ELECTRICALLY POWERED MOTOR VEHICLE COMPRISING A BATTERY EXCHANGE MEANS AND ASSOCIATED METHOD

Abstract

The invention relates to an electrically propelled land-based motor vehicle (100) comprising a floor (1) and a battery pack (2), said battery pack (2) comprising at least a first accumulator (3) and a second accumulator (4), said battery pack (2) being capable of having two configurations: a first unlocked configuration in which said rod (9) is retracted into said retaining mechanism (8), the first slot (5) being empty and the second slot (6) being empty; and a second locked configuration in which said rod (9) is extended along an axis parallel to the second transverse direction (Y) on either side of the retaining mechanism (8), the first slot (5) comprising the first accumulator (3), the second slot (6) comprising the second accumulator (4), and said rod (9) being inserted into the first opening (10) and the second opening (11), and an associated method. Figure 1

Description

Title of the invention: ELECTRICALLY DRIVEN MOTOR VEHICLE COMPRISING A BATTERY EXCHANGE MEANS AND ASSOCIATED METHOD

[0001] The invention relates to the field of electrically powered land motor vehicles, and more particularly to the means of recharging these vehicles.

[0002] Known from the prior art is a patent application US20220009519 relating to a system for preventing the spread of a fire for a vehicle. The system in question allows the ejection of the battery outside the vehicle so that the fire does not spread inside said vehicle, thus endangering its users. The invention comprises a battery condition detector configured to detect potential heating of the battery likely to cause a fire. A controller is also implemented to emit a signal ordering the ejection of said battery following the detection of heating by the detector. The controller is capable of analyzing a multitude of information, in particular with regard to the location of the vehicle and its environment to determine whether the ejection of the battery is possible after the detection of a fire.A hook-shaped locking device is also present to hold the battery on a support, on the chassis of said vehicle. When a fire is detected and the environment seems suitable, the information collected by the various sensors, including battery temperature sensors, is transmitted to the driver on an interface or on his mobile phone. The driver decides, after having checked with the naked eye whether a fire is in progress, whether or not to authorize the expulsion of the battery. If the driver authorizes the expulsion of the battery, then a control signal is sent by the controller to an actuator linked to a locking device. Upon receipt of said control signal, said actuator causes the locking device to lift, which causes the separation of the battery and the vehicle.When a fire is detected and ejection is authorized by the driver, this causes the support on which the battery rests to rotate. The battery is then ejected from said chassis. To replace the battery, said new battery is placed on said support and the latter must be pushed until the locking device is positioned so as to hold said new battery. The invention also applies to modules, otherwise known as accumulators, constituting a battery. The accumulator(s) that have been subjected to the fire are replaced by one or more other intact accumulators. However, said system is not suitable for performing battery swaps. Indeed, the ejection of a healthy discharged battery risks damaging it. Furthermore, the . Having to manually replace each accumulator takes considerable time if the battery is made up of a large number of accumulators.

[0003] The objective of the present invention is to remedy these drawbacks by proposing an electrically powered vehicle configured to allow battery swapping, i.e. the exchange of a discharged battery with a charged battery, thus avoiding the time required to recharge the latter.

[0004] To achieve this objective, the invention proposes an electrically propelled land motor vehicle comprising a running gear whose points of contact with the ground define a base plane defined by a first longitudinal direction corresponding to straight-line travel, and by a second transverse direction orthogonal to the first longitudinal direction and a third vertical direction orthogonal to the first longitudinal direction and to the second transverse direction and is oriented away from the ground, said vehicle comprising a floor arranged in a plane parallel to the base plane and a battery pack, said battery pack being configured to receive at least a first accumulator having a first opening and a second accumulator having a second opening,said battery pack comprising a first housing intended to receive the first accumulator and a second housing intended to receive the second accumulator, said first housing comprising a first sensor capable of detecting the presence of said first accumulator in said first housing, said second housing comprising a second sensor capable of detecting the presence of said second accumulator in said second housing, said battery pack comprising a side impact crossmember arranged between the first housing and the second housing, characterized in that the side impact crossmember comprises a holding mechanism, said holding mechanism comprising a motor capable of simultaneously protruding an electrically conductive rod on either side of the side impact crossmember in the second direction, said rod being intended to be inserted into the first opening and into the second opening,said battery pack being capable of having two configurations: , - a first unlocked configuration in which said rod is retracted into said holding mechanism, the first housing not comprising the first accumulator and the second housing not comprising the second accumulator; - a second locked configuration in which said rod is extended in the second direction on either side of the holding mechanism, the first housing comprising the first accumulator, the second housing comprising the second accumulator and said rod being inserted into the first opening and into the second opening.

