WO2023015543A1

WO2023015543A1 - Self-openning cover system, battery container and electric vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO2023015543A1
Application number: PCT/CN2021/112433
Authority: WO
Inventors: Zhigang Wang; Shiyong Wang
Original assignee: Itt Cannon Electronics (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd.
Priority date: 2021-08-13
Filing date: 2021-08-13
Publication date: 2023-02-16
Also published as: CN116583654A

Abstract

A self-opening cover system, a battery container, and an electric vehicle are provided. The self-opening cover system includes: a cover body, configured to cover an opening; a cover support, configured to support the cover body and provided with an inserting hole; and an operation device, disposed in the cover support and configured to drive the cover body to uncover the opening when a guide pin is inserted into an inserting hole and to cover the opening when the guide pin is withdrawn from the inserting hole. With the operation device, the cover body can cover and uncover the opening automatically, and thus rain or dust can be prevented from entering the opening during replacing a battery.

Description

SELF-OPENNING COVER SYSTEM, BATTERY CONTAINER AND ELECTRIC VEHICLE

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of electric vehicle, and more particularly to a self-opening cover system, a battery container, and an electric vehicle including the battery container.

BACKGROUND

Electric vehicle uses an internal charging battery to convert electric energy into mechanical energy. After the power in the charging battery runs out, the charging battery needs to be replaced. As the impact on the environment is relatively small compared with traditional vehicles, electric vehicles are more and more widely used in our daily life.

When the battery is replaced, a charging opening in which a portion of the charging battery is placed on the electric vehicle will be exposed, and rain or dust is easy to enter the charging opening, which is easy to cause the aging of electronic devices in the charging opening.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure provides a self-opening cover system, a battery container, and an electric vehicle including the battery container, which can prevent rain or dust from entering the charging opening during replacing a battery.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a self-opening cover system is provided. The self-opening cover system includes: a cover body, configured to cover an opening; a cover support, configured to support the cover body and provided with an inserting hole; and an operation device, disposed in the cover support and configured to drive the cover body to uncover the opening when a guide pin is inserted into the inserting hole and to cover the opening when the guide pin is withdrawn from the inserting hole.

In some embodiments, the operation device includes a movement direction translation mechanism configured to translate an insertion movement of the guide pin in the inserting hole into a movement of the cover body.

In some embodiments, the cover support is provided with at least two inserting holes, and at least two guide pins are provided for inserting into the at least two inserting holes respectively.

In some embodiments, the movement direction translation mechanism includes a guide sleeve disposed in each inserting hole, and the guide sleeve is configured to move with the insertion movement of the guide pin in the inserting hole.

In some embodiments, the cover body includes two half cover portions, and each half cover portion is provided with two movement direction translation mechanisms respectively at both sides of the half cover portion, wherein two movement direction translation mechanisms at a same side of the two half cover portions share a same guide sleeve in the inserting hole.

In some embodiments, each movement direction translation mechanism further includes: a wheel disposed on the cover support; and a string strip surrounding the wheel with one end connected with a corresponding half cover portion and another end connected with a bottom end of the guide sleeve.

In some embodiments, the two movement direction translation mechanisms at the same side of the two half cover portions are symmetrically arranged with respect to the guide sleeve.

In some embodiments, the cover support includes two sliding rails disposed on two ends of the cover support, and two ends of each half cover portion are slidably disposed on the two sliding rails respectively.

In some embodiments, each half cover portion is provided with at least one restoration component for restoring the half cover portion.

In some embodiments, each restoration component includes a guide rod and an elastic member surrounding the guide rod, and the elastic member is compressed when the two half cover portions are moved away from each other.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a battery container is provided. The battery container is disposed on an electric vehicle, including: a housing, having an opening for accommodating a battery; a cover body, configured to cover the opening of the housing; a cover support, disposed on the housing and configured to support the cover body; and an operation device, disposed in the cover support and configured to drive the cover body to uncover the opening when the battery is placed into the housing and to cover the opening when the battery is removed from the housing.

