechanical claw to move forward and backward and rotate horizontally, realizing the position switching of new and old batteries. The mechanical arm body is further provided with a mechanical claw lifting mechanism for the vertical movement of the mechanical claw translation and rotation mechanism and the side-by-side double mechanical claws, realizing the grabbing and installation of the battery. The front-end mechanical claw is provided with a visual sensor for identifying the feature points of the vehicle battery compartment, realizing accurate positioning. The rear-end mechanical claw is provided with a torque sensor for detecting the battery installation resistance and triggering a safety response mechanism.

[0006] Further, the rotation platform adopts a combination of a reducer and a servo motor to drive the horizontal rotation of the mechanical arm body. Further, the guide rail mechanism adopts a motor-driven linear guide rail to realize the forward and backward movement of the mechanical arm, and through signal feedback adjustment of the position of the mechanical arm, accurate positioning is realized.

[0007] Further, the mechanical claw translation and rotation mechanism drives the forward and backward movement and horizontal rotation of the double mechanical claws through a motor, and in the battery replacement process of new and old batteries, the lower guide rail mechanism does not need to move again, and only the upper mechanical claw translation and rotation are needed, which can realize the position exchange of new and old batteries.

[0008] Further, the mechanical claw lifting mechanism is provided with a high-precision grating ruler at the end of the mechanical claw, and the vertical movement of the mechanical claw is accurately controlled by the motor encoder, and the lifting speed is adjustable.

[0009] Further, the visual sensor realizes the positioning of the vehicle battery compartment through a feature point identification algorithm, feeds back the adjustment of the mechanical arm for adjustment, realizes accurate grabbing and installation of the battery.

[0010] Further, the device is uniformly controlled by a controller, and the controller is connected with the rotation platform, the guide rail mechanism, the mechanical claw translation and rotation mechanism, the lifting mechanism, the visual sensor and the torque sensor, realizing multi-axis cooperative movement and real-time closed-loop feedback.

[0011] Further, the torque sensor detects the battery installation resistance when the battery is installed, judges the battery installation state according to the resistance value range, and triggers a three-level safety response: First-level response: when the resistance is in the first-level response interval, the action is paused and the pose is fine-tuned; Second-level response: when the resistance is in the second-level response interval, it is retreated by cm and reattempted; Third-level response: when the resistance is in the third-level response interval, it is stopped urgently and alarms.

[0012] Compared with the prior art, the technical scheme of the present application has the following beneficial effects: I. The traditional battery replacement device adopts a single mechanical claw structure, and needs to perform multiple operations of "taking old battery -> returning to charging compartment -> taking new battery -> installing new battery" in sequence, and the battery replacement efficiency is low. The present application realizes synchronous switching of new and old batteries through the cooperation of double mechanical claw structure and multi-stage rotary mechanism, shortens the battery replacement time, and improves the efficiency.

[0013] II. The traditional device lacks real-time safety monitoring device, and is easy to cause accidents due to interface misplacement due to installation angle error when installing new battery. The present application uses torque sensor to monitor installation resistance in real time, triggers three-level response (pause, back, alarm lock), effectively avoids equipment damage and battery falling risk.

[0014] III. The traditional battery replacement relies on manual adjustment of battery position and monitoring of installation. The present application realizes full-process automation from positioning, grabbing, battery replacement to safety detection, reduces manual participation, and realizes safe, intelligent and efficient automatic battery replacement. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0015] The present application will be further described below in combination with the drawings and examples.

[0016] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present application; Figure 2 is a front view of the schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present application; Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the battery replacement of the present application.

[0017] In the figure: 1, rotary platform; 2, guide rail mechanism; 3, mechanical arm main body; 4, mechanical claw lifting mechanism; 5, mechanical claw translation and rotation mechanism; 6, visual sensor; 7, torque sensor; 8, front end mechanical claw; 9, rear end mechanical claw. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below in combination with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, not all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor are within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0019] The battery replacement process includes steps of battery grabbing, accurate positioning, old battery removal, new battery installation, safety detection, etc.

[0020] The battery grabbing, the mechanical arm 3 moves to the charging compartment through the guide rail mechanism 2, and the full-electric new battery is grabbed by the rear end mechanical claw 8; The precise positioning, the visual sensor 6 identifies the vehicle battery compartment feature point, adjusts the position of the mechanical arm body 3, and ensures that the front end mechanical gripper 8 and the rear end mechanical gripper 9 are accurately aligned with the battery compartment; The old battery removal, after the front end mechanical gripper 8 and the rear end mechanical gripper 9 grab the old battery, the mechanical gripper translation and rotation mechanism moves backward to a safe distance, the mechanical gripper rotates 180°, and the old battery is removed from the vehicle battery compartment; The new battery installation, the front end mechanical gripper 8 and the rear end mechanical gripper 9 move forward to the original position through the mechanical gripper translation and rotation mechanism, install the new battery to the vehicle battery compartment, and the torque sensor detects the installation resistance in real time to ensure the installation safety; The safety detection, if the resistance exceeds the limit during the installation process, a three-level response mechanism (pause, rollback, and alarm lock) is triggered to ensure the safety and reliability of the battery replacement process.

