FR3089892A1 - System for charging / recharging energy storage means of an electric motor vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a system for charging / recharging electrical energy storage means of a vehicle (13) comprising an electric motor, the system comprising a coupling box (2) and a mobile unit (1), the mobile unit (1) being able to move between a first position distant from the coupling box (2) and a second position in which the mobile unit (1) is in contact with the coupling box (2), remarkable in that that the height of the mobile unit is less than 200mm, the width of the mobile unit is less than 1200mm, and the length of the mobile unit is less than 1600mm. Figure to be published with the abstract: Fig. 6

Description

Description

Title of the invention: System for charging / recharging energy storage means of an electric motor vehicle

Technical area

The present invention relates to the technical field of systems for charging / recharging electrical energy storage means of a vehicle comprising an electric motor.

Such a system can in particular, but not exclusively, be used for charging / recharging storage means in an environment with limited space, such as a parking area composed of parking lots and / or on-street parking lots.

In the context of the present invention, the term "parking lots" means parking lots (temporary or permanent) organized in delimited locations in an enclosed space with controlled access, such as an aerial, underground or surface parking lot. “Street parking lots” means parking lots (temporary or permanent) organized in a location - delimited or not - in an open space, subject to charges or free of charge.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Presentation of the state of the art

We know in the prior art document US9592742 describing a device of cubic shape, motorized and equipped with various output cables, which can be moved on a parking lot to the surroundings of an electric vehicle. This device allows the recharging of an electric vehicle from batteries stored in the device.

We also know the document DE102015225789 describing a system of motorized trailers, autonomous, distributed over several charging stations. These trailers contain batteries. They are harnessed to the rear of the customer’s vehicle at the customer’s request to serve as an energy source. The user can drive while keeping the trailer hitched and connected to his vehicle.

We also know the document US9778653 describing methods and systems for transferring energy from an autonomous driverless machine to an electric vehicle. The electric vehicle requests a recharge, and the autonomous driverless vehicle joins it at a meeting point, attaches to the electric vehicle and allows energy to be transferred.

We also know the document W02016030151 describing a mobile power system (or "MES", acronym of the English expression "Mobile Energy System") which is capable of taking electrical energy by connection to the network do2 mestique, temporarily store it and reinject it. Energy can also be distributed on the charging site, on other sites or along trips. It thus becomes possible to set up fixed or mobile fast charging stations even in sites allowing only a reduced output power. The coupling of installations via a cloud allows the implementation of virtual central office functions. We also know the document WO2013019336 describing a rapid charging process for a military or non-military device with an electric battery. The method includes the step of recharging the military or non-military device. The recharging step includes the distribution of a cooling agent to the military or non-military device to cool the electric battery.

WO2013019336 also relates to a military device, a non-military non-vehicular device, a mobile charging station and a fixed charging station.

We also know the EVAR solution from Samsung (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5on—fx-mjw). EVAR offers the use of an autonomous charging / recharging robot containing batteries, as well as a magnetic interface box. The interface box includes a connection socket intended to receive one end of an electrical connection cable, the other end of the cable being intended to be connected to the storage means of the vehicle to be charged / recharged. The operating principle of the EVAR solution is as follows. The user places the magnetic interface box at the level of the electric vehicle's license plate and orders its recharging. Following this request, the autonomous robot moves to the surroundings of the vehicle and comes into contact with the interface box to allow the transfer of electrical energy to the electrical energy storage means of the vehicle.

2. Disadvantages of the state of the art

In a context of charging / recharging the storage means of a vehicle parked in an environment with limited space, the solutions of the prior art have the following limitations.

The charging solution such as that described in US9592742 requires a large space on the side or front or rear of the vehicle to allow charging / recharging of the vehicle without hindering the passage of other vehicles. In addition, it requires human intervention in order to connect the device to the vehicle. Connection automation solutions are based on a robotic arm.

The solution described in DE102015225789 requires an adaptation and a modification of the vehicle so that the trailer can be coupled to it.

