JP4132127B2 - Battery supply device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a battery supply device including a loading unit in which a battery of an electric vehicle is loaded and a charging circuit that charges the battery loaded in the loading unit.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, a battery is mounted on an electric vehicle such as an electric automobile or an electric motorcycle, and a driving force by the power source is used as a propulsive force or an auxiliary propulsive force. Of course, this battery needs to be charged in advance.
[0003]
By the way, such a battery is relatively expensive and requires a considerable time for charging. Therefore, an apparatus that can arbitrarily supply a battery that is already charged is desired. Moreover, in order to prevent theft, it is necessary to have a configuration that can supply a battery only to a specific user.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and is a battery supply device provided with an anti-theft mechanism that can charge a battery loaded in an electric vehicle and supply it only to a specific user. The purpose is to provide.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The battery supply device of the present invention is a battery supply device having a loading unit in which a battery of an electric vehicle is loaded, and a charging circuit that charges the battery loaded in the loading unit,
A lock mechanism for locking the battery loaded in the loading unit;
The locking mechanism is
Wherein formed on the battery insertion port side of the loading unit has an inclined surface inclined in the insertion direction of the battery, and a engagement surface formed on the side opposite to the battery insertion opening of the loading unit, the When the battery is inserted, the inclined surface of the protruding portion formed on the battery is in sliding contact with the inclined surface, while the engaging surface of the protruding portion of the battery is engaged with the engaging surface when the battery is extracted. A claw member;
The claw member has an opening into which the claw member is inserted. The claw member is held in the opening in a state where the claw member can be moved forward and backward with respect to the protruding portion of the battery. A holder to hold it movable ;
An elastic member for projecting the claw member toward the projecting portion of the battery;
A first bracket connected to one end of the elastic member and supporting the claw member and the holder in a state in which the elastic member can be displaced in the advancing and retreating direction as the elastic member expands and contracts ;
Stopper moves back and forth in the operation of the solenoid for connecting the solenoid, the formal engagement Da match to secure the pre-Symbol holder in Rukoto or locking of the holder to be rotatable by away from the holder Means ,
To support the pre-Symbol holder rotatably, and a second bracket for holding the other end of the elastic member,
When the battery is inserted into the loading portion with the holder being fixed by the locking means, the inclined surface of the protruding portion of the battery presses the inclined surface of the claw member , After the claw member retreats into the opening of the holder against the elastic force of the elastic member and the protrusion passes through the claw member, the claw member is returned to the original position by the elastic force of the elastic member. The locking mechanism is locked by returning to
When withdrawing the battery in a state which enables rotating the holder by the engaging means from the loading section, said engagement surface of the projecting portion of the front Symbol battery presses the engagement surface of the pawl member Thus, the holder for holding the claw member is rotated in the battery removing direction to unlock the lock mechanism.
[0006]
In this case, when the battery is inserted into the loading portion, the claw member is retracted against the elastic force of the elastic member by the battery, and protrudes again and engages with the battery when the insertion is completed. Thereafter, the charging process is started by the charging circuit. On the other hand, when the battery used for use is extracted after the charging is completed, the locking member is retracted from the holder, and the claw member is allowed to advance and retract. Therefore, the battery can be removed.
[0007]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows an electric vehicle rental system to which a battery supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.
[0008]
This electric vehicle rental system includes a bicycle parking lot 10 in which a plurality of electric vehicles are parked in a rentable state, and a central control room 12 that manages the situation and users of the bicycle parking lot 10.
[0009]
Here, FIG. 2 shows an electric motorcycle 14 which is an example of an electric vehicle rented by this rental system. The electric motorcycle 14 includes an auxiliary drive unit 16 that assists the driving force of the pedal 15 and a battery 18 that supplies electric power to the auxiliary drive unit 16. The battery 18 is detachably stored in a battery case 20 attached to the front portion of the handle 19. The battery case 20 has a lid 24 provided with a lock mechanism 22 to prevent the stored battery 18 from being stolen. Further, the main frame 26 under the saddle 25 is provided with a U-shaped engaging portion 28 to which a later-described circle lock mounted on the bicycle parking lot 10 is locked. Further, the rear wheel 30 is provided with a circle lock 32 for preventing theft of the electric motorcycle 14 at an arbitrary parking location. Note that the lock mechanism 22 of the battery 18, the circle lock described later and the circle lock 32 of the rear wheel 30 provided in the bicycle parking lot 10 can be unlocked with the same key.