[0021] As shown in Figure 1 , 2 The overall structure schematic diagram of the present application includes a rotation platform 1 located at the bottom of the whole mechanical arm, a control mechanical arm body 3 rotates, the mechanical arm body 3 is installed above the rotation platform and moves forward and backward through a guide rail mechanism 2, a mechanical gripper lifting mechanism 4 is located at the upper end of the mechanical arm body 3, controls the movement of the mechanical gripper, a mechanical gripper translation and rotation mechanism 5 controls the translation and rotation of the lower front end mechanical gripper 8 and the rear end mechanical gripper 9 after grabbing the battery, a visual sensor 7 is installed at the front end of the mechanical gripper, determines the position of the battery to be replaced by positioning the battery feature point through vision, and a torque sensor 8 is installed at the end of the mechanical gripper to detect the state during the installation of the battery.

[0022] The working principle of the present application: the present application realizes the efficient switching and accurate installation of new and old batteries by integrating double mechanical grippers, multi-stage rotation mechanisms, and intelligent sensing systems. First, the visual sensor scans the feature points of the vehicle battery compartment, adjusts the pose of the mechanical arm in combination with torque feedback, and ensures that the mechanical gripper is accurately aligned with the battery compartment; then, the rotation platform drives the whole mechanical arm to rotate to the charging compartment, the rear end mechanical gripper grabs the fully charged battery, the front end mechanical gripper removes the old battery, and the mechanical gripper translation and rotation mechanism moves the battery to a safe distance and then rotates 180° to switch the positions of new and old batteries; the mechanical gripper translation and rotation mechanism accurately moves the new battery to the installation position, the lifting mechanism presses down to complete the installation of the new battery, and the torque sensor monitors the resistance in real time. If the resistance exceeds the limit, a three-level safety response mechanism (pause, rollback, and alarm) is triggered. The whole process is coordinated by the controller to realize safe, intelligent, and efficient automatic battery replacement.

[0023] Although embodiments of the present application have been shown and described, it will be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art that various changes, modifications, replacements, and variations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present application, and the scope of the present application is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An intelligent and efficient battery replacement mechanical arm grabbing device, characterized in that, The device comprises: a rotary platform (1), a guide rail mechanism (2) and a mechanical arm body (3) connected in sequence from bottom to top; the rotary platform (1) is used for driving the guide rail mechanism (2) to rotate horizontally; the guide rail mechanism (2) is installed on the rotary platform (1) and is used for controlling the mechanical arm (3) to move forward and backward along the front-back direction, and cooperates with the rotary platform (1) to realize positioning in the horizontal plane X and Y directions; the mechanical arm body (3) is installed on the guide rail mechanism, and the end thereof is provided with a mechanical gripper, the mechanical gripper is a side-by-side double mechanical gripper comprising a front mechanical gripper (8) and a rear mechanical gripper (9), and is used for grabbing old batteries and new batteries respectively; the mechanical arm body (3) is provided with a mechanical gripper translation and rotation mechanism (5) at the end thereof, which is used for driving the mechanical gripper to move forward and backward and rotate horizontally, so as to realize position switching of the old and new batteries; the mechanical arm body (3) is further provided with a mechanical gripper lifting mechanism (4), which is used for vertical movement of the mechanical gripper translation and rotation mechanism (5) and the side-by-side double mechanical gripper, so as to complete battery grabbing and installation; the front mechanical gripper (8) is provided with a visual sensor (6), which is used for identifying characteristic points of a vehicle battery compartment, so as to realize accurate positioning; the rear mechanical gripper (9) is provided with a torque sensor (7), which is used for detecting battery installation resistance and triggering a safety response mechanism.

2. The intelligent efficient battery replacement mechanical arm grabbing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rotary platform (1) is combined with a speed reducer and a servo motor to drive the mechanical arm body (3) to rotate horizontally. 3.The intelligent efficient battery replacement mechanical arm grabbing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The guide rail mechanism (2) is a linear guide rail driven by a motor, which is used for realizing mechanical arm forward and backward movement, adjusting the position of the mechanical arm through signal feedback, and realizing accurate positioning.

4. The intelligent efficient battery replacing mechanical arm grabbing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mechanical gripper translation and rotation mechanism (5) drives the double mechanical gripper to move forward and backward and rotate horizontally through a motor, so that the lower guide rail mechanism does not need to move again during the battery replacement process of the old and new batteries, and only the upper mechanical gripper needs to move and rotate, so that the position of the old and new batteries can be exchanged. 5.The intelligent efficient battery swap mechanical arm grabbing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mechanical gripper lifting mechanism (4) is provided with a high-precision grating ruler at the end of the mechanical gripper, and the vertical movement of the mechanical gripper is accurately controlled by a motor encoder, and the lifting speed is adjustable. 6.The intelligent efficient battery swap mechanical arm grabbing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The visual sensor (6) realizes vehicle battery compartment positioning through a characteristic point identification algorithm, adjusts the mechanical arm through feedback, realizes accurate grabbing and installation of the battery, and realizes accurate grabbing and installation of the battery.

7. The intelligent and efficient battery swapping mechanical arm grabbing device according to claims 1-6, characterized in that: The device is uniformly controlled by a controller, the controller is connected with the rotary platform, the guide rail mechanism, the mechanical gripper translation and rotation mechanism, the lifting mechanism, the visual sensor and the torque sensor, and multi-axis cooperative movement and real-time closed-loop feedback are realized.

8. The intelligent and efficient battery swapping robot grabbing method based on any of the devices of claims 1-6, characterized in that: The torque sensor (7) detects the battery installation resistance when the battery is installed, judges the battery installation state according to the resistance value range, and triggers a three-level safety response: first response: when the resistance is in the first response interval, the action is paused and the pose is fine-tuned; second response: when the resistance is in the second response interval, the device is retreated by 10 cm and reattempted; third response: when the resistance is in the third response interval, the device is stopped urgently and an alarm is given.

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