US9778653 describes an autonomous charging system which arises on the vehicle and increases the total weight of the latter. The use of drones (as described in Figure 6 of US9778653) to transport batteries poses legal and security issues. In addition, this limits the use of the solution in confined spaces.

W02016030151 does not describe how the system connects to the electric vehicle and suggests that human intervention is necessary.

The charging solution such as that described in WO2013019336 requires a large space on the side or the front or the rear of the vehicle to allow recharging of the vehicle without hindering the passage of other vehicles. In addition, the solution proposed in WO2013019336 does not move autonomously (which complicates the use) and consists only of the energy storage block without coupling element with the vehicle: the coupling with the vehicle is made by cables at the output of the energy storage block and does not allow automatic coupling.

The EVAR solution has a drawback that the vehicle must be parked in a certain position (there must be space at the front of the car) so that the robot can connect to it. In addition, the robot may interfere with the passage of cars since it occupies part of the traffic lane dedicated to the passage of vehicles.

An object of the present invention is to provide a charging / recharging system for the electrical energy storage means of a vehicle making it possible to alleviate at least one of the above-mentioned drawbacks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

To this end, the invention provides a charging / recharging system for electrical energy storage means of a vehicle comprising an electric motor, the system comprising a coupling box and an independent mobile unit, the unit mobile being able to move between a first position distant from the coupling box and a second position in which the mobile unit is in contact with the coupling box, the coupling box including: a connection terminal intended to be connected to a electrically conductive cable connected (via different electrical connection elements of the vehicle) to the vehicle's electrical energy storage means to allow the transfer of electrical energy between the coupling unit and the vehicle's electrical energy storage means, and an interfacing element intended to cooperate with a complementary interfacing element of the mobile unit to allow the transfer of electrical energy between the mobile unit and the coupling box, the coupling box including: a connection terminal intended to be connected to an electrically conductive cable connected to the electrical energy storage means of the vehicle to allow the transfer of electric energy between the coupling and the electrical energy storage means of the vehicle, an interfacing element intended to cooperate with a complementary interfacing element of the mobile unit to allow the transfer of electrical energy between the mobile unit and the housing coupling, and the mobile unit including: a housing, an electrical energy storage assembly contained in the housing, the complementary interfacing element extending on an external face of the housing, and a controller for controlling the transfer of electrical energy between the mobile unit and the coupling box, the system being remarkable in that the height of the mobile unit is less than less than 200mm in height, the l width of the mobile unit is less than 1200mm, and the length of the mobile unit is less than 1600mm.

In other words, the mobile unit (hereinafter called "robot") is dimensioned so as to be sufficiently thin (height less than 200mm) to be able to be placed under the vehicle, and has a width less than the distance between the two front / rear wheels of the vehicle (approximately 1200 millimeters) and of a length less than the average wheelbase of the vehicle (approximately 1600 millimeters).

This allows loading / recharging of the vehicle storage means by positioning the coupling box and the mobile unit (hereinafter referred to as "robot") under the vehicle.

Unlike the solutions of the prior art, the system according to the invention is thus suitable for any type of parking area, whatever the arrangement of the parking spaces (spaces arranged in battle (ie perpendicular to the vehicle traffic lane), or slots arranged in a niche (ie parallel to the vehicle traffic lane), or slots arranged in spikes).

The system according to the invention is further adapted to the loading / reloading of the storage means whatever the orientation of the vehicle in its parking location (front of the vehicle facing the traffic lane dedicated to the passage of vehicles , or being opposite to the taxiway dedicated to the passage of vehicles, or being at an angle relative to the taxiway dedicated to the passage of vehicles).

The system according to the invention is composed of the robot and the coupling box (independent coupling element) connecting to the electric vehicle using an electrically conductive cable (operation performed by the user of the electric vehicle), and having a facade so that the robot can be fixed there independently without external intervention in order to ensure the passage - by wire or by induction - of electrical energy from the robot to the coupling box . This electrical energy is then transmitted to the vehicle storage means via the cable.

The robot is advantageously motorized to allow its autonomous movement. It can also be moved manually using a handle or a cart, or using a remote control.

