Vehicle body attitude measuring mechanism and locking and unlocking platform assembly

Abstract

The utility model discloses a vehicle body attitude measuring mechanism, and relates to the technical field of electric vehicle battery swap stations, the vehicle body attitude measuring mechanism comprises at least three groups of height measuring mechanisms, and the three groups of height measuring mechanisms are respectively used for being arranged at three corners of a locking and unlocking platform so as to measure the height of a battery swap vehicle. The utility model further provides a locking and unlocking platform assembly which comprises a locking and unlocking platform and the vehicle body posture measuring mechanism. The device is not influenced by illumination, the accuracy of vehicle body attitude measurement is improved, and the success rate of vehicle battery replacement is further improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of electric vehicle battery swap stations, in particular to a vehicle body posture measuring mechanism and a locking and unlocking platform assembly. Background Art

[0002] The battery swapping process is a way to quickly charge electric vehicles. Specifically, it means replacing the depleted battery of an electric vehicle with a fully charged battery through battery swapping equipment. The battery swapping station is the place where the depleted battery of an electric vehicle is replaced.

[0003] The battery frame at the bottom of electric vehicles is not parallel to the ground due to its inherent manufacturing process. In addition, when the vehicle is loaded with cargo, the bottom of the vehicle is also at different angles to the ground due to the cargo being placed in different positions in the vehicle compartment. This can cause the battery swapping equipment to be unable to successfully remove the battery during the battery swap. Therefore, it is necessary to use a body posture measurement mechanism to measure the body posture of the vehicle chassis battery swapping vehicle so that the battery swapping equipment can adjust its posture to be parallel to the bottom surface of the battery.

[0004] At present, the mainstream solution for measuring vehicle posture is the visual solution, which uses a camera to collect the vehicle's contour data, and then uses an algorithm to calculate the spatial relative position of the vehicle chassis for battery replacement; however, the visual solution is easily affected by light, which reduces the recognition success rate and thus affects the battery replacement success rate.

[0005] Therefore, a vehicle body posture measurement mechanism is provided to solve the above problems in the prior art. Utility Model Content

[0006] The purpose of this utility model is to provide a vehicle body posture measurement mechanism and a locking and unlocking platform assembly to solve the problems existing in the above-mentioned prior art, which can be unaffected by light, improve the accuracy of vehicle body posture measurement, and thereby improve the success rate of vehicle battery replacement.

[0007] To achieve the above purpose, the present invention provides the following solutions:

[0008] The utility model provides a vehicle body posture measuring mechanism, including a height measuring mechanism. The height measuring mechanism is provided with at least three groups. The three groups of height measuring mechanisms are respectively used to be provided at the three corners of the locking and unlocking platform to measure the height of the battery-swap vehicle.

[0009] Preferably, any group of the height measuring mechanisms includes a first lifting mechanism and a measuring block, the first lifting mechanism is used to be set on the locking and unlocking platform, the measuring block is set on the first lifting mechanism, and in the initial state, the measuring block protrudes from the locking and unlocking platform for contacting the battery-swapping vehicle; the first lifting mechanism is also connected to an encoder, the encoder is used to record the descent height of the measuring block, and the encoder is connected to the controller signal.

[0010] When the locking and unlocking platform rises, the measuring block can contact the battery-swapping vehicle and compress the first lifting mechanism; when the locking and unlocking platform descends, the first lifting mechanism drives the measuring block to reset.

[0011] Preferably, the first lifting mechanism includes a mounting seat, a first linear guide, a first rack, a first gear and a return spring, the mounting seat is used to be fixed on the locking and unlocking platform, the first linear guide is vertically arranged on the mounting seat, the first rack is slidably arranged on the first linear guide, and the measuring block is arranged on the top of the first rack; the first gear is rotatably set on the mounting seat through the gear shaft, and the first gear is meshed with the first rack, the encoder is connected to the gear shaft, and the encoder can record the number of rotations of the gear shaft to record the descending height of the measuring block; one end of the return spring is connected to the first rack, and the other end is connected to the mounting seat, and the return spring is used to reset the measuring block.

[0012] Preferably, the measuring block is a nylon measuring block, and the first rack is a nylon rack.

[0013] Preferably, a water baffle is further provided on the top of the first rack.

[0014] Preferably, it also includes a re-measurement mechanism, which is used to be set at one of the corners of the locking and unlocking platform to re-measure the body posture of the battery-swap vehicle, and the height measurement mechanism is set at the other three corners of the locking and unlocking platform.

