KR20200046724A - Robot for charging electric vehicle and Method for controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electric vehicle charging robot. The electric vehicle charging robot comprises: a main body (110) in which a foldable charging arm part (140) having a charger (400) is installed; side bodies (120-1,120-2) which are coupled to both sides of the main body (110), and in which side body driving parts (221,222) for movement are installed on one side of a lower surface; and a joint body (130) slidably making the main body (110) in contact with the side bodies (120-1,120-2).

Description

Robot charging robot and its control method {Robot for charging electric vehicle and Method for controlling the same}

The present invention relates to an electric vehicle charging robot, and more particularly, to an electric vehicle charging robot moving the space under the vehicle and a control method thereof.

The demand for electric vehicles has been rapidly increasing in recent years due to environmental pollution caused by exhaust gas from vehicles and the burden of oil prices such as diesel and gasoline.

However, until recently, many potential consumers are hesitant to purchase an electric vehicle because the infrastructure for the battery charging facility inside the electric vehicle is not sufficiently equipped.

In addition, because electric vehicles still require frequent charging due to limitations in battery capacity, users of electric vehicles have a problem of having to check the battery condition of the electric vehicle and perform charging almost every day.

Accordingly, an electric vehicle charging robot for charging an electric vehicle while traveling around a parking lot to solve this hassle has been proposed.

However, such an electric vehicle charging robot has a problem of preventing the passage of other vehicles in the parking lot when it is being charged. In addition, there is a problem that charging cannot be performed when the charging port is blocked by an obstacle such as another vehicle.

1.U.S. Patent No. 9932019B1 (Registration Date: 2018.04.03) 2. Chinese Publication No. 105515224A 3.Korean Patent No. 10-2018-0011701

The present invention has been proposed to solve the problems according to the above background, an object of the present invention is to provide an electric vehicle charging robot that can move freely under the vehicle without interfering with vehicle traffic during charging and a control method thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electric vehicle charging robot capable of charging and a control method thereof even when the charging port is blocked by an obstacle such as another vehicle.

The present invention provides an electric vehicle charging robot that can freely move the lower portion of the vehicle without interfering with vehicle traffic during charging, in order to achieve the above-mentioned problems.

The electric vehicle charging robot,

A main body in which a folding charging arm part having a charger is installed;

A side body coupled to both sides of the main body, and a side body driving part for movement is installed on one side of the bottom surface; And

And a joint body slidably connecting the main body and the side body.

At this time, the inner side of the joint body, characterized in that the first rail for moving the main body forward or rear and a second rail for receiving the side body inside.

In addition, a third rail for moving the charging arm is disposed on the front portion of the main body.

In addition, the charging arm portion Z-axis moving portion to move in the Z-axis for height adjustment; A first X-axis rotation unit for X-axis rotation at the lower end of the Z-axis moving unit; A Y-axis moving unit for moving in the Y-axis; A Z-axis rotation part for Z-axis rotation; An X-axis moving part for moving the charger on the Z-axis moving part in the X-axis; A second X-axis rotating part for rotating the X-axis of the charger; It characterized in that it comprises a; Y-axis rotation for rotating the Y-axis to adjust the inclination angle of the charger.

In addition, the main body is characterized in that the main body driving unit is provided for movement on the lower surface of the main body.

In addition, a wireless charging unit for wireless charging is installed on the upper surface of the main body.

At this time, the wireless charging unit is characterized in that arranged in the opposite direction to the charging arm.

In addition, a plurality of sensors for location information is installed on the outer end of the side body.

In addition, a communication unit for receiving location information and vehicle information from a vehicle is installed on an upper surface of the main body.

In addition, the location information is characterized in that the coordinate information.

In addition, the vehicle information is characterized in that the coordinate information from the rear wheel to the charging port of the vehicle.

In addition, the joint body is characterized in that the "H" shape.

On the other hand, another embodiment of the present invention, the electric vehicle charging robot receiving position information and vehicle information from the vehicle receiving step; A moving step in which the electric vehicle charging robot moves using the location information and vehicle information; An alignment step in which the electric vehicle charging robot aligns with a specific axis using a plurality of sensors; And inducing a charger by calculating the relative distance to the charging port based on the vehicle information, and charging the electric vehicle charging robot.