The robot recharges at one (or more) suitable charging point (s) installed on the parking area when the solution is put in place, the charging point being connected to the domestic electrical network. This charging point allows the robot to recharge its entire electrical energy in order to be able to provide electricity on the parking area (for charging / recharging the storage means of one (or more) vehicle ( s)), move around, and ensure the supply of the various components that constitute it.

According to one mode of implementation: when a user wishes to recharge his vehicle, he connects the coupling unit to the storage means of his vehicle by means of a typical cable, type 2, Chademo or CCS Combo or any other type of standard charging cable for rechargeable electric or hybrid vehicles.

Then the user places the coupling box on the ground or fixes it to the vehicle using a mechanical and / or magnetic system provided for this purpose.

The user then requires charging / recharging the storage means of his vehicle via a mobile application, or via an internet portal, or via a man machine interface available on Parking or via a man machine interface of the housing. coupling, or via any other solution known to those skilled in the art. This loading / recharging request is transmitted to the robot via wired or wireless communication means.

In response to this request and depending on the mode of implementation:

Either the robot moves to the vehicle autonomously,

Either the user moves the robot through a control device,

Or the user manually moves the robot by means of a lever or a carriage.

Once close to the vehicle, the robot is positioned under the vehicle and connects to the coupling box independently in order to transfer energy to the vehicle.

When the recharging is complete, the robot returns to connect to the charging point of the parking area, or moves to another vehicle to recharge it in the case of an autonomous movement, or is moved by the user (to the charging point or another vehicle to be charged / recharged) in the case of manual movement.

Preferred but non-limiting aspects of the system according to the invention are as follows:

The mobile unit may further comprise electromagnetic and / or mechanical anchoring means on the external face of the housing, said anchoring means being intended to cooperate with complementary securing means of the coupling box; this ensures that the contact between the mobile unit and the coupling box is maintained when the vehicle is charged / recharged,

The mobile unit may further comprise at least one position sensor for detecting the position of the coupling unit, said position sensors comprising at least one image acquisition device such as a CCD camera, and / or at least one laser remote sensing device, and / or one ultrasonic detection device; this makes it possible to detect the position of the coupling housing relative to the mobile unit and to measure the distance between the coupling housing and the mobile unit,

Advantageously, in the case of a transmission of electrical energy by wire:

• the interface element of the coupling box can consist of an electrical socket of the female type, and • the complementary interfacing element of the mobile unit can consist of an electrical connector of the plug type in the electrical socket of female type, the electrical connector being movable in translation between a retracted position in which the electrical connector extends in the housing, and a deployed position in which said connector extends at least partially in projection from the first face of the housing, l mobile unit comprising an actuator for moving the electrical connector between the retracted and deployed positions; this makes it possible to limit the risks of electrocution of the users and of degradation of the electrical connector when moving the mobile unit on the parking area,

The controller can be programmed to control the actuator and the anchoring means, said controller controlling the actuator to move the electrical connector in translation:

• in the deployed position when the anchoring means cooperate with the complementary lashing means of the coupling box, • in the retracted position otherwise;

The mobile unit can include at least one temperature sensor for measuring a temperature of the mobile unit, the controller being programmed to prohibit the transfer of electrical energy between the mobile unit and the coupling unit when the temperature measured is greater than a threshold value and / or for activating means for cooling the mobile unit; this makes it possible to limit the risks of overheating of the mobile unit,

The mobile unit may include a chassis, and at least four omnidirectional drive wheels mounted on the chassis; this makes it easier to move the mobile unit, in particular when positioning the mobile unit opposite the coupling box,

The mobile unit may include a converter for converting the electric voltage and the electric current at the output of the storage unit of the mobile unit into an electric voltage and an electric current acceptable by the vehicle storage means; this makes it possible to adapt the transmission of electrical energy to the needs of the vehicle storage means,

The mobile unit may include detection means for detecting the intrusion and / or the presence of a foreign element under the vehicle during the charging / recharging of the electrical energy storage means, the controller being programmed to prohibit the transfer of electrical energy between the mobile unit and the coupling box when a foreign element is detected; this guarantees the safety of users when charging / recharging the vehicle storage means,

The controller can be programmed to vary the speed of movement of the mobile unit during the movement of the mobile unit to the second position as a function of the distance between the mobile unit and the coupling box; this makes it possible to limit the risks of damage suffered by the coupling unit and / or the mobile unit when they are coupled to charge / recharge the vehicle storage means.

