Battery exchanging-type charging station system for electric vehicle

• US 9,156,360 B2
• Filed: 07/01/2012
• Issued: 10/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kookmin University
• Original Assignee: Kookmin University
• Inventors: Park, Jun Seok, Kim, Won-Kyu, Park, Hee-Jeing, Moon, Hee Seok, Choi, Woongchul, Jeong, Jayil, Yu, Chi Man, Jung, Do Yang, Shin, Yong-hark, Park, Jae-Hong
• Primary Examiner(s): TSO, EDWARD H
• Application Number:
  US13/539,477
• Publication Number:
  US 20140002019A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,199 Days
• Field of Search: 320/109, 320/107, 320/114, 414/281, 414/282, 414/284
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/18 Buses
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/70 Interactions with external data bases, e.g. traffic centres
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/00 Electric propulsion with power supplied within the vehicle with power supply from force of nature, e.g. sun or wind, B60L8/00; for monorail vehicles, suspension vehicles or rack railways B60L13/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/64 Constructional details of batteries specially adapted for electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/66 Arrangements of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/30 Constructional details of charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/80 Exchanging energy storage elements, e.g. removable batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Abstract

Provided is a battery exchanging type charging station system for an electric vehicle. The battery exchanging type charging station system includes a charging station body formed with a structure in which the electric vehicle freely enters and exits and including a battery loading unit for receiving the battery, a battery replacing robot mounted in the charging station body to perform a battery replacement operation, a charging station control unit to control the battery replacing robot such that the battery replacement operation is performed by controlling the battery replacing robot, an information recognition unit configured to obtain data on an electric vehicle that enters the charging station body and/or data on a type, size, charging state, release date, charging date or the like of the battery, and a charging station control unit that allows a replacement operation of the battery to be performed by controlling the battery replacing robot.

Claims

1. A battery exchanging type charging station system for an electric vehicle, comprising:

a charging type battery installed on a battery mounting module mounted on an upper portion of the electric vehicle;

a charging station body formed with a structure in which the electric vehicle freely enters and exits and including a battery loading unit for receiving a battery;

a battery replacing robot mounted in the charging station body to perform a battery replacement operation; and

a charging station control unit to control the battery replacing robot such that the battery replacement operation is performed by controlling the battery replacing robot,

wherein the charging station body is configured to include a vertical body extending in a vertical direction and coming in contact with a road, and a horizontal body extending in a horizontal direction from a top portion of the vertical body toward the road, and a bottom of the horizontal body is provided with at least one outlet for ejecting the battery toward the battery mounting module.

2. The battery exchanging type charging station system according to claim 1, further comprising a communication module configured to receive reservation information on battery replacement from the electric vehicle and provide confirmation information on whether the replacement is possible.

3. The battery exchanging type charging station system according to claim 1, wherein

the charging station body includes a protection guide configured to seal the battery mounting module with a built-in battery when the electric vehicle enters the charging station body, in order to avoid ill effects according to changes in an external environment when replacing the battery.

4. The battery exchanging type charging station system according to claim 3, wherein

the protection guide is configured with a corrugate tube that is folded toward the battery mounting module from a state in which the battery is mounted inside the charging station body when the battery is being replaced and that is unfolded to an original position after the battery is replaced.

5. The battery exchanging type charging station system according to claim 3, wherein

the at least one outlet for ejecting the battery includes the protection guide.

6. The battery exchanging type charging station system according to claim 5, wherein

the battery loading unit is configured to have any one of a stacked storage rack type included in the vertical body in which a plurality of batteries are arranged so as to be formed in a line at the left and right sides and the batteries are again stacked over the upper side of the line in a multi-layer structure, a parallel storage rack type in which the plurality of batteries are stored in every direction of the horizontal body, and a mixed storage rack type including the stacked storage rack type and the parallel storage rack type.

7. The battery exchanging type charging station system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a vehicle stop position guide unit configured to guide a stop position of the electric vehicle that enters the charging station body to correspond to a battery exchanging position.

8. The battery exchanging type charging station system according to claim 3, wherein

the battery mounting module includes a battery seating base on which the battery is seated and having a terminal unit which electrically connects the battery, a plurality of fixing units which fix the battery to the battery seating base, and a mounting module door installed to seal a portion of the battery seating base and opened when the battery is being replaced.

9. The battery exchanging type charging station system according to claim 8, wherein

the battery mounting module further includes a plurality of mounting position decision members inserted in guide holes formed in the battery such that the battery is accurately placed on the battery seating base, and the battery fixing unit is installed at the edge of the battery seating base and configured to include a locking hook for fixing the battery and an elastic member for maintaining the fixed state by applying an elastic force to the locking hook.

10. The battery exchanging type charging station system according to claim 8, wherein

the mounting module door is closed and opened at the inner space surrounded by the protection guide such that the battery is not exposed to the external environment when the battery is being replaced.

