WO2024251183A1 - Grabbing device and battery-swapping robot having same - Google Patents

Abstract

A grabbing device and a battery-swapping robot having same. The grabbing device comprises a cross beam (20) and a lifting appliance (10) mounted below the cross beam (20), wherein the cross beam (20) and the lifting appliance (10) are flexibly connected by means of a plurality of lifting chains (3); the upper end of each lifting chain (3) penetrates the cross beam (20) and is fixed on the cross beam (20) by means of a lock pin (31); the lower end of the lifting chain (3) is fixedly mounted on the lifting appliance (10); and a weighing sensor (4) is arranged between the cross beam (20) and the lifting chain (3) or between the lifting chain (3) and the lifting appliance (10) or between the lifting chains (3). In the grabbing device, the weight of an article grabbed by the grabbing device is measured by means of the weighing sensor, and if the weight exceeds a set value, the lifting of the article is stopped. Therefore, the grabbing device has a safer and more reliable performance.

Description

A grabbing device and a battery-changing robot having the same Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of battery replacement technology, and in particular to a gripping device and a battery replacement robot.

Background Art

With the rapid development of the new energy vehicle industry, the heavy truck battery swap model has gradually entered people's field of vision. Compared with the charging mode, the battery swap model has the advantages of short battery swap time and high operating efficiency. As a facility that provides battery swap services for heavy trucks, battery swap stations are usually equipped with mechanical devices for grabbing and moving battery swaps, which are called battery swap robots in the industry. Existing battery swap robots usually use a sling to fix the battery swap, and use steel cables to lift the sling. For example, the technology disclosed in the existing technologies such as Chinese utility model patent publication No. CN214692860U and CN 216889685U, when the cables or steel ropes used are used to hoist the battery swap battery, it is difficult to avoid the shaking of the battery swap battery. With the increase in the number of uses, the life of the cables or steel ropes will gradually decrease, and the shaking battery swap battery makes it difficult to accurately position the battery swap battery and increases the battery swap time. In addition, it is difficult to judge the degree of wear of the steel ropes or cables. If the hoisted battery swap battery is beyond the limit that the battery swap robot can withstand, the hoist will still forcibly lift the battery swap battery. At this time, the shaking battery swap battery will increase the safety hazard. It is necessary to improve the grabbing device of the battery swap battery.

Technical issues

When the cables or steel ropes used in the prior art are used to hoist the battery swap, it is difficult to avoid the battery swap shaking. With the increase in the number of uses, the life of the cables or steel ropes will gradually decrease, and the shaking battery swap makes it difficult to accurately position the battery swap and increases the battery swap time. In addition, since it is difficult to judge the degree of wear of the steel ropes or cables, if the hoisted battery swap is beyond the limit that the battery swap robot can withstand, the hoist will still forcibly lift the battery swap. At this time, the shaking battery swap will increase the safety hazard.

Technical Solutions

In view of the defects in the prior art, the purpose of the present application is to provide a safer, faster and more reliable gripping device.

To achieve the above objectives, this application adopts the following technical solutions:

A grabbing device is provided, comprising a crossbeam and a sling installed under the crossbeam, wherein the crossbeam and the sling are flexibly connected via a plurality of sling chains, the upper ends of the sling chains penetrate the crossbeam and are fixed to the crossbeam via locking pins, the lower ends of the sling chains are fixedly installed on the sling, and a weighing sensor is provided between the crossbeam and the sling chain, or between the sling chain and the sling, or in the middle of the sling chain.

Furthermore, a fixed mounting plate is provided on the crossbeam, the lifting chain is installed on the fixed mounting plate, and there are multiple telescopic positioning mechanisms between the crossbeam and the lifting device. The telescopic positioning mechanism includes a fixed part provided on the fixed mounting plate and a telescopic part extending downward from the fixed part. The lifting device is provided with a positioning part matching the lower end of the telescopic part.

Furthermore, a conical guide head is provided at the lower end of the telescopic portion.

Furthermore, a screw rod is provided between the telescopic part and the fixed part, and the fixed part includes a base fixedly connected to the fixed mounting plate and a driving motor fixed to the base as a whole, and the driving motor drives the screw rod to rotate to realize the telescopic function.