Brief description of the drawings

The present invention will be better understood on reading the description which follows, referring to nonlimiting exemplary embodiments illustrated by the appended drawings in which:

[Fig-1] shows a schematic perspective view of a first embodiment of a robot of a charging / recharging system according to the invention,

[Fig-2] is a schematic top view of the robot illustrated in FIG. 1,

[Fig.3] is a schematic front view of the robot illustrated in Figure 1,

[Fig-4] is a schematic perspective representation of a coupling unit of the charging / recharging system according to the invention,

[Fig.5] is a schematic top view of the coupling housing,

[FIG. 6] schematically represents an example of implementation of the complete charging / recharging system for electrical energy storage means of a vehicle comprising an electric motor,

[Fig-7] shows a schematic top view of the charging / recharging system (in the case of a magnetic coupling) before coupling the robot to the coupling box: this figure allows to highlight the mechanism coupling,

[Fig. 8] is a schematic perspective representation of a second embodiment of the robot (in the case of mechanical coupling),

[FIG. 9] is a partial schematic representation of the robot illustrated in FIG. 8,

[Fig. 10] is a schematic perspective view of a portion of a second embodiment of the coupling housing (in the case of mechanical coupling),

[Fig.l 1] is a view of a rear face of the coupling box illustrated in FIG. 10,

[Fig. 12] shows in schematic view a first step of a mechanical coupling of the robot to the coupling box,

[Fig. 13] shows in schematic view a second step of the mechanical coupling of the robot to the coupling box,

[Fig. 14] shows in schematic view a third step of the mechanical coupling of the robot to the coupling box,

[Fig. 15] shows a schematic perspective view of a charging point, designed in this case to accommodate a single robot, according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention; the charging point is connected to the home network; the robot connects to the charging point using fixing means similar to those used to connect to the coupling box.

Description of the embodiments

We will now describe in more detail the charging / recharging system for electrical energy storage means of an electric motor vehicle with reference to the figures. In these different figures, the equivalent elements have the same reference numeral.

The charging / recharging system comprises a coupling box 2 and a robot 1.

1. Coupling box

The coupling box 2 allows the electrical connection of the robot 1 (which will be described in more detail below) to the electrical energy storage means of the vehicle 13.

Referring to Figures 4, 5, 10 and 11, the coupling housing 2 is of generally parallelepiped shape. It includes a bottom, four side faces and a cover.

One of the side faces of the coupling box 2 (or alternatively the cover of the coupling box 2) has a connection terminal (of type, type 2, Chademo or CCS Combo or any other standard socket intended for recharging of electric or rechargeable hybrid vehicles) intended to be connected to an electrically conductive cable 15 connected to the electrical energy storage means 14 of the vehicle 13. This allows the transfer of electrical energy between the coupling box 2 and the means of storage of electrical energy 14 of the vehicle 13.

Another lateral face 11 of the coupling housing - called "first active face" comprises an interfacing element 10 intended to cooperate with an interfacing element complementary to the robot to allow the transfer of electrical energy between the unit mobile and the coupling box. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, the interfacing element 10 consists of an electrical base of the female type in which an electrical connector of the male type (constituting the complementary interfacing element of the robot) is pluggable.