[0015] Preferably, the re-test mechanism includes a second lifting mechanism and a limit switch. The second lifting mechanism is used to be set on the locking and unlocking platform. The limit switch is set on the second lifting mechanism. The second lifting mechanism can drive the limit switch to rise and fall to re-test the body posture of the battery-swap vehicle.

[0016] Preferably, the second lifting mechanism includes a driving motor, a second gear, a second rack and a second linear guide, the second linear guide is vertically arranged on the locking and unlocking platform, the second rack is slidably arranged on the second linear guide, the limit switch is arranged on the top of the second rack, the second gear is arranged on the output shaft of the driving motor and is meshed with the second rack, the driving motor can drive the second gear to rotate, and then drive the second rack and the limit switch to move up and down.

[0017] Preferably, the driving motor is a servo motor, and the output shaft of the servo motor is connected to a reducer, and the second gear is arranged on the output shaft of the reducer; wherein, the reducer is arranged in a reducer mounting seat, the servo motor is fixed on the reducer mounting seat, and the reducer mounting seat is used to be fixed on the locking and unlocking platform.

[0018] The utility model also provides a locking and unlocking platform assembly, comprising a locking and unlocking platform and the vehicle body posture measuring mechanism as described above.

[0019] Compared with the prior art, the utility model has achieved the following technical effects:

[0020] The utility model is provided with a height measuring mechanism at least at the three corners of the locking and unlocking platform, so that the height of at least the three corners of the battery rack (the height from the locking and unlocking platform) can be measured, and then the spatial position of the plane where the vehicle chassis battery is located can be calculated, and the vehicle body posture can be obtained. Compared with using a camera to collect the vehicle contour data, it can be unaffected by light, improve the accuracy of the vehicle body posture measurement, and thus improve the success rate of vehicle battery replacement. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0022] Figure 1 This is a structural diagram of the locking and unlocking platform assembly in an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0023] Figure 2 This is a schematic structural diagram of a height measurement mechanism in an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0024] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the retest in the embodiment of the present utility model;

[0025] Figure 4This is an internal schematic diagram of the retest in the embodiment of the present utility model;

[0026] Figure 5 This is a schematic structural diagram of the battery rack of a battery-swap vehicle in an embodiment of the utility model.

[0027] In the figure: 100-height measuring mechanism, 200-remeasurement mechanism, 300-locking and unlocking platform, 400-battery rack, 1-measuring block; 2-mounting rod; 3-water baffle; 4-first mounting block; 5-reset spring; 6-first rack; 7-encoder; 8-second mounting block; 9-first gear; 10-third mounting block; 11-fourth mounting block; 12-first linear guide; 13-gear shaft; 14-protective plate; 15-limit switch; 16-servo motor; 17-reducer mounting seat; 18-second rack; 19-second linear guide; 20-limit block; 21-drag chain; 22-sealing plate; 23-drag chain sheet metal; 24-second gear; 25-measuring cylinder. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0029] The purpose of this utility model is to provide a vehicle body posture measurement mechanism and a locking and unlocking platform assembly to solve the problems existing in the above-mentioned prior art, which can be unaffected by light, improve the accuracy of vehicle body posture measurement, and thereby improve the success rate of vehicle battery replacement.

[0030] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods.

[0031] Example 1

[0032] like Figure 1-Figure 5 As shown, a vehicle body posture measurement mechanism is provided in this embodiment, including a height measurement mechanism 100. There are at least three groups of the height measurement mechanisms 100. The three groups of height measurement mechanisms 100 are respectively used to be set at the three corners of the locking and unlocking platform 300 to measure the height of the battery-swap vehicle.

[0033] When replacing the battery of a battery-swap vehicle, the locking and unlocking platform 300 is set to align with the battery rack 400 of the battery-swap vehicle. In this embodiment, a height measuring mechanism 100 is set at least at the three corners of the locking and unlocking platform 300, so that the height of at least the three corners of the battery rack 400 (the height from the locking and unlocking platform 300) can be measured, and then the spatial position of the plane where the vehicle chassis battery is located can be calculated, and then the vehicle body posture can be obtained. Compared with using a camera to collect the vehicle's contour data, it can be unaffected by light, improve the accuracy of the vehicle body posture measurement, and thus improve the success rate of vehicle battery replacement.

