Ceiling-mounted electric vehicle charging cord retrieval device

Abstract

The present invention provides a ceiling-mounted electric vehicle charging cord retrieval device which is mounted on a ceiling at a position corresponding to a surface in contact with a first parking space and a second parking space arranged in series or in parallel with respect to the parking direction of vehicles, and which comprises: a charging cord for supplying power to the parked vehicles; and a body for accommodating an extension cable connected to the charging chord, the charging cord being retrieved and accommodated as necessary.

Description

Ceiling-mounted electric vehicle charging cord extension device

[0001] The present invention relates to an electric vehicle charging cord extraction device, and more particularly, to an electric vehicle charging cord extraction device placed on the ceiling of a parking space to minimize the problem of charging being limited depending on the location of the vehicle.

[0002] The trend is to reduce the production of vehicles that use petroleum-based fuels such as diesel, and to focus on research, development, and production of electric vehicles that use electricity as a power source.

[0003] These electric vehicles are environmentally friendly vehicles that run on electricity stored in batteries rather than relying on the combustion of fossil fuels, and produce virtually no noise or exhaust fumes.

[0004] Electric vehicles, which run on electricity, have already reached the mass production stage worldwide and are rapidly spreading. With the prospect of them becoming the automobiles of the future, research and development related to electric vehicle charging systems are also attracting attention.

[0005] The above-mentioned electric vehicle charging system is a system that charges electricity to the battery, which is the power source of the electric vehicle, and a significant number of electric vehicle charging stations are being installed in various locations, such as general roads, expressways, and parking lots.

[0006] In particular, as the demand for electric vehicles is rapidly increasing in parking lots of multi-family housing such as apartments and villas, as well as various public places and convenience facilities, there is a trend of installing numerous electric vehicle chargers in parking lots of residences and each location to increase convenience of use.

[0007] However, most of these electric vehicle chargers are of a fixed structure, which is inconvenient because the vehicle must move close to the fixed electric vehicle charger, and at the same time, the vehicle cannot be charged when parked in a parking space equipped with a charger. Therefore, interest in mobile electric vehicle chargers is increasing.

[0008] As a prior art document related to a mobile electric vehicle charger of this type, there is the invention titled 'Mobile charging system for electric vehicle and method thereof' of Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2181154.

[0009] The above-mentioned conventional invention provides a mobile charging system for electric vehicles and a method thereof, which provides a parking space that can be jointly used by both drivers of general vehicles and electric vehicles by operating the charging facility for electric vehicles in a mobile rather than a fixed type.

[0010] And as another prior art document, the invention titled 'Control Unit Integrated Charging Connector' of Korean Patent Publication No. 10-1883390 provides a charging connector that is connected to the terminal of an electric vehicle charger to supply power to an electric vehicle, the charging connector including a communication unit that performs data communication with an external device; a display unit that displays information related to charging of the electric vehicle; and a processor that performs payment corresponding to power charging with the external device using the communication interface.

[0011] However, the conventional mobile electric vehicle charging system mentioned above, although it is possible to move the charging device to a parked electric vehicle, has the problem of obstructing the entry and exit of other vehicles or impeding vehicle traffic, especially in parking lots, because the charging device itself takes up a considerable amount of space due to its size.

[0012] In addition, since the charging device attached to the ceiling is a system that charges parked electric vehicles while rotating within a certain radius, it is possible to charge electric vehicles parked within the rotating radius of the charging device, but the inconvenient drawback of only electric vehicles parked in a limited area of ​​the parking lot being able to charge has been exposed, and improvement and research and development in this area are urgently needed.

[0013] The present invention aims to provide an electric vehicle charging cord extraction device that is mounted on the ceiling so that multiple vehicles can use one charging device body.

[0014] As a means for solving the above-mentioned problem, a ceiling-mounted electric vehicle charging cord extraction device according to one embodiment of the present invention is installed on the ceiling of a parking space of a vehicle, and includes a charging cord for supplying power to a parked vehicle; and a main body for storing an extension cable connected to the charging cord, and for extracting and storing the charging cord according to control.

[0015] At this time, it is preferable that the extension cable is partially wound in the form of a coil spring.

[0016] At this time, it is preferable that the withdrawal of the charging code is performed by spring-shaped tension, and the storage of the charging code is performed by spring-shaped elasticity.

[0017] In addition, the main body may include a frame having a length corresponding to the length of the charging cord to be drawn out; a rail disposed on the frame and guiding the extension cable to be tensioned and restored; a plurality of rollers moving along the rail; a ring member connecting and fixing the spring-shaped extension cable to each of the rollers; and a driving unit moving the roller in the direction of drawing out the charging cord.

[0018] Meanwhile, the main body further includes a pulley member that changes the direction of drawing out the extension cable; and a cable support member that guides the unwinding extension cable to fit the position of the pulley member during the drawing process, wherein the cable support member is preferably connected to a roller positioned first among a plurality of rollers based on the direction of drawing out the extension cable.

[0019] In addition, the driving unit may include a belt arranged in a form that circulates around the rail; and a motor that drives the belt.