Advantageously, the first active face 11 may include one (or more) detectable marker (s) (not shown). This (or these) marker (s) is (are) detectable ^) by a robot 1 locating device to allow the robot 1 to detect the position and the orientation of the coupling box 2. Each detectable marker can be active. In particular, each detectable marker can consist of an infrared diode, or any other active component known to a person skilled in the art and based on acoustic, mechanical or magnetic technologies. Alternatively, each detectable marker can be passive. In particular, each detectable marker can consist of a reflective “quasi-punctual” component (disc or sphere) or in the locatable form (for example in 2D a specific set of pixels such as a QR code or a set of QR codes). In this case, the robot 1 locating device comprises means for acquiring images (cameras or cameras) and / or means for emitting light radiation (for example infrared diodes). An advantage of using a passive detectable marker is that it does not require electrical power. The detectable marker can also consist of an electromagnetic sensor capable of being detected by an electromagnetic sensor (such as a coil generating a magnetic field) of the locating device of robot 1.

The first active face 11 of the coupling box 2 also includes lashing means 9, 17 intended to cooperate with anchoring means 5, 16 of the robot 1.

The securing means 9, 17 can be magnetic or mechanical.

The magnetic securing means may consist of one (or more) magnet (s) (permanent magnet or electromagnet) - for example of concave shape (respectively convex) - intended (s) to cooperate with one (or several) magnet (permanent magnet or electromagnet) - for example of convex shape (respectively concave) - constituting the anchoring means 5 of the robot 1. The fact that the securing and anchoring means are of complementary shapes allows to ensure a good magnetic bond.

The mechanical securing means 17 may consist of one (or more) through hole (s) with peripheral edge (s) intended to cooperate with movable clamps constituting the anchoring means 16 of the robot 1. The blind holes 17 can be circular in shape in order to facilitate the positioning of the clamps 16 (step illustrated in FIG. 12). After the circular recess, we find walls formed on ten sides. The sides 18 allow, when opening the clamps, the coupling housing to slide in order to center (step illustrated in Figure 13). The sides 19 allow the coupling box to be held in position: on the one hand the sides 19 rest on the clamps, and on the other hand, when opening, the clamps press on the inner part of the face 11 and keep the coupling box in position, glued to the robot (step illustrated in Figure 14).

2. Robot

Referring to Figure 1, the robot comprises a frame around which is mounted a housing. The housing contains a set of electrical energy storage.

In the context of the present invention, the term “electrical energy storage assembly” means either a capacitor (ie a passive system comprising two electrodes and an insulator), or a supercapacitor (ie a system comprising at at least two electrodes, an electrolyte and at least one separator), or a lithium battery type battery (ie a system comprising at least one anode, at least one cathode and an electrolyte solution between the anode and the cathode).

The robot 1 moves thanks to - but not exclusively - four wheels 3 all driving. The traction of the four omnidirectional wheels 3 makes it possible to have a more diversified movement because it makes lateral and diagonal movement possible without the robot 1 rotating.

The robot 1 further comprises a converter allowing the conversion of electrical energy, such as a DC / AC or DC / DC converter in order to offer a power of several tens of kilowatts at the output of the robot: the converter allows to have at the robot's output an electric current and an electric voltage corresponding to the standard parameters accepted by the energy storage means of vehicles including an electric motor (ie vehicle called "electric" or "hybrid").

The robot 1 also contains elements to ensure the electrical safety of users such as - but not limited to - circuit breakers, differential circuit breakers, and double electrical insulation: this makes it possible to prevent a human being does not electrocute in the event of an electrical failure of robot 1 or if it comes into contact with a conductive element of robot 1.

The robot 1 also includes a controller. The controller is used to control the various parts of the robot (motorized wheels, sensors, energy storage assembly, etc.). The controller is for example a computer such as a processor, a microcontroller, or any type of computer known to those skilled in the art.

As previously indicated, the robot 1 includes a location device including sensors allowing the detection of obstacles 8 such as - but not exclusively - a camera or a lidar or ultrasonic sensors.

In addition to obstacle detection, the location device 7 allows the robot 1 to be aligned with the coupling box 2 for coupling so as to charge / recharge the storage means 14 of the vehicle 13.

The robot 1 also includes means of communication with or without wire such as - but not exclusively - wifi, GPS, gprs, 3g, 4g, 5g, sigfox, lora, Bluetooth. Robot 1 also contains circuits for communication with the user's vehicle according to standard charging protocols. The presence of communication means enables the remote robot to be controlled, the communication and the data transfer between the robot and the coupling box, or between the robot and the charging point 21, or between the robot and an external network, or between the robot and a control device operated by the user (such as a radio control remote control, etc.). The presence of means of communication such as GPS, WiFi or even Bluetooth also allow geolocation of the robot on Parking.