[0034] In this embodiment, if Figure 2 As shown, any group of the height measuring mechanisms 100 includes a first lifting mechanism and a measuring block 1. The first lifting mechanism is used to be set on the locking and unlocking platform 300. The measuring block 1 is set on the first lifting mechanism, and in the initial state, the measuring block 1 protrudes from the locking and unlocking platform 300 and is used to contact the battery-exchange vehicle; the first lifting mechanism is also connected to an encoder 7, which is used to record the descent height of the measuring block 1, and the encoder 7 is connected to the controller signal.

[0035] When the locking and unlocking platform 300 rises, the measuring block 1 can contact the battery-swapping vehicle and compress the first lifting mechanism. Then the encoder 7 records the descending height of the measuring block 1. The controller calculates the values ​​of the encoder 7 on the three sets of height measuring mechanisms 100 to calculate the spatial position of the plane where the vehicle chassis battery is located, and feeds it back to the locking and unlocking platform 300 for posture adjustment, so that the plane where the locking and unlocking platform 300 is located and the chassis battery plane are parallel to each other, which is convenient for battery replacement; when the locking and unlocking platform 300 descends, the first lifting mechanism can also drive the measuring block 1 to reset.

[0036] In this embodiment, the controller can be selected according to specific work needs, and is preferably a PLC controller.

[0037] As a preferred embodiment, in this embodiment, the first lifting mechanism mainly includes a mounting seat, a first linear guide 12, a first rack 6, a first gear 9 and a reset spring 5, the mounting seat is used to be fixed on the locking and unlocking platform 300, the first linear guide 12 is vertically arranged on the mounting seat, the first rack 6 is slidably arranged on the first linear guide 12, and the measuring block 1 is arranged on the top of the first rack 6 through the mounting rod 2; the first gear 9 is rotatably set on the mounting seat through the gear shaft 13, and the first gear 9 is meshed with the first rack 6, the encoder 7 is connected to the gear shaft 13, and the encoder 7 can record the number of rotations of the gear shaft 13 to record the descending height of the measuring block 1; one end of the reset spring 5 is connected to the first rack 6, and the other end is connected to the mounting seat, and the reset spring 5 is used to reset the measuring block.

[0038] When the locking and unlocking platform 300 is lifted, the measuring block 1 is squeezed by the battery-swapping vehicle and can move up and down along the first linear guide 12. The first rack 6 and the first gear 9 are meshed with each other. When the first rack 6 moves up and down linearly, it drives the first gear 9 to rotate. The first gear 9 is connected to the encoder 7 through the gear shaft 13. When the first gear 9 rotates, the encoder 7 records the number of rotations. At the same time, the first rack 6 is connected to one end of the return spring 5, and the other end of the return spring 5 is fixed to ensure that the first rack 6 is reset when the measuring block 1 is not squeezed by the vehicle. Moreover, the use of the return spring 5 can achieve elastic support for the measuring block 1, thereby avoiding damage to the vehicle body frame, and making the structure more compact, effectively reducing the overall size of the locking and unlocking platform 300, and facilitating compatibility with passenger cars and light trucks for chassis battery swapping.

[0039] In this embodiment, the mounting base includes a horizontally disposed fourth mounting block 11. A third mounting block 10 and a fixed block are disposed upwardly on either side of the fourth mounting block 11. The third mounting block 10 and the fixed block are disposed opposite each other, and the ends of the gear shaft 13 are rotatably mounted on the third mounting block 10 and the fixed block, respectively. A second mounting block 8 is also horizontally disposed above the third mounting block 10 for securing to the locking and unlocking platform 300. It should be noted that the specific structure of the mounting base can be adjusted according to operational needs, as long as it satisfies the requirements for the installation and fixation of the height measurement mechanism 100.

[0040] In this embodiment, the measuring block 1 is preferably a nylon measuring block, and the first rack 6 is also a nylon rack; the use of nylon material can prevent damage when in contact with the vehicle chassis and can also achieve insulation.

[0041] In this embodiment, a water baffle 3 is fixed to the top of the first rack 6 through the first mounting block 4 to achieve water blocking; wherein, the water baffle 3 is preferably a sheet metal plate.

[0042] It should be further explained that the first lifting mechanism can also adopt other lifting structures according to work needs, such as electric cylinders, pneumatic cylinders, etc.; or, other height measuring mechanisms 100 can also be selected, such as a laser rangefinder.