[0010]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the bicycle parking lot 10 identifies the user by a rental control device 34 that controls the entire rental processing of the electric motorcycle 14 in the bicycle parking lot 10 and a user ID such as a non-contact IC card. The user identification device 36 that performs the selection, the selection information relating to the selectable electric motorcycle 14, the display device 38 with a touch panel to select, and a plurality of keys of the electric motorcycle 14 parked in the bicycle parking lot 10. A key supply device 40 that can select a key related to the desired electric motorcycle 14, a battery supply device 42 that holds the plurality of batteries 18, a charge control device 43 that controls charging of the electric motorcycle with a built-in battery, A bicycle parking device 44 for parking a plurality of electric motorcycles 14 in a locked state, and an electric motorcycle in the bicycle parking lot 10 in response to an inquiry from a user telephone 46 Comprising a stock answering device 48 that performs the response of 14 inventory status of a CCD camera, etc., the parking area monitoring device 50 for monitoring the status of the parking area 10, and a emergency telephone 52.
[0011]
As shown in FIG. 1, the central control room 12 issues a user management device 54 having a user registration function, a payment function, and a management function for the bicycle parking lot 10, and a user card comprising a non-contact IC card or the like. A user card issuing device 56 and an emergency call response device 58 that responds to an inquiry from the emergency phone 52 installed in the bicycle parking lot 10 are provided. Note that the user management device 54 and the rental control device 34 of the bicycle parking lot 10 exchange information via the modem 60.
[0012]
Next, specific configurations of the battery supply device 42 and the bicycle parking device 44 arranged in the bicycle parking lot 10 will be described.
[0013]
FIG. 4 shows the battery 18 loaded in the electric motorcycle 14 or the battery supply device 42. The battery 18 is formed in a box shape having a handle 90 at the top, and an electrode (not shown) is disposed at the bottom facing the handle 90. In addition, at the side portion, one surface on the handle 90 side becomes a planar engaging surface 92 orthogonal to the side portion, and the other surface spaced from the handle 90 is inclined toward the engaging surface 92 side. Two projecting portions 96 that become the inclined surfaces 94 are formed.
[0014]
As shown in FIG. 5, the battery supply device 42 is provided with a plurality of loading units 100 in which the battery 18 configured as described above is loaded in the main body 98 (see FIG. 3). The loading unit 100 is provided with an electrode 104 connected to the charging circuit 102 at the bottom thereof and a sensor 106 such as a microswitch for detecting that the battery 18 is loaded. In addition, a lock mechanism 108 that prevents the battery 18 from being pulled out by engaging with one of the protrusions 96 provided on the side of the battery 18 is disposed inside the loading unit 100. Furthermore, a light emitting element 110 such as an LED indicating the locked state of the battery 18 and a light emitting element 112 such as an LED indicating the charged state of the battery 18 are disposed in the opening of the loading unit 100. The charging circuit 102, the sensor 106, the lock mechanism 108, and the light emitting elements 110 and 112 are connected to the lending control device 34. The lending control device 34 detects the state of charge of the battery 18 based on the signal from the charging circuit 102.
[0015]
Here, the lock mechanism 108 provided in the battery supply device 42 is configured as shown in FIGS. That is, the lock mechanism 108 includes a claw member 114 that engages with one of the protrusions 96 provided on the side of the battery 18, a holder 116 that holds the claw member 114, and brackets 118 and 120 that support the holder 116. And a solenoid 122 as a locking means for controlling the operation of the holder 116.