[0020] At this time, the driving unit may further include a first switch and a second switch, which are respectively positioned at positions corresponding to the start and end positions of the extension cable being drawn out from the rail.

[0021] In addition, the present invention further includes a kiosk that controls payment of charging costs and withdrawal and storage of the charging code, and the kiosk can control the length of the extension cable by receiving confirmation from the user of the vehicle type, parking location, and parking direction of the vehicle to be charged.

[0022] According to the ceiling-mounted electric vehicle charging cord extraction device according to the present invention,

[0023] First, the main body that stores the charging cord is placed on the ceiling of the parking lot, so that the charging cord can be provided to vehicles parked in neighboring parking spaces, thereby overcoming limitations due to parking location.

[0024] Second, since the extension cable is wound in the form of a spring, fatigue from repeated pulling can be distributed throughout the extension cable, thus avoiding durability issues.

[0025] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a ceiling-mounted electric vehicle charging cord extraction device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 2 is a perspective view of the ceiling-mounted electric vehicle charging cord extraction device illustrated in Figure 1 with the cover removed.

[0027] FIG. 3 is a photograph illustrating an actual ceiling-mounted electric vehicle charging cord extraction device of the present invention, in which an extension cable is wound and stored in the main body.

[0028] Figure 4 is an actual photo of the ceiling-mounted electric vehicle charging cord retractor taken from a different angle.

[0029] Figure 5 is a photograph of the rail disassembled to explain the driving unit.

[0030] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Please note that, where possible, identical components are represented by identical reference numerals throughout the drawings. Furthermore, detailed descriptions of well-known functions and configurations that may obscure the gist of the present invention will be omitted. For the same reason, some components in the attached drawings are exaggerated, omitted, or schematically depicted. Furthermore, since the present invention relates to a charging system for an electric vehicle, the vehicle referred to in the description should be understood to be an electric vehicle, or at least a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

[0031] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a ceiling-mounted electric vehicle charging cord extraction device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the ceiling-mounted electric vehicle charging cord extraction device illustrated in FIG. 1 with a cover removed, FIG. 3 is a photograph illustrating an actual ceiling-mounted electric vehicle charging cord extraction device of the present invention, in which an extension cable is wound and stored in a main body, FIG. 4 is a photograph of an actual ceiling-mounted electric vehicle charging cord extraction device taken from a different angle, and FIG. 5 is a photograph of a rail disassembled to explain a driving unit.

[0032] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5, a ceiling-mounted electric vehicle charging cord extraction device (A) according to the present invention is mounted on the ceiling of a parking space of a vehicle, and includes a charging cord (C), a main body (100), a kiosk (K), and a power supply (not shown).

[0033] It is preferable that the ceiling-mounted electric vehicle charging cord extraction device (A) be mounted on the ceiling at a position corresponding to the surface where the first parking space (P1) and the second parking space (P2) are arranged in a series or parallel row based on the parking direction of the vehicles, so that multiple vehicles can use one charging cord (C).

[0034] The charging cord (C) is a cord that supplies power for charging to a parked vehicle.

[0035] The main body (100) stores an extension cable (CB) connected to a charging cord (C), and withdraws and stores the charging cord (C) according to control.

[0036] Since the main body (100) is mounted on the ceiling, the charging cord (C) is stored in the main body (100) so as not to interfere with vehicle parking and traffic when in standby mode.

[0037] Since the charging cord (C) must be extended to a certain length so that it can be connected to the charging terminal of the vehicle to be charged, the extension cable (CB) is stored in the main body (100) in a coiled state so that it can be extended as needed.

[0038] In this embodiment, the extension cable (CB) is partially wound in the form of a coil spring to minimize fatigue caused by repeated extension and retraction processes. For convenience of explanation, the coil spring-wound portion of the extension cable (CB) is identified by the identification symbol (CB'), and the unwound portion (i.e., the straight portion) is identified by the identification symbol (CB).

[0039] The withdrawal of the charging cord (C) is accomplished by a spring-shaped tension, and similarly, the storage of the charging cord (C) is accomplished by a spring-shaped elastic force.

[0040] That is, since it is possible to perform spring-type tensioning and storage while minimizing deformation of the extension cable (CB'), it can contribute to increasing the durability of the extension cable (CB').

[0041] The main body (100) includes a frame (110), a rail (120), rollers (130-1, 130-2, .. 130-n), a ring member (140), a driving member (150), a pulley member (160), and a cable support member (170).

[0042] The frame (110) forms the skeleton of the main body (100) and has a length corresponding to the length of the charging cord (C).

[0043] The rail (120) is placed on the frame (110) and guides the tensioning and restoration of the extension cable (CB') so that it is straight. As illustrated for the sake of simplicity, the rail (120) may be implemented in a suspended monorail manner. However, the illustrated form is only one of the possible forms, and the shape of the rail (120) is not limited to the illustrated form. Depending on the implementer, the rail (120) may be omitted and the main body (100) may be implemented in a manner in which the driving unit (150) directly moves the extension cable (CB').