[0043] In this embodiment, a retest mechanism 200 is further included, which is used to be set at one corner of the locking and unlocking platform 300 to retest the body posture of the battery-swap vehicle, and the other three corners of the locking and unlocking platform 300 are all provided with the height measurement mechanism 100; as a preferred embodiment, Figure 1 As shown, a set of the height measuring mechanisms 100 is provided at three corners of the locking and unlocking platform 300 , and the re-measurement mechanism 200 is provided at the remaining corner.

[0044] In this embodiment, if Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the retest mechanism 200 mainly includes a second lifting mechanism and a limit switch 15. The second lifting mechanism is used to be set on the locking and unlocking platform 300, and the limit switch 15 is set on the second lifting mechanism. The second lifting mechanism can drive the limit switch 15 to rise and fall to retest the body posture of the battery-swap vehicle. Among them, a measuring cylinder 25 is set on the battery rack 400 of the battery-swap vehicle. The retest mechanism 200 uses the measuring cylinder 25 to re-judge the front and rear position difference between the locking and unlocking platform 300 and the battery after the posture is adjusted, ensuring that the position is within the allowable range before proceeding to the next battery swap.

[0045] As a preferred embodiment, in this embodiment, the second lifting mechanism mainly includes a driving motor, a second gear 24, a second rack 18 and a second linear guide 19. The second linear guide 19 is vertically arranged on the locking and unlocking platform 300. The second rack 18 is slidably arranged on the second linear guide 19. The limit switch 15 is arranged on the top of the second rack 18. The second gear 24 is arranged on the output shaft of the driving motor and is meshed with the second rack 18. The driving motor can drive the second gear 24 to rotate, thereby driving the second rack 18 and the limit switch 15 to move up and down.

[0046] Furthermore, the drive motor is a servo motor 16, and the output shaft of the servo motor 16 is connected to a reducer, and the second gear 24 is disposed on the output shaft of the reducer; wherein the reducer is disposed within a reducer mounting seat 17, the servo motor 16 is fixed to the reducer mounting seat 17, and the reducer mounting seat 17 is used to be fixed to the locking and unlocking platform 300, and the first rack 6 and the second linear guide 19 pass upward through the reducer mounting seat 17. The reducer mounting seat 17 is further provided with an opening on a side away from the servo motor 16, and the opening is sealed by a sealing plate 22.

[0047] In this embodiment, a drag chain 21 is further included. One end of the drag chain 21 is set on the reducer mounting seat 17 and can move up and down. The other end of the drag chain 21 is fixed to the mounting plate of the limit switch 15 that moves up and down by a drag chain sheet metal 23; the limit switch 15 will move up and down with the second lifting mechanism, and the stroke is 100 mm. The cable of the limit switch 15 needs to pass through the drag chain 21 to regulate its movement trajectory.

[0048] In this embodiment, the limit switch 15 can be selected according to specific working needs, and is preferably a multi-link limit switch. A protective plate 14 is provided around the limit switch 15 for protection, and the protective plate 14 can be a sheet metal plate.

[0049] In this embodiment, a limit block 20 is further provided at the bottom of the second linear guide rail 19 to limit the downward movement distance of the second rack 18 .

[0050] It should be further explained that the second lifting mechanism may also adopt other lifting structures according to work needs, such as electric cylinders, pneumatic cylinders and the like.

[0051] The working principle of the vehicle body posture measurement mechanism in this embodiment is as follows:

[0052] When the RGV lifts and unlocks the platform 300, the measuring block 1 of the height measurement mechanism 100 first contacts the vehicle's chassis battery frame. As the RGV continues to rise, the measuring block 1 drives the first rack 6 downward, compressing the return spring 5. As the first rack 6 moves along the first linear guide 12, the first gear 9 rotates, and the encoder 7 records the number of revolutions. When the encoder 7 readings of all three height measurement mechanisms 100 change, the RGV stops lifting and descends. At this point, the return spring 5 resets the first rack 6.

[0053] The PLC controller calculates the spatial position of the plane where the vehicle chassis battery is located by calculating the values ​​of the encoders 7 on the three sets of height measurement mechanisms 100, and feeds back to the RGV for posture adjustment so that the plane where the RGV is located and the chassis battery plane are parallel to each other.