11. The battery exchanging type charging station system according to claim 1, wherein the battery replacing robot includes:

a battery transporting and mounting robot that removes a discharged battery mounted in the battery mounting module and then transports a fully charged battery, which is ejected from the battery loading unit, and mounts the fully charged battery on the battery mounting module; and

a battery ejecting and loading robot that ejects the fully charged battery stored in the battery loading unit and then provides the fully charged battery to the battery transporting and mounting robot, or receives the discharged battery from the battery transporting and mounting robot, and then loads the discharged battery into the battery loading unit.

12. The battery exchanging type charging station system according to claim 2, wherein the battery replacing robot includes:

a battery transporting and mounting robot that removes a discharged battery mounted in the battery mounting module and then transports a fully charged battery, which is ejected from the battery loading unit, and mounts the fully charged battery on the battery mounting module; and

a battery ejecting and loading robot that ejects the fully charged battery stored in the battery loading unit and then provides the fully charged battery to the battery transporting and mounting robot, or receives the discharged battery from the battery transporting and mounting robot, and then loads the discharged battery into the battery loading unit.

13. The battery exchanging type charging station system according to claim 3, wherein the battery replacing robot includes:

a battery transporting and mounting robot that removes a discharged battery mounted in the battery mounting module and then transports a fully charged battery, which is ejected from the battery loading unit, and mounts the fully charged battery on the battery mounting module; and

a battery ejecting and loading robot that ejects the fully charged battery stored in the battery loading unit and then provides the fully charged battery to the battery transporting and mounting robot, or receives the discharged battery from the battery transporting and mounting robot, and then loads the discharged battery into the battery loading unit.

14. The battery exchanging type charging station system according to claim 4, wherein the battery replacing robot includes:

a battery transporting and mounting robot that removes a discharged battery mounted in the battery mounting module and then transports a fully charged battery, which is ejected from the battery loading unit, and mounts the fully charged battery on the battery mounting module; and

a battery ejecting and loading robot that ejects the fully charged battery stored in the battery loading unit and then provides the fully charged battery to the battery transporting and mounting robot, or receives the discharged battery from the battery transporting and mounting robot, and then loads the discharged battery into the battery loading unit.

15. The battery exchanging type charging station system according to claim 5, wherein the battery replacing robot includes:

a battery transporting and mounting robot that removes a discharged battery mounted in the battery mounting module and then transports a fully charged battery, which is ejected from the battery loading unit, and mounts the fully charged battery on the battery mounting module; and

a battery ejecting and loading robot that ejects the fully charged battery stored in the battery loading unit and then provides the fully charged battery to the battery transporting and mounting robot, or receives the discharged battery from the battery transporting and mounting robot, and then loads the discharged battery into the battery loading unit.

16. The battery exchanging type charging station system according to claim 6, wherein the battery replacing robot includes:

a battery transporting and mounting robot that removes a discharged battery mounted in the battery mounting module and then transports a fully charged battery, which is ejected from the battery loading unit, and mounts the fully charged battery on the battery mounting module; and

a battery ejecting and loading robot that ejects the fully charged battery stored in the battery loading unit and then provides the fully charged battery to the battery transporting and mounting robot, or receives the discharged battery from the battery transporting and mounting robot, and then loads the discharged battery into the battery loading unit.

17. The battery exchanging type charging station system according to claim 7, wherein the battery replacing robot includes:

a battery transporting and mounting robot that removes a discharged battery mounted in the battery mounting module and then transports a fully charged battery, which is ejected from the battery loading unit, and mounts the fully charged battery on the battery mounting module; and

a battery ejecting and loading robot that ejects the fully charged battery stored in the battery loading unit and then provides the fully charged battery to the battery transporting and mounting robot, or receives the discharged battery from the battery transporting and mounting robot, and then loads the discharged battery into the battery loading unit.

18. The battery exchanging type charging station system according to claim 8, wherein the battery replacing robot includes:

a battery transporting and mounting robot that removes a discharged battery mounted in the battery mounting module and then transports a fully charged battery, which is ejected from the battery loading unit, and mounts the fully charged battery on the battery mounting module; and

a battery ejecting and loading robot that ejects the fully charged battery stored in the battery loading unit and then provides the fully charged battery to the battery transporting and mounting robot, or receives the discharged battery from the battery transporting and mounting robot, and then loads the discharged battery into the battery loading unit.

19. The battery exchanging type charging station system according to claim 11, wherein

the battery transporting and mounting robot includes a fixed rail installed at the upper portion of the charging station body, a transporting rail installed to be moved in a direction orthogonal to the fixed rail, an elevating rod installed to be moved along the longitudinal direction of the transporting rail, or in a direction orthogonal to the transporting rail, and a clamping unit installed at the bottom of the elevating rod to perform locking and unlocking operations in the process of replacing the battery.

20. The battery exchanging type charging station system according to claim 12, wherein

the battery transporting and mounting robot includes a fixed rail installed at the upper portion of the charging station body, a transporting rail installed to be moved in a direction orthogonal to the fixed rail, an elevating rod installed to be moved along the longitudinal direction of the transporting rail, or in a direction orthogonal to the transporting rail, and a clamping unit installed at the bottom of the elevating rod to perform locking and unlocking operations in the process of replacing the battery.