[0016]
The claw member 114 is engaged with the inclined surface 124 with which the inclined surface 94 (see FIG. 4) of the protruding portion 96 is in sliding contact with the engaging surface 92 of the protruding portion 96 when the battery 18 is loaded into the loading portion 100. And has a surface 126, and is slidably inserted into the opening 128 of the holder 116 (see FIG. 9) . The holder 116 has a locking portion 130 protruding to the side thereof, and a surface opposite to the surface on which the claw member 114 is mounted is formed in an arcuate curved surface. The arcuate curved surface, the bracket 118 to be substantially U-shape you contact. Further, the side surface away from the locking portion 130 of the holder 116, one end portion of the bracket 120 to be substantially L-shaped supporting rotatably the holder 116 in the arrow θ direction in FIG. 8 is engaged. A spring 132 as an elastic member for maintaining the claw member 114 in the state shown in FIG. 7 is disposed between the bracket 118 and the surface on the other end side of the bracket 120. On the other hand, a stopper 138 is attached to a rod 134 as a locking member of the solenoid 122 constituting the lock mechanism 108 via a spring 136. The stopper 138 engages with the locking portion 130 of the holder 116 in a state where the rod 134 protrudes in the direction of the arrow Y1 in FIG. 6 in order to maintain the holder 116 in the state shown in FIGS .
[0017]
The bicycle parking lot 10 is provided with a plurality of bicycle parking devices 44 for parking a plurality of electric motorcycles 14. As shown in FIG. 3, the bicycle parking device 44 includes a guide rail 140 that positions the electric motorcycle 14 in the lateral direction, a positioning mechanism 142 that positions the front wheels, a lock mechanism 144 that locks the electric motorcycle 14, And an outlet 145 for charging an unillustrated electric two-wheeled vehicle parked in the bicycle parking device 44. Note that whether or not the battery-equipped electric motorcycle is connected to the outlet 145 and the state of charge thereof are controlled by the charge control device 43 under the management of the lending control device 34.
[0018]
The lock mechanism 144 includes a support column 160 erected between the guide rails 140, a swing shaft portion 162 disposed at the upper end portion of the support column 160, a swing arm 164 having one end portion fixed to the swing shaft portion 162, It is comprised from the circle lock | rock 166 with which the other end part of the turning arm 164 is mounted | worn. The circle lock 166 is engaged with the U-shaped engaging portion 28 of the main frame 26 of the electric motorcycle 14 to prevent the electric motorcycle 14 from being stolen and to prevent the bicycle from falling during parking. is there. The circle lock 166 may be directly engaged with the main frame 26 when the main frame 26 has a thin pipe shape.
[0019]
The electric vehicle rental system according to the present embodiment is basically configured as described above. Next, the rental and return processing of the electric motorcycle 14 and the battery 18 using the rental system will be described.
[0020]
Prior to the use of the rental system, first, under the control of the user management device 54, the user card issuing device 56 of the central control room 12 is used, the address of the contract user, the name, the type (range) of the rental vehicle, Register information such as bank account number, card ID number, user ID number, personal identification number, validity period, etc. for payment of usage fees, and issue a user ID such as a contactless IC card.
[0021]
Next, the user who possesses the user card calls the inventory response device 48 of the bicycle parking lot 10 by the user telephone 46, for example. In this case, the bicycle parking device 44 of the bicycle parking lot 10 constantly supplies a signal related to the presence / absence data of the electric motorcycle 14 detected by a vehicle sensor (not shown) to the lending control device 34, and the lending control device 34 Is converted into voice information indicating the type and the number of stocks of the electric motorcycle 14 and provided to the stock response device 48 in real time. Therefore, the user can determine the presence or absence of the desired electric motorcycle 14 according to the voice response from the inventory response device 48.
[0022]
When the inventory is confirmed, the user next borrows a desired electric motorcycle 14 at the bicycle parking lot 10. In this case, first, the user brings a user ID such as a non-contact type IC card close to the user identification device 36 provided in the bicycle parking lot 10. The lending control device 34 reads user data such as a card ID number and a user ID number via the user identification device 36 and confirms whether or not the user is a regular user.