In some embodiments, the cover support is provided with at least two inserting holes, and at least two guide pins are provided on the battery for inserting into the at least two inserting holes respectively, so as to place the battery into the housing.

In some embodiments, the operation device includes a movement direction translation mechanism configured to translate an insertion movement of the at least two guide pins in the at least two inserting holes into a movement of the cover body.

In some embodiments, the movement direction translation mechanism includes a guide sleeve disposed in each inserting hole, and the guide sleeve is configured to move with the insertion movement of the at least two guide pins in the at least two inserting holes.

In some embodiments, each movement direction translation mechanism further includes: a wheel disposed on the cover support; a string strip surrounding the wheel with one end connected with a corresponding half cover portion and another end connected with a bottom end of the guide sleeve.

In some embodiments, each half cover portion is provided with at least one restoration component for restoring the half cover portion, wherein each restoration component includes a guide rod and an elastic member surrounding the guide rod, and the elastic member is compressed when the two half cover portions are moved away from each other.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, an electric vehicle is provided. The electric vehicle includes a vehicle body, and the battery container according to any one of preceding embodiments.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the self-opening cover system includes the operation device. The operation device is configured to drive the cover body to uncover the opening when the guide pin is inserted into the inserting hole and to cover the opening when the guide pin is withdrawn from the inserting hole. With the operation device, the cover body can cover and uncover the opening automatically, and thus rain or dust can be prevented from entering the opening during replacing the battery, which is beneficial to protect electronic devices in the opening and avoid aging of the electronic devices.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the operation device includes the movement direction translation mechanism. The movement direction translation mechanism is configured to translate an insertion movement of the guide pin in the inserting hole into the movement of the cover body. With the movement direction translation mechanism, the cover body can be moved with inserting of the guide pin in the inserting hole, so as to cover and uncover the opening to prevent rain or dust from entering the opening during replacing the battery.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of a self-opening cover system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates another cross-sectional view of the self-opening cover system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates another cross-sectional view of the self-opening cover system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a perspective view showing an internal structure of the self-opening cover system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a top view of the self-opening cover system of FIG. 1, wherein a half cover portion is removed in order to clearly show an inner structure of the self-opening cover system; and

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates another top view of the self-opening cover system of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present disclosure are described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it should be understood that there is no intent to limit the present disclosure to the particular forms disclosed herein; rather, the present disclosure is intended to be construed to cover various modifications, equivalents, and/or alternatives of embodiments of the present disclosure. In describing the drawings, similar reference numerals may be used to designate similar elements.

As used herein, the expressions “have” , “may have” , “include” , and “may include” refer to the existence of a corresponding feature (e.g., a numeral, a function, an operation, or an element such as a component) , but does not exclude one or more additional features.

The expressions “a first” , “a second” , “the first” , and “the second” used in various embodiments of the present disclosure may modify various components regardless of order and/or importance but is not intended to limit the corresponding components. For example, a first device and a second device indicate different devices although both of them are devices. For example, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

It should be understood that when an element (e.g., a first element) is referred to as being (operatively or communicatively) “connected, ” or “coupled, ” to another element (e.g., a second element) , the element may be directly connected or coupled directly to the other element or any other element (e.g., a third element) may be interposer between them. In contrast, it may be understood that when an element (e.g., a first element) is referred to as being “directly connected, ” or “directly coupled” to another element (e.g., a second element) , there is no element (e.g., a third element) interposed between them.

As mentioned in the background, when the battery is replaced, the charging opening for mating with the charging battery will be exposed, and rain or dust is easy to enter the charging opening, which is easy to cause the aging of electronic devices in the charging opening.

Accordingly, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a self-opening cover system. The self-opening cover system includes: a cover body, configured to cover an opening; a cover support, configured to support the cover body and provided with an inserting hole; and an operation device, disposed in the cover support and configured to drive the cover body to uncover the opening when a guide pin is inserted into the inserting hole and to cover the opening when the guide pin is withdrawn from the inserting hole. With the operation device, the cover body can cover and uncover the opening automatically, and thus rain or dust can be prevented from entering the opening during replacing the battery, which is beneficial to protect electronic devices in the opening and avoid aging of the electronic devices.

