IP Library Granted Patent US 12,172,545
Granted Patent B2
US 12,172,545 · App. 17/831,355 · Granted Dec 24, 2024

Vehicle battery swapping method, battery swapping van, and electronic device

Inventor: Jinlong Wang (Ningde, CN)
Assignee: CONTEMPORARY AMPEREX TECHNOLOGY (HONG KONG) LIMITED
B60L53/80
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,172,545
App. No.
17/831,355
Granted
Dec 24, 2024
Kind
B2
Abstract

This application relates to a vehicle battery swapping method. The method includes: connecting a positioning line of a battery swapping van to a predetermined reference point of a battery-to-be-swapped vehicle; obtaining a distance between a coordinate origin of a hoister of the battery swapping van and the reference point of the battery-to-be-swapped vehicle, and angles of the positioning line with respect to a travel direction, a longitudinal direction, and a vertical direction, respectively, of the battery-to-be-swapped vehicle; and determining, based on the obtained distance and angles, a moving track of an end effector of the hoister. This application further relates to a battery swapping van configured to swap a vehicle battery, an electronic device, and a computer-readable storage medium.

Claims (17)

1. A vehicle battery swapping method, comprising:

connecting a positioning line of a battery swapping van to a predetermined reference point of a battery-to-be-swapped vehicle, wherein the positioning line is a tensile physical connection line;

measuring a force on the positioning line and obtaining a distance between a coordinate origin of a hoister of the battery swapping van and the reference point of the battery-to-be-swapped vehicle based on the force, and obtaining angles of the positioning line with respect to a travel direction, a longitudinal direction, and a vertical direction, respectively, of the battery-to-be-swapped vehicle;

determining, based on the obtained distance and angles, a moving track of an end effector of the hoister, wherein

the end effector of the hoister replaces a first battery of the battery-to-be-swapped vehicle with a second battery based on the moving track above the vehicle; and

correcting the moving track of the end effector of the hoister based on an image of a mounting location, wherein the image of the mounting location is an image of a location of the second battery with respect to the battery-to-be-swapped vehicle and is obtained by an imaging device.

2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising: removing, after determining the moving track of the end effector of the hoister, the positioning line from the battery-to-be-swapped vehicle.

3. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising: determining, based on a location of the end effector of the hoister with respect to the first battery, whether the end effector is moved in place with respect to the first battery.

4. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising: conveying the first battery to a stow location of the battery swapping van, and conveying the second battery to a battery swapping window of the battery swapping van.

5. A battery swapping van for swapping a vehicle battery, wherein the battery swapping van comprises:

a hoister, comprising an end effector adapted to clamp a first battery and a second battery;

a positioning line, wherein one end of the positioning line is located at a coordinate origin of the hoister, and the positioning line is a tensile physical connection line;

a positioning unit comprising a force sensor and an angle sensor, wherein the force sensor is configured to measure a force on the positioning line and determine a distance along the positioning line based on the force, and the angle sensor is configured to measure angles of the positioning line with respect to a travel direction, a longitudinal direction, and a vertical direction, respectively, of a battery-to-be-swapped vehicle;

a processor, configured to receive the distance and angles measured by the positioning unit, and determine, based on the obtained distance and angles, a moving track of the end effector of the hoister, and cause the end effector to move based on the moving track above the vehicle; and

an imaging device is disposed at the end effector of the hoister, and the imaging device is configured to obtain an image of a location of the second battery with respect to the battery-to-be-swapped vehicle.

6. The battery swapping van according to claim 5 , further comprising: a battery conveyance unit, the battery conveyance unit comprises an actuation mechanism and a support element, the actuation mechanism is configured to actuate the support element to move so that the first battery is conveyed to a stow location, and that the second battery is conveyed to a battery swapping window.

7. The battery swapping van according to claim 5 , wherein a location sensor is disposed at the end effector of the hoister, and the location sensor is configured to detect a location of the end effector of the hoister with respect to the first battery in the battery-to-be-swapped vehicle.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 6, 2024
From: CONTEMPORARY AMPEREX TECHNOLOGY CO., LIMITED
To: CONTEMPORARY AMPEREX TECHNOLOGY (HONG KONG) LIMITED
Reel/Frame 068338/0402 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 3, 2022
From: WANG, JINLONG
To: CONTEMPORARY AMPEREX TECHNOLOGY CO., LIMITED
Reel/Frame 060710/0125 →
Continuity (2)
Continuation PCTCN2021114543 · Aug 25, 2021
Related Publication 20230065470A1 · Mar 2, 2023