[0023]
After confirming that the user is an authorized user, the user selects a desired electric motorcycle 14 from the electric motorcycle 14 displayed on the display device 38 with a touch panel. The lending control device 34 confirms whether or not the electric motorcycle 14 selected by the user is usable, and if it is usable, the unlocking signal is sent to the key box 64 that holds the key of the electric motorcycle 14. Is output.
[0024]
The user removes the key from the unlocked key box 64 in accordance with the unlock signal. It should be noted that the removal of the key is detected by the lending control device 34 and it is confirmed that lending of the electric motorcycle 14 corresponding to the key has been started.
[0025]
Next, the display device with a touch panel 38 displays the rentable battery 18 based on the battery selection availability data supplied from the lending control device 34. Here, the battery selectability data represents, for example, data related to the selectable battery 18 created based on the presence / absence data of the battery 18 in each loading unit 100 of the battery supply device 42 and the availability data based on the state of charge. The presence or absence of the battery 18 is confirmed by the sensor 106 shown in FIG. 5, the charging state is confirmed by the lending control device 34 based on the signal from the charging circuit 102, and the light emitting element 112 is turned on.
[0026]
The user selects a desired battery from the batteries 18 displayed on the display device with a touch panel 38. In this case, if the selected battery 18 is usable, the lending control device 34 releases the lock mechanism 108 of the corresponding loading unit 100 of the battery supply device 42 and lights the light emitting element 110.
[0027]
That is, as shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 7, the battery 18 loaded in the loading unit 100 has the engagement surface 92 of the protrusion 96 disposed on the side of the claw member 114 constituting the lock mechanism 108. It is locked by engaging with the engaging surface 126. In this state, the battery 18 has an electrode (not shown) at the bottom in contact with the electrode 104 of the charging circuit 102, and the charging process is continued. The state of charge can be detected from the outside by the light emitting element 112.
[0028]
Therefore, when a lock release signal is supplied from the lending control device 34 to the predetermined loading unit 100, as shown in FIG. 6, the solenoid 122 is actuated and the rod 134 is retracted in the direction of the arrow Y2 to engage the holder 116. The stopper 138 comes off from the stopper 130. In this state, when the operator pulls out the battery 18 from the loading unit 100 in the direction of the arrow Z2 in FIG. 8 , the holder 116 is connected to the one end of the bracket 120 via the claw member 114 of the lock mechanism 108 by the protrusion 96 of the battery 18. Is inclined as shown in the arrow θ direction of FIG. Therefore, the protrusion 96 gets over the claw member 114, and the battery 18 is extracted.
[0029]
When the battery 18 is removed, the sensor 106 disposed at the bottom of the loading unit 100 detects that the battery 18 is not present, and transfers the detection signal to the lending control device 34. On the other hand, the holder 114 returns to the state of FIG. 7 by the elastic force of the spring 132. Next, the solenoid 122 of the lock mechanism 108 is activated, the stopper 138 is engaged with the locking portion 130 of the holder 116 via the rod 134, the lock mechanism 108 is locked again, and the light emitting element 110 is turned off. The
[0030]
The lending control device 34 transfers the vehicle number, lending time, lending data, etc. of the rented electric motorcycle 14 to the user management device 54 via the modem 60.
[0031]
After the lending process is completed as described above, the user unlocks the corresponding electric motorcycle 14 of the bicycle parking device 44 using the key taken out from the key supply device 40. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, the electric motorcycle 14 is locked to the bicycle parking device 44 by a circle lock 166 provided at the tip of the turning arm 164 constituting the lock mechanism 144 disposed between the electric motorcycles 14. ing. Therefore, the circle lock 166 is unlocked using a key and removed from the U-shaped engaging portion 28 of the main frame 26. The turning arm 164 with the circle lock 166 unlocked turns around the column 160 and is separated from the electric motorcycle 14. After unlocking as described above, the electric motorcycle 14 is taken out from the bicycle parking device 44.