On the other hand, another embodiment of the present invention, the electric vehicle charging robot receiving step of receiving location information and vehicle information from the vehicle; A moving step in which the electric vehicle charging robot moves using the location information and vehicle information; And an alignment step of aligning the electric vehicle charging robot to a specific axis using a plurality of sensors so that the wireless charging unit and the wireless charging terminal of the vehicle are aligned.

According to the present invention, since the folding charging arm is adjusted in height by movement and rotation, it is possible to freely move the lower portion of the vehicle without interfering with the passage of the vehicle during charging.

In addition, another effect of the present invention is that the main body is composed of three parts, so that the battery capacity can be secured to the maximum while moving under the vehicle.

In addition, another effect of the present invention is that the charging efficiency is increased because a folding charging arm is used.

1 is an external perspective view of an electric vehicle charging robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the electric vehicle charging robot shown in FIG. 1.
3 is a detailed configuration diagram of the charging arm shown in FIG. 2.
4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the charging arm shown in FIG. 3 is unfolded.
5 is a view showing a rail arrangement of the electric vehicle charging robot shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of the forward movement of the main body shown in FIG. 5.
FIG. 7 is a conceptual view illustrating the inner storage of the side body shown in FIG. 5.
FIG. 8 is a conceptual view corresponding to a charging port in which the charging arm shown in FIG. 3 is located on a bumper or fender of a vehicle.
9 is a view showing an operation process during wireless charging according to another embodiment of the present invention.
10 is a view showing a process of guiding a charger according to another embodiment of the present invention to a charging port.

Advantages and features of the present invention, and methods for achieving them will be clarified with reference to embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but will be implemented in various different forms, and only the embodiments allow the disclosure of the present invention to be complete, and have ordinary knowledge in the art to which the present invention pertains. It is provided to fully inform the person of the scope of the invention, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Sizes and relative sizes of components indicated in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity of explanation.

Throughout the specification, the same reference numerals refer to the same components, and “and / or” includes each and every combination of one or more of the mentioned items.

The terminology used herein is for describing the embodiments and is not intended to limit the present invention. In this specification, the singular form also includes the plural form unless otherwise specified in the phrase. Components, steps, operations and / or elements referred to as “comprising” and / or “consisting of” as used in the specification do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other components, steps, operations and / or elements. .

Although it is used to describe various components such as first and second, of course, these components are not limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one component. Therefore, it goes without saying that the first component mentioned below may be the second component within the technical spirit of the present invention.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in the present specification may be used as meanings commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. In addition, terms defined in the commonly used dictionary are not ideally or excessively interpreted unless specifically defined.

Hereinafter, an electric vehicle charging robot and a control method thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is an external perspective view of an electric vehicle charging robot 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the electric vehicle charging robot 100 is coupled to both sides of the main body 110 and the main body 110 on which the folding charging arm 140 having a charger is installed, and a side for movement. The body driving unit includes a side body (120-1,120-2) installed on one side of the lower surface, a joint body (130) for slidably connecting the main body (110) and the side body (120-1,120-2). Can be configured.

A folding charging arm 140 is installed at the front of the main body 110. That is, the folding charging arm 140 is folded at the time of movement, and after the movement is completed, it is unfolded close to vertical to insert the charger into the charging port of the vehicle.

The side bodies 120-1 and 120-2 are the first side body 120-1 assembled to the right side of the main body 110 and the second side body 120-2 assembled to the left side of the main body 110. It is composed. The first and second side bodies 120-1 and 120-2 may be inserted into the joint body 130.

The joint body 130 functions to slidably connect the main body 110 and the side bodies 120-1 and 120-2. To this end, the joint body 130 has a “H” shape.

The main body 110 and the side bodies 120-1 and 120-2 have a rectangular plate shape so as to enter and exit the space between the bottom surface and the ground surface of the vehicle. Of course, although it is shown in the drawing as a square, various shapes are possible if it has a certain thickness.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the electric vehicle charging robot shown in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 2, the first and second side body drivers 221 and 222 are respectively installed on the bottom surface for movement of the first and second side bodies 120-1 and 120-2, respectively. If it is further expanded, a pair of side body drivers 221-1 and 221-2 of the lower surface of the first side body 120-1 are installed. In addition, a pair of side body driving units 222-1 and 222-2 are installed on the bottom surface of the second side body driving unit 222.