The robot 1 further comprises a temperature sensor. The presence of a temperature sensor makes it possible to prevent overheating of the robot by measuring the interior temperature of the robot: from a certain threshold, a cooling system of the robot starts up and / or the transfer of energy between the robot and the coupling box is deactivated.

The housing of the robot 1 has a second active face 4 including the anchoring means 5, 16 magnetic or mechanical helping the coupling thereof to the coupling housing and / or to the charging point 21.

The anchoring means 5, 16 magnetic or mechanical of the second active face 4 allow to facilitate the positioning of the coupling housing 2 relative to the robot 1, but also the maintenance in position of the coupling housing 2 with robot 1 all along the load. This is done by exerting a mechanical or electromagnetic force.

The magnetic anchoring means 5 may consist of one (or more) magnet (s) (permanent or not) - for example of spherical, conical or frustoconical shape - intended to cooperate with one (or more) magnet (s) ) (permanent or not) means for securing the coupling housing. This facilitates clipping between the anchoring and lashing means during an automatic operation of the robot 1.

The mechanical anchoring means 16 may consist of one (or more) clamp (s) composed (s) of two fingers movable between:

A folded position where the fingers are in contact with each other, and

An unfolded position where the distance between the free ends of the fingers is maximum,

The robot being fixed to the coupling housing when the fingers of each clamp cooperate with an associated blind hole and are in the unfolded position. This arrangement makes it possible, in addition to fixing the robot to the coupling box, to ensure the centering of the robot with respect to the coupling box when the robot is coupled to the coupling box.

The second active face 4 of the robot 1 also includes the complementary interfacing element which may consist of an electrical connector of the male type, such as a standard or non-standard electrical outlet allowing the transfer of current 6 between the robot and the coupling box. Advantageously, the electrical connector can be mobile - in particular in translation - between:

A retracted position in which the electrical connector extends into the housing, and

A deployed position in which said connector extends at least partially in projection of the second active face.

The robot may include an actuator - such as a jack - to move the electrical connector between the retracted and deployed positions. In this case, the activation of the actuator can be controlled by the controller, the latter controlling the movement of the electrical connector in the deployed position when the anchoring means cooperate with the securing means of the coupling box, and otherwise in the retracted position.

In one embodiment, the robot further comprises detection means for detecting the intrusion and / or the presence of a foreign element under the vehicle during charging. This increases the safety of the charging / recharging system according to the invention by preventing a possible risk of electric shock to a person when charging / recharging the vehicle’s energy storage means. The detection means can comprise one (or more) volumetric sensor (s), optics, etc. and / or one (or more) video camera (s) and / or one (or more) motion detectors. The detection means are advantageously connected to the controller to control the interruption of the electrical supply when a foreign element is detected under the vehicle during charging / recharging.

3. Principle of operation

The operating principle of the charging / recharging system described above is as follows.

During the implementation of the system in the case of recharging an electric or hybrid vehicle rechargeable in a car park, the user connects a compatible cable 15 on one side to the vehicle charging socket 13, and on the other side of the coupling box 2. When the user orders a recharge, the robot 1 will move and position itself under the vehicle 13, mate with the coupling box 2 and start the transfer of electrical energy after a verification and communication phase with the vehicle 13. This verification and communication phase is identical to that defined by the standards for charging sockets or charging infrastructures for rechargeable electric or hybrid vehicles.

In the case of an intelligent vehicle, the vehicle can control recharging itself autonomously by sending a message to the charging point 21 of the robot 1. This message is sent by means of communication and according to a standard protocol. The robot then positions itself under the vehicle and starts recharging without human intervention.

The system described above allows automated charging / recharging of the storage means of a vehicle including an electric motor. Preferably but not limited to, such an automated recharging can be carried out on a private or public car park, a private or public road network, or any other place suitable for charging / recharging the vehicle storage means.