[0005] Thanks to the invention, it is possible to easily replace a discharged battery with a recharged battery. There is no need for the driver to wait for the battery to recharge at a charging station, which saves time.

[0006] Preferably, the battery pack comprises a plurality of accumulators, a plurality of side impact cross members being arranged between each accumulator.

[0007] Multiplying a large number of accumulators increases the amount of energy that can be stored by the battery pack.

[0008] Thanks to the invention, the rod allows the transmission of electrical energy between the first accumulator and the second accumulator.

[0009] Preferably, said rod comprises silver.

[0010] Silver is the material with the highest electrical conductivity. When the composition of the rod contains silver, the transmission of energy is particularly efficient.

[0011] Advantageously, said rod comprises copper.

[0012] Copper is the second material with a high level of electrical conductivity. Furthermore, its cost is relatively low, which reduces the production cost of the rod and therefore of the invention as a whole.

[0013] Advantageously, said first sensor and said second sensor are mechanical sensors.

[0014] In this way, the first accumulator and the second accumulator are precisely detected at the end of their travel when they strike their respective sensor.

[0015] Advantageously, said first sensor and said second sensor are magnetic sensors.

[0016] Thus, the risk of wear and damage is reduced compared to a mechanical sensor.

[0017] The invention also relates to a method for integrating the first accumulator and the second accumulator into the battery pack of the previously mentioned electrically powered land motor vehicle, characterized in that said method comprises the following steps: - a step of positioning the first accumulator facing the first housing and the second accumulator facing the second housing, the first accumulator and the second accumulator being arranged on a forklift; - a step of raising said forklift; - a step of inserting the first accumulator into the first housing and the second accumulator into the second housing; - a step of actuating the motor following detection of the first accumulator by the first sensor and detection of the second accumulator by the second sensor; - a step of exiting said rod, said rod simultaneously being inserted into the first opening and in the second opening generating the transmission of electrical energy between the first accumulator and the second accumulator.

[0018] The invention will be further detailed by the description of non-limiting embodiments, and on the basis of the appended figures illustrating variants of the invention, in which: - [Fig.l] schematically illustrates a battery pack according to the invention intended for an electrically powered motor vehicle; - [Fig.2] schematically illustrates, in the form of a flowchart, a process of integrating a first accumulator and a second accumulator into an electrically powered motor vehicle.