The side body driving units 221-1,221-2,222-1,222-2 are composed of wheels, motors and gears for rotating the wheels.

Further, a plurality of sensors 261 and 262 for location information are installed at the outer ends of the side bodies 120-1 and 120-2. Incidentally, the first sensor 261 is installed at the outer end of the first side body 120-1, and the second sensor 262 is installed at the outer end of the second side body 120-2.

The first and second sensors 261 and 262 are each composed of a pair of sensors. The sensors 261 and 262 may be Global Positioning System (GPS) sensors, gyro sensors, and inertial navigation sensors for sensing location information.

A communication unit 250 for communication with the vehicle is configured at the front end of the main body 110. The communication unit 250 may be configured with an antenna, a communication circuit, and the like for wireless communication. Of course, the communication unit 250 may communicate with the vehicle using wired communication. Examples of wireless communication include Infrared Data (IrDA) communication, Local Area Network (LAN), Bluetooth, Light Fidelity (LiFi), Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), and Near Field Control (NFC).

A wireless charging unit 230 is configured at a rear end of the main body 110. Wireless charging is generally performed through a magnetic resonance method, but is not limited thereto, and a magnetic induction method is also possible. The magnetic resonance method uses a resonance phenomenon that vibrates with a large amplitude at a specific frequency, and connects power to one of the two coils and connects the other to an electronic device to charge it using the current generated by resonance. .

In the magnetic induction method, a primary coil is used as a transmitter of a wireless charging device, a secondary coil is used as a receiver of a charging target device inside the vehicle, and a magnetic field generated by the primary coil of a transmitter of the wireless charging device is configured in the vehicle. The current is supplied to the secondary coil of the receiver of the device to be charged.

Therefore, the wireless charging unit 230 serves to transmit wireless power, and correspondingly, a wireless charging terminal (not shown) for receiving wireless power is configured on the lower surface of the vehicle.

In particular, the wireless charging unit 230 and the charging arm unit 140 are arranged in opposite directions. Incidentally, the main body 110 is extended by sliding forward, so that the charging arm 140 protrudes, or the main body 110 is extended by sliding backwards so that the wireless charging unit 230 can protrude.

In addition, a main body driving unit 210 is installed on the lower surface of the main body 110 for movement. The main body driving unit 210 is installed at a central position of the main body 110.

3 is a detailed configuration diagram of the charging arm 140 shown in FIG. 2. Referring to FIG. 3, the lower end of the charging arm 140 includes a first X-axis rotation unit 310 for rotating the X-axis, a Y-axis moving unit 320 for moving in the Y-axis, and a Z-axis rotation unit for Z-axis rotation. 330 and the like. To further expand, the X-axis rotation unit 310 first rotates the X-axis to expand the charging arm 140, and then the Z-axis rotation unit 330 rotates in the Z-axis in an upright state. In this state, the Y-axis moving unit 320 moves the Y-axis. The drawing showing this is conceptually illustrated in an enlarged view.

4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the charging arm 140 shown in FIG. 3 is unfolded. Referring to Figure 4, the upper end of the charging arm 140, the Z-axis moving portion 430 to move in the Z-axis for height adjustment, the X-axis moving portion 420 for moving the charger 400 to the X-axis, It may be configured to include a second X-axis rotating portion 410 for rotating the X-axis of the charger 400, a Y-axis rotating portion 440 for rotating the Y-axis to adjust the inclination angle of the charger 400. .

Incidentally, in order to insert the charger 400 into a charging port (not shown) installed in the vehicle, the charger 400 protrudes to a predetermined length, so that the X-axis movement is performed by the X-axis moving unit 420. In addition, since the charger 400 needs to have a certain inclination to be inserted into the charging port, the charger 400 is rotated to be inclined forward by the Y-axis rotating part 440.

The Z-axis moving part 430 adjusts the height of the charging arm part 140. That is, it functions to increase or decrease the height depending on the position of the charging port.

3 and 4, "~ rotating part", "~ moving part", and the like are composed of an actuator for moving and rotating and a driving circuit for driving the actuator. The actuator is usually composed of a motor, gear, etc. to perform rotation and / or movement. Since this is generally known, further description will be omitted.