Furthermore, the sling is provided with a plurality of rotating lock pins, and the rotating lock pins include a rotating shaft portion axially connected to the sling and a locking portion rotatable around the rotating shaft portion.

Furthermore, the sling is provided with a plurality of guide devices extending downward, and the guide devices include guide columns provided with guide slopes.

Furthermore, a guide support plate is provided on the crossbeam, the guide support plate is parallel to the fixed installation plate, and a guide hole for limiting the movable range of the telescopic part is provided on the guide support plate.

Furthermore, a through hole is provided on the crossbeam, and a block is provided above the through hole. After the lifting chain passes through the block, it is movably installed on the block through a locking pin. The locking pin passes through the lifting chain and is fixedly installed on the block.

Furthermore, the grabbing device also includes a control module, and the data read by the weighing sensor is transmitted to the control module, and the control module is used to control the lifting and lowering of the beam.

The purpose of this application is also to provide a safer, more stable and more efficient battery-swapping robot, which includes a gripping device as described above.

Beneficial Effects

The grabbing device conforming to the present application adopts a fixed-length lifting chain and a weighing sensor, which can better prevent the lifting chain from breaking, improve the stability and safety of the battery swapping action, and adopts a telescopic positioning mechanism to prevent the lifting device from shaking, thereby improving the accuracy and efficiency of the battery swapping. The battery swapping robot with the grabbing device has higher safety performance and battery swapping efficiency.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG1 is a perspective schematic diagram of a gripping device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG2 is a partial side view of the grabbing device shown in FIG1 ;

FIG. 3 is a partial three-dimensional schematic diagram of the grabbing device shown in FIG. 1 .

In the figure:

10. Lifting device; 102. Positioning part; 11. Rotating locking pin; 110. Locking part; 111. Rotating shaft part; 12. Guide device; 121. Guide slope; 20. Crossbeam; 21. Fixed mounting plate; 22. Block; 24. Guide support plate; 240. Guide hole; 3. Lifting chain; 31. Locking pin; 4. Weighing sensor; 5. Telescopic positioning mechanism; 51. Fixed part; 510. Driving motor; 511. Base; 52. Telescopic part; 520. Guide head; 53. Screw rod; 60. Anti-slip device.

The embodiments of the present application are described in detail below, and examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are intended to be used to explain the present application, and should not be construed as limiting the present application.

In the description of this application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "connected", "connected", and "fixed" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

In the present application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature being "above" or "below" a second feature may include that the first and second features are in direct contact, or may include that the first and second features are not in direct contact but are in contact through another feature between them. Moreover, a first feature being "above", "above" and "above" a second feature includes that the first feature is directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being "below", "below" and "below" a second feature includes that the first feature is directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

The technical solution of the present application is further explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings and through specific implementation methods.

Please refer to Figures 1 to 3. The embodiment of the present application provides a grasping device, which is used to grasp and move a battery replacement battery (not shown). The grasping device includes a crossbeam 20 and a sling 10 installed below the crossbeam 20. The crossbeam 20 and the sling 10 are flexibly connected through a plurality of sling chains 3. The upper end of the sling chain 3 passes through the crossbeam 20 and is fixed to the crossbeam 20 through a locking pin 31. The number of the sling chains 3 is at least three. Since the sling 10 disclosed in the present application is rectangular and has four vertex angles, the sling chains 3 are preferably four, which are respectively fixed to the four corners of the sling 10. The lower end of the sling chain 3 is fixedly installed on the sling 10. A weighing sensor 4 is provided between the crossbeam 20 and the sling chain 3. Similarly, in other embodiments, the weighing sensor 4 can also be arranged between the sling chain 3 and the sling 10, or even on the sling chain 3, for example, in the middle of the sling chain 3, and the sling chain 3 is divided into two parts and fixed to the weighing sensor 4 respectively. The gripping device is also provided with a control module (not shown), and the data read by the weighing sensor 4 is finally transmitted to the control module, which calculates the value transmitted by the weighing sensor 4 and decides whether to control the lifting of the beam 20.

