EV Battery Swap Platform With Marker-Guided Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery swapping systems for electric vehicles are costly, require significant infrastructure, and need skilled personnel, with complex mechanical parts that can lead to misbalancing during battery exchange, and often require precise vehicle positioning.
Innovation Solution
A battery swapping system that uses a platform with alignment markers and a lifting mechanism, equipped with cameras and ultrasonic sensors for autonomous or semi-automatic operation, allowing for easy alignment and exchange of batteries without the need for special tools or precise parking, and is scalable without additional infrastructure costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If complex mechanical parts are used to raise and lower the battery, then the battery can be exchanged, but misbalancing of battery may occur during locking or releasing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex mechanical lifting system from the battery swapping mechanism and replaces it with a simple platform-based system. The battery is placed directly on a platform that can be positioned horizontally, eliminating the need for complex raise-and-lower mechanical parts that caused misbalancing issues.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of raising and lowering the battery through complex mechanical means, the patent inverts the approach by using a platform that moves horizontally to position the battery. The swapping mechanism works by bringing the platform to the battery rather than lifting the battery itself, thereby avoiding misbalancing.
2Productivity
If fully automatic battery swapping system is implemented, then battery exchange speed is improved, but system cost and infrastructure requirement increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial automation rather than full automation. The system can operate in both automatic mode (with sensors and controllers) and manual mode (where operators physically guide the battery), allowing flexibility in automation level based on specific needs and budget constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
The platform design is universal and can serve multiple functions: it can hold batteries, move horizontally for positioning, and work with both automatic and manual swapping methods. This multi-functionality reduces the need for specialized infrastructure for each swapping mode.
3Manufacturing precision
If precision parking is required for battery swapping, then battery alignment is improved, but vehicle accessibility and system flexibility are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces alignment markers as an intermediary element between the vehicle and the platform. These markers provide visual or sensor-based reference points that guide the platform's horizontal movement and positioning, ensuring accurate battery alignment without requiring precise vehicle parking.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical requirement for precision parking with an optical or sensor-based alignment system. The alignment markers and associated sensors substitute for the need for mechanically precise vehicle positioning, allowing greater flexibility in how vehicles are parked and positioned.
Data Source
AI summary
An electric vehicle 700 battery swapping system 500, comprising a platform 100 with slots 610 on batteries 600 and arms 50 equipped with pins 58 along the platform's length l; a plurality of wheels 30 disposed on an outer surface of the platform 100; a lifting mechanism 40 attached to the fixed end 52 to toggle the at least one arm 50 between an upper configuration 42 and a downward configuration 44; an alignment system 300 having a plurality of camera 315 disposed onto the platform 100 and a plurality of alignment marker 310 disposed onto a chassis 760 of the vehicle 700; a positioning system 400 provided in the platform 100 connected to a central server 450 located remotely. A battery swap method 2000 includes removing a depleted battery 600′ and inserting a recharged battery 600 using the system 500.