5 is a view showing a rail arrangement of the electric vehicle charging robot 100 shown in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 5, the front and rear rails 520 of the joint body and the left and right rails of the joint body 530 are disposed on the inner surface of the joint body 130. In addition, a charging arm moving rail 510 for moving the charging arm 140 is disposed at the front end of the main body 110.

The joint body front and rear rails 520 are disposed on both sides of the joint body 130, and the joint body left and right rails 530 are disposed at positions crossing the joint body front and rear rails 520. Therefore, the front and rear rails 520 of the joint body serve to move the main body 110 to slide back and forth. A drawing showing this is shown in FIG. 6.

On the other hand, the left and right rails 530 of the joint body performs a function of accommodating the side bodies 120-1 and 120-2 disposed on both sides inside the joint body 130 or expanding it out of the received state. Of course, in order for the main body 110 and the side bodies 120-1 and 120-2 to operate like sliding on the rail, wheels, an actuator for driving the wheels, and the like are configured.

Inside the main body 110 and side bodies 120-1 and 120-2, a battery for supplying power to components, a microprocessor for controlling operations and performing operations, etc., programs for operation, data, Memory, circuits, etc. for storing software, etc. are composed.

6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the forward movement of the main body 110 shown in FIG. 5. Referring to FIG. 6, the main body 110 slides forward and protrudes. This is an operation for charging by using the charging arm 140.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual view illustrating the inner storage of the side body shown in FIG. 5. Referring to FIG. 7, the side bodies 120-1 and 120-2 are housed inside. This can be used when the place where the electric vehicle charging robot is located is narrow.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual view corresponding to a charging port in which the charging arm shown in FIG. 3 is located on a bumper or fender of a vehicle. Referring to FIG. 8, the position state of the charging arm 140 is illustrated when the vehicle's bumper has a charging port 810 and the vehicle's fender has a charging port 820.

9 is a view showing an operation process during wireless charging according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 9, the electric vehicle charging robot 100 receives location information and vehicle information from a vehicle, and the electric vehicle charging robot 100 moves to a location of the corresponding vehicle using the location information and vehicle information. In this state, the electric vehicle charging robot 100 moves the main body 110 forward so that the wireless charging terminal installed in the vehicle and the wireless charging unit installed on the main body (110 of FIG. 1) can be aligned (910).

Of course, such alignment uses a sensor (261,262 in FIG. 2) to determine the position of the electric vehicle charging robot 100 and the position of the wireless charging terminal of the vehicle, and convert it to coordinate information to control movement and / or rotation. That is, by comparing the coordinate information of the wireless charging unit (250 in FIG. 2) disposed in the electric vehicle charging robot 100 and the coordinate information of the wireless charging terminal of the vehicle, a difference value is calculated, and the moving distance and times corresponding to the difference value A process of calculating the total amount and the like and executing it to match coordinate information between each other is performed. That is, the coordinate information may be arranged in any one of the X, Y, and Z axes or the XY axis.

After the alignment of the wireless charging unit and the wireless charging terminal, the side body (120-1, 120-2 of FIG. 1) is stored inside the joint body 130 (920). This is to reduce the space occupied by the electric vehicle charging robot 100 so as not to cause inconvenience to the passage of other vehicles. Wireless charging then proceeds (930).

10 is a view showing a process of guiding a charger according to another embodiment of the present invention to a charging port. 10, after moving to the lower portion of the vehicle, ① when the electric vehicle charging robot 100 receives location information and vehicle information from the vehicle, the X, Y axis coordinate information of the charger (400 in FIG. 4) and the vehicle X, Y Compare axis coordinate information.

② Then, according to the comparison, the electric vehicle charging robot 100 is reversed to align the X axis of the charging robot on the rear wheel of the vehicle.

③ Of course, while performing alignment, the X-axis coordinate information of the charger (400 in FIG. 4) is compared with the X-axis coordinate information of the vehicle to continuously determine whether they are matched with each other, and if the determination results match, the X-axis alignment is completed.

④ Then, move left and right and perform Y-axis alignment with sensors attached to the left and right.

⑤ Of course, while performing alignment, the X-axis coordinate information of the charger (400 in FIG. 4) is compared with the X-axis coordinate information of the vehicle to continuously determine whether they match each other, and if the result of the determination matches, Y-axis alignment is completed.