FIGS. 1 to 3 schematically illustrate different cross-sectional views of a self-opening cover system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the self-opening cover system 100 includes a cover body 110, a cover support 120, and an operation device 130. The cover body 110 is configured to cover an opening 310. The opening 310 is to accommodate a portion of a charging battery. The cover support 120 is configured to support the cover body 110 and provided with an inserting hole 121. The operation device 130 is disposed in the cover support 120 and configured to drive the cover body 110 to uncover the opening 310 when a guide pin 210 is inserted into the inserting hole 121 and to cover the opening 310 when the guide pin 210 is withdrawn from the inserting hole 121. The guide pin 210 is disposed on a bottom of the charging battery.

In some embodiments, the operation device 130 includes a movement direction translation mechanism 131 configured to translate an insertion movement of the guide pin 210 in the inserting hole 121 into a movement of the cover body 110. For example, the movement direction translation mechanism 131 may translate a vertical movement of the guide pin 210 in the inserting hole 121 into a horizontal movement of the cover body 110 so that the cover body 110 can uncover or cover the opening 310.

In some embodiments, the cover support 120 is provided with at least two inserting holes 121, and at least two guide pins 210 are provided for inserting into the at least two inserting holes 121 respectively.

In some embodiments, the movement direction translation mechanism 131 includes a guide sleeve 1311 disposed in each inserting hole 121, and the guide sleeve 1311 is configured to move with the insertion movement of the guide pin 210 in the inserting hole 121. When the guide pin 210 is inserted into the inserting hole 121, the guide pin 210 abuts against the guide sleeve 1311 in the inserting hole 121 and forces the guide sleeve 1311 to move downwards. In some embodiments, the guide pin 210 has a chamfered end 211 which can be inserted into an opening 1315 of the guide sleeve 1311 to achieve a common movement of the guide pin 210 and the guide sleeve 1311.

In some embodiments, the cover body 110 includes two half cover portions 111, and each half cover portion 111 is provided with two movement direction translation mechanisms 131. The two movement direction translation mechanisms 131 are respectively disposed at two sides of the half cover portion 111. The half cover portion 111 may be made of rubber or any other suitable materials. Two movement direction translation mechanisms 131 at a same side of the two half cover portions 111 share a same guide sleeve 1311 in the inserting hole 121. In some embodiments, there are two inserting holes 121, and each inserting hole 121 is inserted with a guide sleeve 1311, and the guide sleeve 1311 is connected with two movement direction translation mechanisms 131. In some embodiments, the two movement direction translation mechanisms 131 at the same side of the two half cover portions 111 are symmetrically arranged with respect to the guide sleeve 1311.

In some embodiments, each movement direction translation mechanism 131 further includes a wheel 1312 and a string strip 1313 surrounding the wheel 1312. The wheel 1312 is disposed on the cover support 120. For example, the wheel 1312 is disposed on the cover support 120 through a bearing 1314, and the string strip 1313 may be formed by a steel wire or any other suitable materials. The string strip 1313 has a first end connected with a corresponding half cover portion 111 and a second end connected with a bottom end of the guide sleeve 1311. Specifically, the half cover portion 111 has an inner side close to another half cover portion 111 and an outer side far away from another half cover portion 111. The wheel 1312 is disposed close to the outer side of the half cover portion 111. The first end of the string strip 1313 is connected with the inner side of the half cover portion 111, and the second end of the string strip 1313 is connected with the bottom end of the guide sleeve 1311 through the wheel 1312.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4, the cover support 120 includes two sliding rails 122 disposed on two ends of the cover support 120, and two ends of each half cover portion 111 are slidably disposed on the two sliding rails 122 respectively. In some embodiments, two ends of each half cover portion 111 are slidably disposed on the two sliding rails 122 by a sliding member. For example, the sliding member may be a sliding block or a steel ball.

In some embodiments, each half cover portion 111 is provided with at least one restoration component 140 for restoring the half cover portion 111.

