Charging robot for an electric vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a charging robot for an electric vehicle (2), wherein the charging robot (1) has a base body (3), in particular a base plate, and a main body (4), wherein the main body (4) projects upwards from the base body (3), wherein a holder (6), which can be adjusted by the charging robot (1), for a charging plug (7) of a charging cable is attached to the main body (4), wherein the charging robot (1) has at least one drive motor (8) by means of which the adjustable holder (6) can be adjusted, wherein the charging robot (1) is configured to adjust the adjustable holder (6) such that the charging robot (1) inserts the charging plug (7) into a charging socket (10) of the electric vehicle (2). According to the invention, the base body (3) is configured such that a tyre (11) of the electric vehicle (2) can be placed on the base body (3) such that a counterforce, acting on the charging robot (1), to a plug-in force when the charging plug (7) is inserted into the charging socket (10) is supported by the charging robot (1) via the main body (4) and the base body (3) on the tyre (11) located on the base body (3).

Description

[0001] Charging robot for an electric vehicle

[0002] The present invention relates to a charging robot for an electric vehicle according to the preamble of claim 1 and to a use of a charging robot according to claim 5.

[0003] A charging robot is intended to enable simple, safe, and efficient handling of charging processes, specifically the insertion of a charging cable's plug into an electric vehicle's charging port. Currently, charging cables are regularly plugged in manually. This is quite efficient and cost-effective for individual mobility. However, for commercial electric vehicles such as forklifts, trucks, and buses, as well as premium passenger cars and especially self-driving or self-parking electric vehicles, the effort of manually plugging in the charging cable is often undesirable.

[0004] Charging robots are known to automatically plug the charging cable's connector into the electric vehicle's charging port. Currently, these charging robots are primarily mounted on a fixed structure, usually a wall or a floor-mounted column. Consequently, these charging robots are expensive and inflexible. Mobile charging robots, which offer significantly more flexibility, are also available.

[0005] One challenge with mobile charging robots is that inserting the charging plug is accompanied by a counterforce that pushes the charging robot away from the charging socket. This counterforce acts with an unfavorable leverage arm and is difficult to counteract in a mobile, small, and inexpensive charging robot.

[0006] The invention addresses the problem of designing and further developing a known loading robot in such a way as to achieve further optimization with regard to the aforementioned challenge. The above problem is solved by the features of the characterizing part of claim 1.

[0007] The fundamental principle is that the charging robot can be designed so that the electric vehicle can be parked with one tire on the robot, specifically on a base plate. The weight of the electric vehicle provides stability, allowing the robot to easily transfer the counterforces from plugging in the charging cable to the tire without tipping backward. This makes it possible to create a lightweight and therefore easily repositionable charging robot, ideal for use in parking spaces without nearby walls, such as carports and underground garages. Furthermore, the charging robot can be easily adapted to new circumstances, for example, after a move. Compared to a permanently installed charging robot, such a mobile model offers significantly more flexibility.In addition, the defined positioning of the charging robot relative to the electric vehicle reduces the adjustment distance that the charging robot has to bridge with the charging plug, thus making the drive for adjusting the charging plug more cost-effective.

[0008] Specifically, it is proposed that the base body be designed so that one tire of the electric vehicle can be placed on the base body, so that a counterforce acting on the charging robot to a plugging force when inserting the charging plug into the charging socket is supported by the charging robot via the main body and the base body on the tire located on the base body.

[0009] In an embodiment according to claim 2, the adjustable bracket is spring-mounted relative to the base body in the vertical direction. Forces in the vertical direction can occur at the charging plug both during insertion and during the charging process. For example, the electric vehicle may discharge, which can cause the charging socket to shift vertically upwards, in some cases by several centimeters. Since the base body is fixed to the ground by the tire, the spring-mounted bracket helps to compensate for such vertical movements. According to claim 3, the bracket is adjustable in three axes, in particular linearly. However, due to its relative positioning to the electric vehicle, the necessary adjustment ranges are significantly reduced. Since charging cable sockets are often slightly inclined, the bracket can also be tilted.