[0054] The RGV is lifted to the predetermined position fed back by the PLC controller. At this time, the servo motor 16 of the re-measurement mechanism 200 drives the second gear 24 to rotate. The rotation of the second gear 24 drives the second rack 18 to rise along the second linear guide 19, and simultaneously drives the limit switch 15 to rise; after rising to the preset distance, the limit switch 15 is triggered, which proves that the vehicle body posture measurement result is correct, and the vehicle can continue to be lifted for battery replacement, ensuring the success rate of battery replacement while protecting the battery.

[0055] This embodiment further provides a locking and unlocking platform assembly, including a locking and unlocking platform 300 and the vehicle body posture measuring mechanism as described above.

[0056] In this embodiment, after the vehicle enters the battery exchange channel and is positioned, the vehicle body posture angle can be measured, and the posture of the unlocking platform 300 can be adjusted in time to be parallel to the bottom of the vehicle posture, which greatly improves the success rate and efficiency of battery exchange.

[0057] The present invention uses specific examples to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present invention. The above examples are only intended to help understand the method and core concept of the present invention. At the same time, those skilled in the art will find that the specific implementation methods and application scopes may vary based on the concept of the present invention. In summary, the contents of this specification should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

Claims

1. A vehicle body posture measurement mechanism, characterized in that: It includes a height measuring mechanism, and there are at least three groups of the height measuring mechanisms. The three groups of height measuring mechanisms are respectively used to be set at the three corners of the locking and unlocking platform to measure the height of the battery-swapping vehicle.

2. The vehicle body posture measurement mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: Any group of the height measuring mechanisms includes a first lifting mechanism and a measuring block. The first lifting mechanism is used to be set on the locking and unlocking platform. The measuring block is set on the first lifting mechanism, and in the initial state, the measuring block protrudes from the locking and unlocking platform for contacting the battery-swapping vehicle; the first lifting mechanism is also connected to an encoder, which is used to record the descent height of the measuring block, and the encoder is connected to the controller signal.

3. The vehicle body posture measurement mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first lifting mechanism includes a mounting seat, a first linear guide, a first rack, a first gear and a return spring. The mounting seat is used to be fixed on the locking and unlocking platform, the first linear guide is vertically arranged on the mounting seat, the first rack is slidably arranged on the first linear guide, and the measuring block is arranged on the top of the first rack; the first gear is rotatably set on the mounting seat through the gear shaft, and the first gear is meshed with the first rack, the encoder is connected to the gear shaft, and the encoder can record the number of rotations of the gear shaft to record the descending height of the measuring block; one end of the return spring is connected to the first rack, and the other end is connected to the mounting seat, and the return spring is used to reset the measuring block.

4. The vehicle body posture measurement mechanism according to claim 3, characterized in that: The measuring block is a nylon measuring block, and the first rack is a nylon rack.

5. The vehicle body posture measuring mechanism according to claim 4, characterized in that: A water baffle is also provided on the top of the first rack.

6. The vehicle body posture measurement mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: It also includes a re-measurement mechanism, which is used to be set at one of the corners of the locking and unlocking platform to re-measure the body posture of the battery-swap vehicle, and the height measurement mechanism is set at the other three corners of the locking and unlocking platform.

7. The vehicle body posture measuring mechanism according to claim 6, characterized in that: The re-test mechanism includes a second lifting mechanism and a limit switch. The second lifting mechanism is used to be set on the locking and unlocking platform. The limit switch is set on the second lifting mechanism. The second lifting mechanism can drive the limit switch to rise and fall to re-test the body posture of the battery-swap vehicle.

8. The vehicle body posture measuring mechanism according to claim 7, characterized in that: The second lifting mechanism includes a driving motor, a second gear, a second rack and a second linear guide. The second linear guide is vertically arranged on the locking and unlocking platform. The second rack is slidably arranged on the second linear guide. The limit switch is arranged on the top of the second rack. The second gear is arranged on the output shaft of the driving motor and is meshed with the second rack. The driving motor can drive the second gear to rotate, thereby driving the second rack and the limit switch to move up and down.

9. The vehicle body posture measuring mechanism according to claim 8, characterized in that: The driving motor is a servo motor, and the output shaft of the servo motor is connected to a reducer, and the second gear is arranged on the output shaft of the reducer; wherein, the reducer is arranged in a reducer mounting seat, the servo motor is fixed on the reducer mounting seat, and the reducer mounting seat is used to be fixed on the locking and unlocking platform.

10. A locking and unlocking platform assembly, characterized by: It comprises a locking and unlocking platform and a vehicle body posture measuring mechanism as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

Images