The reader will have understood that many modifications can be made to the invention described above without materially departing from the new teachings and the advantages presented here. For example, in the case of non-wired recharging (with induction for example), the anchoring and lashing means are not necessary. Furthermore, in the case of non-wired recharging, the charging / recharging system can be devoid of a coupling box. Also, the means of securing the coupling box can consist of other solutions than one (or more) through hole (s), such as for example one (or more) blind hole (s) . Therefore, all such modifications are intended to be incorporated within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (1)

Claims [Claim 1] System for charging / recharging means for storing electrical energy of a vehicle (13) comprising an electric motor, the system comprising a coupling box (2) and a mobile unit (1), the mobile unit (1) being able to move between a first position distant from the coupling box (2) and a second position in which the mobile unit (1) is in contact with the coupling box (2), • the box coupling (2) including: A connection terminal intended to be connected to an electrically conductive cable connected to the electrical energy storage means of the vehicle to allow the transfer of electrical energy between the coupling unit and the electrical energy storage means of the vehicle, • an interfacing element intended to cooperate with a complementary interfacing element of the mobile unit to allow the transfer of electrical energy between the mobile unit and the coupling box, • the mobile unit (2) including: • a housing, • an electrical energy storage assembly contained in the housing, • the complementary interfacing element extending on an external face of the housing, and • a controller for controlling the transfer of electrical energy between the mobile unit and coupling box, • characterized in that the height of the mobile unit is less than 200mm, the width of the mobile unit is less than 1200mm, and the length of the mobile unit is less than 1600mm . [Claim 2] Loading / recharging system according to claim 1, in which the mobile unit (1) further comprises electromagnetic and / or mechanical anchoring means on the external face of the housing, said anchoring means being intended to cooperate with complementary securing means of the coupling box. [Claim 3] A charging / recharging system according to any one of claims 1 or 2, in which the mobile unit further comprises at least one position sensor for detecting the position of the coupling housing, said position sensors comprising at least one device for image acquisition such as a CCD camera, and / or at least one laser remote sensing device, and / or an ultrasonic detection device. [Claim 4] Charging / recharging system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in which: • the interface element of the coupling box consists of a female type electrical base, and • the complementary interfacing element of the mobile unit consists of a male type electrical connector plugged into the female type electrical base, • said electrical connector being movable between a position retracted in which the electrical connector extends in the housing, and a deployed position in which said connector extends at least partially in projection from the face of the housing, the mobile unit comprising an actuator for moving the electrical connector between the positions retracted and deployed. [Claim 5] Charging / recharging system according to claims 2 and 4 taken in combination, in which the controller is programmed to control the actuator and the anchoring means, said controller controlling the movement of the electrical connector to the actuator: • in the deployed position when the anchoring means cooperate with the complementary securing means of the coupling box, • in the retracted position otherwise. [Claim 6] Charging / recharging system according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, in which the mobile unit comprises at least one temperature sensor for measuring a temperature of the mobile unit, the controller being programmed to prohibit the transfer of electrical energy between the mobile unit and the coupling unit when the measured temperature is above a threshold value and / or to activate means for cooling the mobile unit. [Claim 7] Loading / recharging system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, in which the mobile unit comprises a chassis, and at least four omnidirectional drive wheels mounted on the chassis. [Claim 8] Charging / recharging system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, in which the mobile unit comprises a converter for converting the electric voltage and the electric current output from the storage unit of the mobile unit into a voltage electric and an electric current acceptable by the vehicle storage means. [Claim 9] Charging / recharging system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, in which the mobile unit comprises detection means for detecting the intrusion and / or the presence of a foreign element under the vehicle during charging / recharging of the electrical energy storage means, the controller being programmed to prohibit the transfer of electrical energy between the mobile unit and the coupling unit when a foreign element is detected. [Claim 10] Charging / recharging system according to any one of Claims 1 to 9, in which the controller is programmed to vary the speed of movement of the mobile unit during the movement of the mobile unit to the second position according to the distance between the mobile unit and the coupling box. 1/7