[0044] Rollers (130-1, 130-2, .. 130-n) move along the rail to ensure smooth movement of the extension cable (CB'), and it is preferable that they be provided in a quantity corresponding to the number of windings of the extension cable (CB'). Since the weight of the extension cable (CB') is evenly distributed by the plurality of rollers (130-1, 130-2, .. 130-n), the burden on the driving unit (150) can be reduced.

[0045] The ring member (140) connects and fixes an extension cable (CB') to each roller (130-1, 130-2, .. 130-n). The extension cable (CB') in the form of a spring changes the pitch and lead angle of the spiral according to tension. The ring member (140) prevents such changes in the extension cable (CB') from being transmitted from the roller (130-1, 130-2, .. 130-n) to the rail (120). In the actual photo shown, the ring member (140) is temporarily implemented using a cable tie for the purpose of demonstrating the main body (100). Depending on the implementer, the ring member (140) can be implemented in a form that is durable and rotates well.

[0046] The driving unit (150) moves the rollers (130-1, 130-2, .. 130-n) in the direction of withdrawal of the charging cord (C). According to one embodiment, the driving unit (150) includes a belt (151) arranged in a form that encircles the perimeter of the rail (120) and a motor (152) that drives the belt (151).

[0047] In addition to the illustrated form, the driving unit (150) may also be implemented in a manner in which a winch and a return spring are combined.

[0048] The pulley member (160) changes the direction of the extension cable (CB). Since the extension cable (CB) in the form of an uncoiled straight line must face the vehicle located below the main body (100), the pulley member (160) can be used to change the direction of the extension cable (CB).

[0049] The cable support member (170) is positioned at the position (CB'') where the unwinding extension cable (CB) starts winding, and guides the unwinding extension cable (CB) to fit the position of the pulley member (160) during the drawing process.

[0050] The driving unit (100) may further include a first switch (S1) and a second switch (S2) positioned at positions corresponding to the start and end positions of the extension cable (CB) from the rail (120).

[0051] The first switch (S1) and the second switch (S2) are switches that physically control the operation of the driving unit (150), and when the cable support member (170) reaches the first switch (S1) or the second switch (S2), the power applied to the motor (152) is cut off.

[0052] The kiosk (K) is a device that controls payment of charging costs and withdrawal and receipt of charging codes (C), and is placed in a location adjacent to the parking area (P1, P2) for easy access by users.

[0053] The kiosk (K) is a user interface that allows the user to confirm the vehicle type, parking location, and parking direction of the vehicle to be charged, and control the extension length of the extension cable (CB).

[0054] The embodiments of the present invention disclosed in this specification and drawings are merely specific examples intended to facilitate easy explanation of the technical content of the present invention and aid understanding thereof, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other modifications based on the technical concepts of the present invention are possible in addition to the embodiments disclosed herein.

Claims

1. As a device installed on the ceiling of a vehicle's parking space, A charging cord that supplies power to a parked vehicle; and A ceiling-mounted electric vehicle charging cord extraction device including a main body that stores an extension cable connected to the charging cord and extracts and stores the charging cord according to control.

2. In claim 1, A ceiling-mounted electric vehicle charging cord extension device, characterized in that the above extension cable is partially wound in the form of a coil spring.

3. In claim 2, The withdrawal of the above charging code is accomplished by spring-type tension, A ceiling-mounted electric vehicle charging cord extraction device characterized in that the charging cord is stored by spring-shaped elastic force.

4. In claim 3, The above body, A frame having a length corresponding to the withdrawal length of the above charging code; A rail arranged on the above frame and guiding tensioning and restoration of the extension cable; A plurality of rollers moving along the above rail; A ring member for fixing and connecting the spring-shaped extension cable to each of the above rollers; and A ceiling-mounted electric vehicle charging cord extraction device characterized by including a driving unit that moves the roller in the extraction direction of the charging cord.

5. In claim 4, The above body, A pulley member for changing the direction of withdrawal of the above extension cable; and The unwinding extension cable is positioned at a position where the winding begins, and further includes a cable support member that guides the unwinding extension cable to fit the position of the pulley member during the drawing process. The above cable support member is, A ceiling-mounted electric vehicle charging cord extension device characterized in that it is connected to the first roller among the plurality of rollers based on the direction of extension cable extension.

6. In claim 5, The above driving part, A belt arranged in a form that circulates around the above rail; and A ceiling-mounted electric vehicle charging cord extraction device characterized by including a motor for driving the above belt.

7. In claim 6, The above driving part, A ceiling-mounted electric vehicle charging cord extraction device characterized in that it further includes a first switch and a second switch, each of which is positioned at a position corresponding to a start position for extracting the extension cable from the rail and a stop position for extracting the extension cable.

8. In claim 1, Further comprising a kiosk for controlling payment of charging costs and withdrawal and receipt of said charging code; The above kiosk is, A ceiling-mounted electric vehicle charging cord extraction device characterized in that it controls the extraction length of the extension cable by confirming the vehicle type, parking location, and parking direction of the vehicle to be charged from the user.

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