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KR-102962368-B1 - ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING SYSTEM USING ROBOT AND METHOD FOR CHARGING ELECTRIC VEHICLE USING SAME

KR102962368B1KR 102962368 B1KR102962368 B1KR 102962368B1KR-102962368-B1

Abstract

An electric vehicle charging system using a robot and a charging method using the same are disclosed. The electric vehicle charging system using a robot according to the present invention is a system for connecting a charging connector to a charging socket of an electric vehicle, comprising: a robot arm for moving and rotating the charging connector; an image acquisition unit installed on the robot arm and generating image information of the charging socket; and a control unit for controlling the operation of the robot arm and the image acquisition unit. The image acquisition unit is characterized by comprising: a first light control unit including a first lamp and a first illuminance sensor; a second light control unit installed on the opposite side of the first light control unit with respect to the charging connector and including a second lamp and a second illuminance sensor; and a camera that operates and takes images when the first lamp and the second lamp are turned on.

Inventors

  • 신창의

Assignees

  • 엘지전자 주식회사

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20240402
Priority Date
20190416

Claims (20)

  1. As a system for connecting a charging connector to the charging socket of an electric vehicle, A robot arm that moves and rotates the above charging connector; An image acquisition unit installed on the robot arm and generating image information of the charging socket; and It includes a control unit that controls the operation of the robot arm and the image acquisition unit, and The above image acquisition unit is, A first light control unit including a first lamp and a first illuminance sensor; A second light control unit including a second lamp and a second illuminance sensor; and A camera that photographs the above charging socket, Electric vehicle charging system using robots.
  2. In paragraph 1, The second optical control unit is installed on the opposite side of the first optical control unit with respect to the charging connector. Electric vehicle charging system using robots.
  3. In paragraph 1, The above camera is, If the difference between the measured values of the first illuminance sensor and the second illuminance sensor is within a reference value, the first lamp and the second lamp are turned on and the device operates to take a picture. Electric vehicle charging system using robots.
  4. In paragraph 1, The first illuminance sensor measures the illuminance of light reflected by the charging socket when the second lamp is turned on, and the second illuminance sensor measures the illuminance of light reflected by the charging socket when the first lamp is turned on. Electric vehicle charging system using robots.
  5. In paragraph 1, The midpoint between the first ramp and the second ramp coincides with the rotation axis of the robot arm, and the first ramp and the second ramp move circumferentially around the rotation axis of the robot arm when the robot arm rotates. Electric vehicle charging system using robots.
  6. In paragraph 5, The camera above forms an angle equal to that between the first lamp and the second lamp, centered on the rotation axis of the robot arm that rotates the charging connector. Electric vehicle charging system using robots.
  7. In paragraph 1, The above control unit is, If the difference between the measured values of the first illuminance sensor and the second illuminance sensor exceeds a reference value, the robot arm is rotated around the charging connector and then the camera is operated so that the amount of light reflection caused by the open cover of the charging socket is minimized. Electric vehicle charging system using robots.
  8. In paragraph 1, The above-mentioned robot arm is, A body that holds the above-mentioned charging connector; and It includes a rotating body rotatably mounted on the above body and having the camera, the first light control unit, and the second light control unit installed thereon, The control unit rotates the rotating body when the difference between the measured values of the first illuminance sensor and the second illuminance sensor exceeds a reference value. Electric vehicle charging system using robots.
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  10. As a system for connecting a charging connector to the charging socket of an electric vehicle, A robot arm that moves and rotates the above charging connector; A first light control unit and a second light control unit that irradiate light onto the charging socket and measure the illuminance of the reflected light; and It includes a camera installed on the robot arm and photographing the charging socket, The above camera is, The above first light control unit and the above second light control unit operate to take a picture while irradiating light. Electric vehicle charging system using robots.
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  12. In Paragraph 10, The first optical control unit and the second optical control unit are installed on the robot arm on opposite sides of the charging connector, and When the first light control unit irradiates light, the second light control unit measures illuminance, and when the second light control unit irradiates light, the first light control unit measures illuminance. Electric vehicle charging system using robots.
  13. In Paragraph 12, It includes a control unit that stores location information of the charging socket based on the electric vehicle, and The above control unit is, If the difference between the illuminance measurement values of the first light control unit and the second light control unit is within a reference value, the camera is operated. Electric vehicle charging system using robots.
  14. In Paragraph 10, The camera above forms the same angle between the first optical control unit and the second optical control unit around the rotation axis of the robot arm that rotates the charging connector. Electric vehicle charging system using robots.
  15. In Paragraph 13, The above control unit is, If the difference in illuminance measurement values between the first light control unit and the second light control unit exceeds a reference value, the robot arm is rotated around the charging connector to minimize the amount of light reflection caused by the open cover of the charging socket, and then the camera is operated. Electric vehicle charging system using robots.
  16. A movement step in which a robot arm moves a charging connector in front of the electric vehicle's charging socket; A first measurement step in which a first lamp installed on the robot arm is turned on, and a second illuminance sensor installed on the robot arm measures the illuminance of the light reflected by the charging socket; A second measurement step of turning on a second lamp installed on the robot arm and a first illuminance sensor installed on the robot arm measuring the illuminance of the light reflected by the charging socket; and A shooting step comprising a camera installed on the robot arm capturing and generating real-time video information of the charging socket, Charging method using an electric vehicle charging system.
  17. In Paragraph 16, A matching step for generating real-time location information of the charging socket by matching real-time video information of the charging socket with reference video information of the charging socket; and The method includes a connection step in which the robot arm moves based on the real-time position information of the charging socket to connect the charging connector to the charging socket. Determining the possibility of alignment between the real-time video information and the reference video information of the charging socket by comparing the difference in measured values between the first illuminance sensor and the second illuminance sensor with a reference value, Charging method using an electric vehicle charging system.
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Description