In some embodiments, each half cover portion 111 is provided with two restoration components 140 for restoring the half cover portion 111. Each restoration component 140 includes a guide rod 141 and an elastic member 142 surrounding the guide rod 141. A first end of the guide rod 141 is fixedly connected with the inner side of the half cover portion 111, and a second end of the guide rod 141 passes through the outer side of the half cover portion 111. The second end of the guide rod 141 is provided with a screw cap for preventing the guide rod 141 from falling from the outer side of the half cover portion 111. When the two half cover portions 111 are moved away from each other, the second end of the guide rod 141 move outwards through an opening in the outer side of the half cover portion 111, and the elastic member 142 is compressed. For example, the elastic member 142 may be a spring.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a battery container is provided. The battery container is disposed on an electric vehicle. Specifically, the battery container includes: a housing having the opening 310 for accommodating a battery, the cover body 110 configured to cover the opening 310 of the housing, the cover support 120 disposed on the housing and configured to support the cover body 110, and the operation device 130 configured to drive the cover body 110 to uncover the opening 310 when the battery is placed into the housing and to cover the opening when the battery is removed from the housing. In some embodiments, the cover support 120 may be integratedly formed with the housing of the battery container. Some electric devices for electrically connecting the battery with the electric vehicle are disposed in the opening 310, which are omitted herein for clarity.

In some embodiments, the cover support 120 is provided with at least two inserting holes 121, and at least two guide pins 210 are provided on the battery for inserting into the at least two inserting holes respectively, so as to place the battery into the housing.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an electric vehicle is provided. The electric vehicle includes a vehicle body and the battery container disposed in the vehicle body.

With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, with the insertion of the guide pin 210 of the battery (i.e., a fully charged battery) in the inserting hole 121, the guide pin 210 abuts against the guide sleeve 1311 and forces the guide sleeve 1311 to move downwards. As the first end of the string strip 1313 is connected with the inner side of the half cover portion 111, and the second end of the string strip 1313 is connected with the bottom end of the guide sleeve 1311 through the wheel 1312, the guide sleeve 1311 drives the second end of the string strip 1313 to move downwards, and thus drives the first end of the string strip 1313 to move outwards, thus the two half cover portions 111 move outwards with the first end of the string strip 1313 along the two sliding rails 122. Then, the opening 310 is opened, and the fully charged battery can be installed in the opening 310.

When the two half cover portions 111 moves away from each other, the second end of the guide rod 141 passes through the opening in the outer side of the half cover portion 111 and moves outwards, so that the elastic member 142 is compressed.

When removing the battery, the guide pin 210 of the battery is withdrawn from the inserting hole 121. The guide pin 210 does not abut against the guide sleeve 1311 again, and thus no force is applied to the string strip 1313. As a result, the two half cover portions 111 trend to move towards each other under the restoring force of the elastic element 142, and cover the opening 310 automatically. Therefore, rain or dust cannot enter the opening when removing the battery, which is beneficial to protect electronic devices and avoid aging of electronic devices.

The terms used herein are merely for the purpose of describing certain embodiments of the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of other embodiments. A singular expression may include a plural expression unless they are definitely different in a context. Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, have the same meanings as those commonly understood by a person skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains. Such terms as those defined in a generally used dictionary may be interpreted to have meanings equal to the contextual meanings in the relevant field of art, and are not intended to be interpreted to have ideal or excessively formal meanings unless clearly defined in the present disclosure. In some cases, even a term defined in the present disclosure should not be interpreted to exclude embodiments of the present disclosure.