[0019] [Fig.l] schematically illustrates a battery pack 2 intended for an electrically powered motor vehicle 100, i.e. an electric or hybrid vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 comprises a running gear whose points of contact with the ground define a base plane XY defined by a first longitudinal direction X corresponding to straight-line travel, and by a second transverse direction Y orthogonal to the first longitudinal direction X and a third vertical direction Z orthogonal to the first longitudinal direction X and to the second transverse direction Y and is oriented away from the ground. The vehicle 100 comprises a floor 1 arranged along the base plane XY. The vehicle 100 comprises said battery pack 2 arranged under said floor 1 along the third vertical direction Z. The battery pack 2 is a set of electrical accumulators connected together.Each accumulator comprises electrolytes capable of transporting an electrical charge by a movement of ions between the anode and the cathode. In this way, the battery pack 2 stores the electrical energy in the form of chemical energy. When the electric or hybrid motor vehicle 100 is in working order, the electrical energy is restored in the form of direct current. The battery pack 2 comprises a first housing 5 intended to accommodate a first accumulator 3 and a second housing 6 intended to accommodate a second accumulator 4. The first housing 5 and the second housing 6 are two parallelepipedal structures, open facing the ground in order to be able to insert therein respectively the first accumulator 3 having a first opening 10 and the second accumulator 4 having a second opening 11. The first housing 5 and the second housing 6 are positioned on either side of a side impact crossmember 7.The side impact crossmember 7 is a parallelepiped structure used to absorb impacts suffered laterally, i.e. in the second transverse direction Y, by the vehicle. Here, the side impact crossmember 7 prevents a collision between the first housing 5 and the second housing 6. In addition, the side impact crossmember 7 comprises a holding mechanism 8. The holding mechanism 8 comprises a motor intended to generate energy. mechanical from electrical energy required for the output of a rod 9 on either side of the holding mechanism 8 along an axis parallel to the second transverse direction Y. The first housing 5 and the second housing 6 respectively comprise a first sensor and a second sensor. Advantageously, the rod 9 comprises a material having a high level of electrical conductivity, preferably silver or copper. Silver has the highest level of electrical conductivity, thus making the electrical transmission more efficient between the first accumulator 3 and the second accumulator 4. Copper is one of the materials having the best electrical conductivity. In addition, the advantage of copper is its economic cost which is relatively low compared to silver. The first sensor and the second sensor are mechanical sensors. In another embodiment, the first sensor and the second sensor are magnetic sensors.Thus, the first accumulator 3 is inserted into the first housing 5, which causes the first accumulator 3 and the first mechanical sensor to come into contact. Similarly, upon its introduction, the second accumulator 4 comes into contact with the second mechanical sensor. This thus causes electrical contact to be established between the sensors and the motor, and therefore the actuation of the motor. When magnetic sensors are involved, the first accumulator 3 and the second accumulator 4 each comprise a magnet. The first sensor present in the first housing 5 detects, without contact, the position of a first magnet present on the first accumulator 3. The second sensor present in the second housing 6 detects, without contact, the position of a second magnet present on the second accumulator 5.Thus, when the first magnet is detected by the first sensor and the second magnet is detected by the second sensor, then a signal is transmitted to the holding mechanism 8 and the motor is activated. When said motor is activated, said rod 9 comes out on either side of the holding mechanism 8 in order to plug simultaneously into the first opening 10 and into the second opening 11. In this way, said battery pack 2 is able to have two configurations. In a first unlocked configuration, the first housing 5 and the second housing 6 are empty. Indeed, the first accumulator 3 and the second accumulator 4 are not present. The rod 9 is then entirely concealed in the holding mechanism 8. In a second locked configuration, the first accumulator 3 is present in the first housing 5 and the second accumulator 4 is present in the second housing 6.The rod 9 is extended and inserted into both the first opening 10 and the second opening 11. In [Fig.l], the invention is shown in the second locked configuration.

[0020] [Fig.2] illustrates, in the form of a flowchart, the succession of steps of a method of integrating at least the first accumulator 3 and the second accumulator 4 in the battery pack 2 of the previously described electrically powered land vehicle 100. During a positioning step E1, the first accumulator 3 and the second accumulator 4 are arranged below the vehicle 100 in the third vertical direction Z, respectively facing the first housing 5 and the second housing 6. The first accumulator 3 and the second accumulator 6 are located on a forklift. At this stage, the first housing 5 and the second housing 6 are empty, so the rod 9 is concealed in the holding mechanism 8. During a lifting step E2, the forklift is actuated to raise the first accumulator 3 and the second accumulator 4 upwards in the third vertical direction Z. The first accumulator 3 is therefore directed towards the first housing 5 and the second accumulator 4 is directed towards the second housing 6.In this way, during an insertion step E3, the first accumulator 3 is fully inserted into the first housing 5. In addition, the second accumulator 4 is fully inserted into the second housing 6. During an actuation step E4, the motor present in the holding mechanism 8 is actuated following the detection of the first accumulator 3 in the first housing 5 and of the second accumulator 4 in the second housing 6. During an exit step E5, said rod 9 comes out of the side impact crossmember 7 to simultaneously plug into the first opening 10 and into the second opening 11. Contact being established between the first accumulator 3 and the second accumulator 4, the electrical energy flows between the first accumulator 3 and the second accumulator 4. The battery is therefore ready to be used for putting the vehicle 100 into circulation.