A fixed mounting plate 21 is provided on the crossbeam 20, and the lifting chain 3 is installed on the fixed mounting plate 21. There are also multiple telescopic positioning mechanisms 5 between the crossbeam 20 and the sling 10. The telescopic positioning mechanism 5 includes a fixed portion 51 provided on the fixed mounting plate 21 and a telescopic portion 52 extending downward from the fixed portion 51. The sling 10 is provided with a positioning portion 102 matching the lower end of the telescopic portion 52. In order to play a guiding and positioning role, a conical guide head 520 is provided at the lower end of the telescopic portion 52, and the positioning portion 102 is set to a trumpet-shaped opening and has a certain depth. After the grasping device grasps the battery replacement, if the value read by the weighing sensor 4 does not show overload, the multiple telescopic portions 52 are synchronously inserted into the positioning portion 102, and the crossbeam 20, the sling 10 and the supporting telescopic positioning mechanism 5 will form a relatively stable frame structure. At this time, the originally flexible grasping device becomes rigid, which can prevent the sling 10 from shaking.

Furthermore, a screw rod 53 is provided between the telescopic portion 52 and the fixed portion 51, and the fixed portion 51 includes a base 511 fixedly connected to the fixed mounting plate 21 and a drive motor 510 fixed to the base 511 as a whole, and the drive motor 510 drives the screw rod 53 to rotate, so that the telescopic portion 52 can be extended or retracted, and the support and release of the sling 10 can be achieved through the telescopic function. In other embodiments, the telescopic portion 52 and the fixed portion 51 can also be driven by a cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder, eliminating the use of the screw rod 53.

The sling 10 is provided with a plurality of rotating lock pins 11, and the rotating lock pins 11 include a rotating shaft portion 111 axially connected to the sling 10 and a locking portion 110 that can rotate around the rotating shaft portion 111. Preferably, the positioning portion 102 can be arranged between the lifting chain 3 and the rotating lock pin 11, or the lifting chain 3 can be arranged between the positioning portion 102 and the rotating lock pin 11. The rotating lock pin 11, the lifting chain 3 and the telescopic positioning mechanism 5 are arranged in a group, and the telescopic positioning mechanism 5 and the lifting chain 3 in the same group are arranged on the same fixed mounting plate 21, which can reduce the assembly parts and process steps, making the grabbing device easy to manufacture. Furthermore, the plurality of rotating lock pins 11 are synchronously driven by the same driving device (not shown).

Furthermore, the sling 10 is provided with a plurality of guide devices 12 extending downward, and the guide devices 12 include guide columns 120 provided with guide slopes 121. The guide slopes 121 of the guide devices 12 have at least three different orientations, so that the sling 10 can guide the battery-swap battery from multiple directions, or be compatible with different types of battery-swap batteries. When the sling 10 grabs the battery-swap battery, the telescopic portion 52 of the telescopic positioning mechanism 5 is not extended, so the sling 10 is in a state of flexibly connected to the crossbeam 20, which can make it easier for the sling 10 to fall into the correct position. After the sling 10 enters the predetermined position of the battery-swap battery, the control module controls the rotation of the locking pin 11 to rotate, so that the sling 10 locks the battery-swap battery. At this time, the upwardly raised crossbeam 20 will rise together with the battery-swap battery, and then the purpose of transferring the battery-swap battery is achieved by moving the crossbeam 20.

Embodiments of the present invention

The cross beam 20 is also provided with a guide support plate 24 , which is arranged parallel to the fixed mounting plate 21 , and is provided with a notch (unnumbered) for avoiding the suspension chain 3 , and is also provided with a guide hole 240 for limiting the range of movement of the telescopic part 52 .

The crossbeam 20 is provided with a through hole (not shown), and a stopper 22 is provided above the through hole. The chain 3 passes through the stopper 22 and is installed on the stopper 22 through a locking pin 31. The locking pin 31 passes through the chain 3 and is fixedly installed on the stopper 22 by bolts. The weighing sensor 4 is arranged between the stopper 22 and the fixed mounting plate 21. When the sling at the lower end of the chain 3 grabs the battery replacement battery, the tension it bears is transferred to the locking pin 31, and then transferred to the stopper 22 through the locking pin 31. Finally, the weighing sensor 4 reads the magnitude of the tension on the chain 3 and transmits it to the control module. Preferably, an anti-slip device 60 is also provided between the sling 10 and the crossbeam 20. The anti-slip device 60 is preferably a chain thicker than the chain 3. The anti-slip device 60 includes a hook provided on the crossbeam 20 and a suspension rod fixedly installed on the sling 10. The suspension rod will only contact the hook when the chain 3 breaks and fails, thus playing a role of insurance.