[0010] Claim 4 relates to preferred means for improving parking on the base body and positioning of the electric vehicle relative to the charging robot. For this purpose, a tire stopper in the direction of travel and / or positioning guides laterally to the direction of travel may be provided, which are preferably adjustable and thus adaptable to the respective vehicle.

[0011] According to a further teaching according to claim 5, which has independent significance, a use of a proposed charging robot is claimed, wherein a tire is placed on the base body while the charging robot inserts the charging plug into the charging socket.

[0012] Reference may be made to all statements regarding the proposed charging robot.

[0013] The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to a drawing that illustrates only one embodiment. The drawing shows

[0014] Fig. 1 shows a proposed loading robot and

[0015] Fig. 2 shows the charging robot inserting a charging plug into the electric vehicle.

[0016] The embodiment shown in the figures, and which is preferred in this respect, relates to a charging robot 1 for an electric vehicle 2, shown in Fig. 1. The charging robot 1 has a base body 3 and a main body 4. The base body 3 is preferably designed as a base plate. Preferably, the base body 3 has one or more rollers on its underside, which preferably retract into the base body 3 when a predetermined load is applied, so that the base body 3 rests on the ground. The main body 4 projects upwards from the base body 3 and preferably has two telescopic rods 5. A holder 6, adjustable by the charging robot 1, for a charging plug 7 of a charging cable is attached to the main body 4. The charging cable can be hooked into the holder 6. Similarly, another charging cable can be plugged into a wallbox and the charging robot 1, which may have its own socket for this purpose.The charging plug 7 can then be permanently connected to the charging robot 1 and powered by the additional charging cable. Accordingly, the charging cable to which the charging plug 7 is assigned can run as internal wiring within the charging robot 1 and does not need to be designed as a separate charging cable. Furthermore, the charging robot 1, preferably the main body 4, has at least one drive motor 8 with which the holder 6 can be adjusted. The drive motor 8 or drive motors 8 can be arranged in the rods 5 and / or the main cassette 9 shown here, which is mounted on the rods 5.

[0017] The charging robot 1 is configured to adjust the adjustable bracket 6 so that it inserts the charging plug 7 into a charging socket 10 of the electric vehicle 2. This process is illustrated in Fig. 2 from a) to b). The charging robot 1 is thus configured to automatically connect the charging cable to the electric vehicle 2, enabling a charging process to be started without a user.

[0018] It is essential that the base body 3 is arranged in such a way that a tire 11 of the electric vehicle 2 can be placed on the base body 3, so that a counterforce acting on the charging robot 1 to a plugging force when the charging plug 7 is inserted into the charging socket 10 is supported by the charging robot 1 via the main body 4 and the base body 3 on the tire 11 located on the base body 3.

[0019] As can be seen in Fig. 2, when the charging plug 7 is inserted, the counterforce of the insertion process, which is never perfectly precise, promotes a tilting of the charging robot 1 backwards. To prevent this tilting, the charging robot 1 would have to be designed to be sufficiently stable without the proposed base body 3. Here, the charging robot 1 preferably only needs to be self-supporting, since the tire 11 supports the torque resulting from the counterforce around the attachment point between the main body 4 and the base body 3.

[0020] To support the counterforce as proposed, the base body 3, in particular the base plate, is preferably provided with a flat tire support 12. Here, and preferably, the main body 4 projects upwards at an edge region of the base body 3. Starting from the base body 3, the holder 6 is preferably oriented such that the charging plug 7, optionally in its mounted state, projects towards the tire support 12. Furthermore, the holder 6 is preferably adjustable in the direction of the tire support 12, particularly relative to the main body 4.

[0021] Preferably, the charging robot 1 has a camera that performs the plug-in process based on image processing. The charging robot 1 can also have a display, e.g., LEDs, that indicates whether the electric vehicle 2 has been parked correctly. Using the camera, the charging robot 1 can determine whether the electric vehicle 2 has been parked correctly.