Claims

Claims

1. Electrically powered land motor vehicle (100) comprising a running gear whose points of contact with the ground define a base plane (XY) defined by a first longitudinal direction (X) corresponding to straight-line travel, and by a second transverse direction (Y) orthogonal to the first longitudinal direction (X) and a third vertical direction (Z) orthogonal to the first longitudinal direction (X) and to the second transverse direction (Y) and is oriented away from the ground, said vehicle (100) comprising a floor (1) arranged in a plane parallel to the base plane (XY) and a battery pack (2), said battery pack (2) being configured to receive at least a first accumulator (3) having a first opening (10) and a second accumulator (4) having a second opening (11),said battery pack (2) comprising a first housing (5) intended to receive the first accumulator (3) and a second housing (6) intended to receive the second accumulator (4), said first housing (5) comprising a first sensor capable of detecting the presence of said first accumulator (3) in said first housing (5), said second housing (6) comprising a second sensor capable of detecting the presence of said second accumulator (4) in said second housing (6), said battery pack (2) comprising a side impact crossmember (7) arranged between the first housing (5) and the second housing (6), characterized in that the side impact crossmember (7) comprises a holding mechanism (8), said holding mechanism (8) comprising a motor capable of simultaneously protruding an electrically conductive rod (9) on either side of the side impact crossmember (7) in the second direction (Y),said rod (9) being intended to be inserted into the first opening (10) and into the second opening (11), said battery pack (2) being capable of having two configurations:, - a first unlocked configuration in which said rod (9) is retracted into said holding mechanism (8), the first housing (5) not comprising the first accumulator (3) and the second housing (6) not comprising the second accumulator (4); - a second locked configuration in which said rod (9) is extended in the second direction (Y) on either side of the holding mechanism (8), the first housing (5) comprising the first accu- emulator (3), the second housing (6) comprising the second accumulator (4) and said rod (9) being inserted into the first opening (10) and into the second opening (11).

2. Vehicle (100) according to claim 1 characterized in that the battery pack (2) comprises a plurality of accumulators, a plurality of side impact cross members (7) being arranged between each accumulator.

3. Vehicle (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 2 characterized in that said rod (9) comprises silver.

4. Vehicle (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 2 characterized in that said rod (9) comprises copper.

5. Vehicle (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 4 characterized in that said first sensor and said second sensor are mechanical sensors.

6. Vehicle (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 4 characterized in that said first sensor and said second sensor are magnetic sensors.

7. Method for integrating the first accumulator (3) and the second accumulator (4) into the battery pack (2) of the electrically powered land motor vehicle (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said method comprises the following steps: - a step of positioning (El) the first accumulator (3) facing the first housing (5) and the second accumulator (4) facing the second housing (6), the first accumulator (3) and the second accumulator (4) being arranged on a forklift; - a step of raising (E2) said forklift; - a step of inserting (E3) the first accumulator (3) into the first housing (5) and the second accumulator (4) into the second housing (6) - a step of actuating (E4) the motor following the detection of the first accumulator (3) by the first sensor and the detection of the second accumulator (4) by the second sensor;- an output step (E5) of said rod (9), said rod (9) being inserted simultaneously into the first opening (10) and into the second opening (11) generating the transmission of electrical energy between the first accumulator (3) and the second accumulator (4).;

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