Various embodiments disclosed herein are provided merely to easily describe technical details of the present disclosure and to help the understanding of the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it is intended that the present disclosure include all modifications or various other embodiments within the scope of the present disclosure, as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

A self-opening cover system, comprising:

a cover body, configured to cover an opening;

a cover support, configured to support the cover body and provided with an inserting hole; and

an operation device, disposed in the cover support and configured to drive the cover body to uncover the opening when a guide pin is inserted into the inserting hole and to cover the opening when the guide pin is withdrawn from the inserting hole.
The self-opening cover system according to claim 1, wherein the operation device comprises a movement direction translation mechanism configured to translate an insertion movement of the guide pin in the inserting hole into a movement of the cover body.
The self-opening cover system according to claim 2, wherein the cover support is provided with at least two inserting holes, and at least two guide pins are provided for inserting into the at least two inserting holes respectively.
The self-opening cover system according to claim 3, wherein the movement direction translation mechanism comprises a guide sleeve disposed in each inserting hole, and the guide sleeve is configured to move with the insertion movement of the guide pin in the inserting hole.
The self-opening cover system according to claim 4, wherein the cover body comprises two half cover portions, and each half cover portion is provided with two movement direction translation mechanisms respectively at both sides of the half cover portion, wherein two movement direction translation mechanisms at a same side of the two half cover portions share a same guide sleeve in the inserting hole.
The self-opening cover system according to claim 5, wherein each movement direction translation mechanism further comprises:

a wheel disposed on the cover support; and

a string strip surrounding the wheel with one end connected with a corresponding half cover portion and another end connected with a bottom end of the guide sleeve.
The self-opening cover system according to claim 5, wherein the two movement direction translation mechanisms at the same side of the two half cover portions are symmetrically arranged with respect to the guide sleeve.
The self-opening cover system according to claim 5, wherein the cover support comprises two sliding rails disposed on two ends of the cover support, and two ends of each half cover portion are slidably disposed on the two sliding rails respectively.
The self-opening cover system according to claim 8, wherein each half cover portion is provided with at least one restoration component for restoring the half cover portion.
The self-opening cover system according to claim 9, wherein each restoration component comprises a guide rod and an elastic member surrounding the guide rod, and the elastic member is compressed when the two half cover portions are moved away from each other.
A battery container disposed on an electric vehicle, comprising:

a housing, having an opening for accommodating a battery;

a cover body, configured to cover the opening of the housing;

a cover support, disposed on the housing and configured to support the cover body; and

an operation device, disposed in the cover support and configured to drive the cover body to uncover the opening when the battery is placed into the housing and to cover the opening when the battery is removed from the housing.
The battery container according to claim 11, wherein the cover support is provided with at least two inserting holes, and at least two guide pins are provided on the battery for inserting into the at least two inserting holes respectively, so as to place the battery into the housing.
The battery container according to claim 12, wherein the operation device comprises a movement direction translation mechanism configured to translate an insertion movement of the at least two guide pins in the at least two inserting holes into a movement of the cover body.
The battery container according to claim 13, wherein the movement direction translation mechanism comprises a guide sleeve disposed in each inserting hole, and the guide sleeve is configured to move with the insertion movement of the at least two guide pins in the at least two inserting holes.
The battery container according to claim 14, wherein the cover body comprises two half cover portions, and each half cover portion is provided with two movement direction translation mechanisms respectively at both sides of the half cover portion, wherein two movement direction translation mechanisms at a same side of the two half cover portions share a same guide sleeve in the inserting hole.
The battery container according to claim 15, wherein each movement direction translation mechanism further comprises:

a wheel disposed on the cover support;

a string strip surrounding the wheel with one end connected with a corresponding half cover portion and another end connected with a bottom end of the guide sleeve.
The battery container according to claim 15, wherein the two movement direction translation mechanisms at the same side of the two half cover portions are symmetrically arranged with respect to the guide sleeve.
The battery container according to claim 15, wherein the cover support comprises two sliding rails disposed on two ends of the cover support, and two ends of each half cover portion are slidably disposed on the two sliding rails respectively.
The battery container according to claim 18, wherein each half cover portion is provided with at least one restoration component for restoring the half cover portion, wherein each restoration component comprises a guide rod and an elastic member surrounding the guide rod, and the elastic member is compressed when the two half cover portions are moved away from each other.
An electric vehicle, comprising:

a vehicle body; and

the battery container according to any one of claims 11 to 19, disposed in the vehicle body.