Industrial Applicability

The present application also provides a battery-swapping robot, which has the above-mentioned gripping device. When the weighing sensor 4 detects that the battery-swapping battery gripped by the hoist 10 is overloaded, the battery-swapping robot will not lift the crossbeam 20, and since the upper end of the lifting chain 3 passes through the crossbeam 20 and is inserted and fixed by the locking pin 31, it is easier to disassemble and replace the lifting chain 3 during later maintenance. In addition, since the present application adopts a telescopic positioning mechanism 5, the traditional flexible lifting is transformed into semi-flexible lifting, making the handling process more stable and efficient. Therefore, the gripping device and battery-swapping robot that comply with the present application have the advantages of being safer and more efficient.

The above implementation modes are only to illustrate the basic principles and characteristics of the present application. The present application is not limited by the above implementation modes. Without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application, the present application may be subject to various changes and modifications, which are within the scope of the present application to be protected. The scope of protection claimed in the present application is defined by the attached claims and their equivalents.

Claims (10)

A grabbing device comprises a crossbeam (20) and a sling (10) installed below the crossbeam (20), characterized in that the crossbeam (20) and the sling (10) are flexibly connected via a plurality of sling chains (3), the upper ends of the sling chains (3) pass through the crossbeam (20) and are fixed to the crossbeam (20) via locking pins (31), the lower ends of the sling chains (3) are fixedly installed on the sling (10), and a weighing sensor (4) is provided between the crossbeam (20) and the sling chain (3), or between the sling chain (3) and the sling (10), or in the middle of the sling chain (3) . The grabbing device according to claim 1 is characterized in that: a fixed mounting plate (21) is provided on the crossbeam (20), the lifting chain (3) is installed on the fixed mounting plate (21), and there are a plurality of telescopic positioning mechanisms (5) between the crossbeam (20) and the sling (10), the telescopic positioning mechanism (5) comprises a fixed portion (51) provided on the fixed mounting plate (21) and a telescopic portion (52) extending downward from the fixed portion (51), and the sling (10) is provided with a positioning portion (102) matching the lower end of the telescopic portion (52) . The gripping device according to claim 2, characterized in that a conical guide head (520) is provided at the lower end of the telescopic portion (52) . The gripping device according to claim 2 is characterized in that: a screw rod (53) is provided between the telescopic part (52) and the fixed part (51), and the fixed part (51) includes a base (511) fixedly connected to the fixed mounting plate (21) and a drive motor (510) fixed to the base as a whole, and the drive motor (510) drives the screw rod (53) to rotate to realize the telescopic function. The gripping device according to claim 1 is characterized in that: the sling (10) is provided with a plurality of rotating lock pins (11), and the rotating lock pins (11) include a rotating shaft portion (111) axially connected to the sling (10) and a locking portion (110) rotatable around the rotating shaft portion. The grabbing device according to claim 1 is characterized in that: the sling (10) is provided with a plurality of guide devices (12) extending downward, and the guide devices (12) include guide columns (120) provided with guide slopes (121). The gripping device according to claim 1 is characterized in that: a guide support plate (24) is also provided on the crossbeam (20), the guide support plate (24) is parallel to the fixed mounting plate (21), and a guide hole (240) is provided on the guide support plate (24) for limiting the range of movement of the telescopic part (52). The grabbing device according to claim 1 is characterized in that: a through hole is provided on the crossbeam (20), a stopper (22) is provided above the through hole, the lifting chain (3) passes through the stopper (22) and is movably mounted on the stopper (22) through a locking pin (31), and the locking pin (31) passes through the lifting chain (3) and is fixedly mounted on the stopper (22). The gripping device according to claim 1 is characterized in that it also includes a control module, and the data read by the weighing sensor (4) is transmitted to the control module, and the control module is used to control the lifting and lowering of the crossbeam (20). A battery-swapping robot, characterized in that it comprises a gripping device as described in any one of claims 1-9.