Electric Vehicle Charging System Using a Robot and Charging Method Using the Same The present invention relates to an electric vehicle charging system using a robot and a charging method using the same, and more specifically, to an electric vehicle charging system using a robot configured to automatically charge the battery of an electric vehicle and a charging method using the same. Electric vehicles are vehicles that generate driving force by supplying electrical energy from a high-voltage battery to an electric motor, and they require charging the battery through an external power supply. Therefore, a charger is necessary to supply power. In this regard, Korean Published Patent Application No. 2018-0046600 discloses a charging device for an electric vehicle and a charging control method for an electric vehicle. Published Patent Application No. 2018-0046600 includes a grab portion for grasping a charging gun that is attached to and detached from an electric vehicle; and an alignment portion that moves the grab portion. The charging gun is electrically connected to a power module that provides charging power to the electric vehicle and is mounted on a stand of a kiosk facing the electric vehicle. The alignment portion is characterized by aligning the grab portion to a first position facing the stand or aligning the grab portion to a second position facing the connector of the electric vehicle. Published Patent Application No. 2018-0046600 discloses a sensing means for determining the location of a connector of an electric vehicle. The sensing means includes a capturing unit that photographs the connector of the electric vehicle in a grab unit or an alignment unit, and a determining unit that determines the location of the electric vehicle's connector through the analysis of an image captured by the capturing unit. When the location of the electric vehicle's connector is determined through the capturing unit and the determining unit, the alignment unit specifies a second location using the location information of the connector identified by the determining unit, and the alignment unit can align the grab unit to the specified second location. In general, image recognition determines similarity by comparing the similarity of attributes extracted from a reference image and an input image. As a method for comparing similarity, region-based methods focus on matching features across the entire image region. In particular, recognition in widely used region-based methods utilizes the distance or correlation between a reference image and an input image as a measure of similarity. Distance-based similarity comparison has a low computational load but cannot compare constituent components, and classification errors are large when there is a significant difference between the average values of the target images. Correlation allows for the comparison of constituent components and is both location-free and scale-free, but it is constrained by a high computational load. Meanwhile, methods for measuring distance include vector and probabilistic approaches, while correlation measurement methods include cross-correlation and auto-correlation. Generally, classification based on correlation is possible by comparing the similarity between a reference image and an input image. However, if image energy varies with location, recognition may fail, and there are limitations due to its high sensitivity to linear changes in lighting. Therefore, it can be said that in order to increase the similarity between an image captured by a camera unit, i.e., an input image, and an existing input reference image, the installation of a lighting device that uniformly illuminates the connector of an electric vehicle is required in accordance with Public Patent Publication No. 2018-0046600. However, most currently constructed electric vehicle charging stations operate similarly to regular gas stations, where users hold a charging connector and directly connect it to the EV's charging socket; therefore, direct lighting that illuminates the entire area around the vehicle is installed. Consequently, with the lighting of currently built charging stations, it is practically difficult to align the input image of the charging socket with the stored reference image. In this regard, U.S. Patent Publication No. 8628225 discloses a charging port lighting system for an electric vehicle. U.S. Patent Publication No. 8628225 includes a charging port provided in an electric vehicle for electrical connection of a charging source that charges power to the electric vehicle, and an independent sealed module having at least one lighting source. The lighting source illuminates the charging port by being actuated by contact or movement of the charging port cover, a remote signaling device, or a signal from a motion detection device. The lighting source is installed behind the bezel portion to supply light to the charging port. However, U.S. Patent Publication No. 8628225 h