⑥ When the XY-axis alignment is completed, the relative distance to the charging port is calculated based on the previously received vehicle information, and the charging device of the vehicle is induced by inducing the charging device 400 through rotation and movement control of the charging arm 140 and the charger 400. Plug in.

Further, steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied in the form of program instructions that can be executed through various computer means and recorded on a computer readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include program (instruction) codes, data files, data structures, or the like alone or in combination.

The program (instruction) code recorded on the medium may be specially designed and configured for the present invention, or may be known and available to those skilled in computer software. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes, optical media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, Blu-rays, and ROMs, and RAMs (ROMs). RAM), a flash memory, etc., may include a semiconductor memory element specifically configured to store and execute program (instruction) code.

Here, examples of the program (instruction) code include not only machine language codes produced by a compiler, but also high-level language codes that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware device described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operation of the present invention, and vice versa.

100: electric vehicle charging robot
110: main body
120-1,120-2: first and second side bodies
130: joint body
140: charging arm

Claims (13)

The main body 110 in which the folding charging arm part 140 having the charger 400 is installed;
A side body (120-1,120-2) coupled to both sides of the main body (110), and side body driving units (221,222) for movement are installed on one side of the bottom surface; And
A joint body 130 slidably connecting the main body 110 and the side bodies 120-1 and 120-2;
Electric vehicle charging robot comprising a.
According to claim 1,
Inside the joint body 130, a first rail 520 for moving the main body 110 forward or backward and a second rail 530 for receiving the side bodies 120-1 and 120-2 inside. Electric vehicle charging robot, characterized in that disposed.
According to claim 1,
An electric vehicle charging robot, characterized in that a third rail 510 for moving the charging arm 140 is disposed on a front portion of the main body 110.
According to claim 1,
The charging arm part 140 includes a Z-axis moving part 430 moving in the Z-axis for height adjustment; A first X-axis rotating part 310 for rotating the X-axis at the bottom of the Z-axis moving part 430; Y-axis moving unit 320 for moving in the Y-axis; A Z-axis rotation part 330 for Z-axis rotation; An X-axis moving part 420 for moving the charger 400 in the X-axis on the top of the Z-axis moving part 430; A second X-axis rotating part 410 for rotating the X-axis of the charger 400; Electric vehicle charging robot comprising a; Y-axis rotating portion 440 for rotating the Y-axis to adjust the inclination angle of the charger 400.
According to claim 1,
Electric vehicle charging robot, characterized in that the main body driving unit 210 is installed on the lower surface of the main body 110 for movement.
According to claim 1,
An electric vehicle charging robot, characterized in that a wireless charging unit 230 for wireless charging is installed on the upper surface of the main body 110 and is disposed in opposite directions to the charging arm 140.
According to claim 1,
An electric vehicle charging robot, characterized in that a plurality of sensors 261 and 262 for location information are installed at the outer ends of the side bodies 120-1 and 120-2.
According to claim 1,
An electric vehicle charging robot, characterized in that a communication unit 250 for receiving location information and vehicle information from a vehicle is installed on an upper surface of the main body 110.
The method of claim 8,
The location information is electric vehicle charging robot, characterized in that the coordinate information.
The method of claim 8,
The vehicle information is an electric vehicle charging robot, characterized in that the coordinate information from the rear wheel to the charging port of the vehicle.
According to claim 1,
The joint body 130 is an electric vehicle charging robot, characterized in that the "H" shape.
A receiving step in which the electric vehicle charging robot receives location information and vehicle information from the vehicle;
A moving step in which the electric vehicle charging robot moves using the location information and vehicle information;
An alignment step in which the electric vehicle charging robot aligns with a specific axis using a plurality of sensors; And
The electric vehicle charging robot deriving a charger by calculating a relative distance to the charging port based on the vehicle information;
Electric vehicle charging robot control method comprising a.
A receiving step in which the electric vehicle charging robot receives location information and vehicle information from the vehicle;
A moving step in which the electric vehicle charging robot moves using the location information and vehicle information; And
An alignment step in which the electric vehicle charging robot aligns with a specific axis using a plurality of sensors so that the wireless charging unit and the wireless charging terminal of the vehicle are aligned;
Electric vehicle charging robot control method comprising a.

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