[0022] When loading and unloading the electric vehicle 2 with heavy objects, for example, the charging socket 10 can change its height. It is therefore preferably provided that the adjustable bracket 6 is spring-mounted relative to the base body 3 in the vertical direction. This spring mounting is preferably provided in addition to the bracket 6 being adjustable relative to the base body 3 in the vertical direction.

[0023] Furthermore, and preferably, the loading robot 1 is designed to adjust the adjustable bracket 6 in three axes, particularly linearly. Here, and preferably, the telescopic rods 5 are motor-driven, allowing the height of the bracket 6 to be adjusted. The main cassette 9 can permit movement of the bracket 6 relative to the main cassette 9 in a horizontal direction. The bracket 6 can also be telescopic, thus covering the other horizontal direction.

[0024] Preferably, the charging robot 1, when the electric vehicle 2 is parked on the base 3, can adjust the adjustable bracket 6 in the direction of the electric vehicle 2, horizontally orthogonally to it, and vertically. Additionally or alternatively, the charging robot 1 can tilt the bracket 6 about a horizontal axis. This makes charging sockets 10, which are not horizontally oriented, more easily accessible.

[0025] A closer look at the base body 3 reveals that it, particularly the base plate, features a tire stop 13, preferably adjustable, for precisely positioning the tire 11 on the base body 3 in the direction of travel. This tire stop can be adjusted, particularly manually, to the relative position between the charging socket 10 and the tire 11 of the electric vehicle 2. When parking, a driver can move the electric vehicle 2 forward or backward until the tire 11 contacts the tire stop 13. Additionally or alternatively, the base body 3, particularly the base plate, can feature one or two positioning guides 14, preferably adjustable, for precisely positioning the tire 11 laterally on the base body 3 in the direction of travel. The positioning guide(s) 14 can also be manually adjustable. This allows for adjustment to the tire width and further guidance during parking.Fig. 1 shows the respective adjustments schematically with arrows.

[0026] According to a further teaching, which has independent significance, it is proposed to use a charging robot 1 as proposed, wherein a tire 11 is placed on the base body 3, while the charging robot 1 inserts the charging plug 7 into the charging socket 10.

Claims

Patent claims 1. Charging robot for an electric vehicle (2), wherein the charging robot (1) has a base body (3), in particular a base plate, and a main body (4), wherein the main body (4) projects upwards from the base body (3), wherein a holder (6) adjustable by the charging robot (1) for a charging plug (7) of a charging cable is attached to the main body (4), wherein the charging robot (1) has at least one drive motor (8) with which the adjustable holder (6) is adjustable, wherein the charging robot (1) is configured to adjust the adjustable holder (6) so that the charging robot (1) inserts the charging plug (7) into a charging socket (10) of the electric vehicle (2), characterized by that the base body (3) is arranged such that a tire (11) of the electric vehicle (2) can be placed on the base body (3), so that a counterforce acting on the charging robot (1) to a plugging force when the charging plug (7) is inserted into the charging socket (10) is supported by the charging robot (1) via the main body (4) and the base body (3) on the tire (11) located on the base body (3).

2. Charging robot according to claim 1, characterized in that the adjustable holder (6) is spring-mounted relative to the base body (3) in a vertical direction.

3. Charging robot according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the charging robot (1) can adjust the adjustable holder (6) in three axes, in particular linearly, preferably that the charging robot (1) can adjust the adjustable holder (6) in the direction of the electric vehicle (2) and horizontally orthogonally thereto and vertically when the electric vehicle (2) is placed on the base body (3), and / or that the charging robot (1) can tilt the holder (6) about a horizontal axis.

4. Charging robot according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the base body (3), in particular the base plate, has a, in particular adjustable, tire stopper (13) for defined positioning of the tire (11) on the base body (3) in the direction of travel, and / or that the base body (3), in particular the base plate, has one or two, in particular adjustable or adjustable, positioning guide elements (14) for defined positioning of the tire (11) on the base body (3) laterally to the direction of travel.

5. Use of a charging robot (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a tire (11) is placed on the base body (3) while the charging robot (1) inserts the charging plug (7) into the charging socket (10).

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