[0032]
Next, the user inserts the battery 18 taken out from the battery supply device 42 into the battery case 20 of the taken-out electric motorcycle 14, closes the lid 24, and then releases the lock mechanism 22 from the circle lock 166. Lock with locked key. The user rides on the electric motorcycle 14 loaded with the battery 18 in this way and moves to a desired location.
[0033]
Next, a process for returning the used electric motorcycle 14 will be described. As in the case of borrowing the electric motorcycle 14 at the bicycle parking lot 10, the user first brings the user ID closer to the user identification device 36. The lending control device 34 reads the user data via the user identification device 36, compares the user ID number extracted from the user data with the registered user ID number, and uses the user data. It is confirmed whether the user is a regular user.
[0034]
Therefore, the user returns the electric motorcycle 14 to a predetermined position of the bicycle parking device 44 and locks it using the lock mechanism 144. When the electric motorcycle 14 is returned to the predetermined parking device 44, a vehicle sensor (not shown) provided in the positioning mechanism 142 detects the return state and transmits a return detection signal to the lending control device 34. Accordingly, the lending control device 34 determines that the predetermined electric motorcycle 14 has been returned.
[0035]
Similarly, the user takes out the battery 18 from the battery case 20 and loads it into the loading unit 100 of the battery supply device 42. Here, when the battery 18 is inserted in the direction of the arrow Z <b> 1 in FIG. 9, the inclined surface 94 of the protrusion 96 presses the inclined surface 124 of the claw member 114 of the lock mechanism 108. In this case, as shown in FIG. 9, the claw member 114 is displaced in the arrow X direction with respect to the holder 116 and compresses the spring 132 via the bracket 118 . Then, when the loading of the battery 18 is completed, the claw member 114 is returned to the state of FIG. 7 by the elastic force of the spring 132, and the battery 18 is locked. Note that the lending control device 34 detects that the battery 18 has been returned.
[0036]
After the return of the electric motorcycle 14 and the battery 18 is completed, the user returns the key. Similarly, the return state of the key is detected by the lending control device 34.
[0037]
Note that the lending control device 34 clears the vehicle number of the returned electric motorcycle 14 and the flag indicating that the lending is being performed on the user data, writes the lending end time, and transmits the lending end time via the modem 60. To the user management device 54.
[0038]
As described above, the return process of the electric motorcycle 14 is completed. The usage status of the user who rented the electric motorcycle 14 is managed by the user management device 54 based on the user data. For example, the usage status of the contract user is aggregated for each unit period. The billing information is displayed through the display device with a touch panel 38, and processing such as issuance of usage details and billing is performed.
[0039]
In the above-described embodiment, since the battery 18 has the same form, the battery 18 can be returned to any available loading unit 100 among the plurality of loading units 100 provided in the battery supply device 42. However, when there are a plurality of types of the battery 18, it is possible to indicate the loading unit 100 to be returned according to the types. In this case, if the loading unit 100 other than the returnable loading unit 100 is locked, it is possible to avoid a problem that the wrong type of the battery 18 is loaded into the loading unit 100 that does not correspond.
[0040]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the battery supply device of the present invention, when the battery is inserted into the loading portion, the claw member is retracted against the elastic force of the elastic member by the battery, and the insertion is completed. And project again to engage the battery. Therefore, the locked state is automatically realized by the insertion operation. Further, when the battery is extracted after the charging is completed, the latch member is retracted from the holder, whereby the claw member is retracted by the battery, and the battery can be extracted. Thus, the locked state and unlocked state of the battery can be realized with a very simple configuration.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram of an electric vehicle rental system.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an electric motorcycle.
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a bicycle parking lot.
FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a battery.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram of a battery supply device.
FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a lock mechanism in the battery supply device.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a locked state of the lock mechanism in the battery supply device.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing an unlocked state of the lock mechanism in the battery supply device.
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state when a battery is inserted into the battery supply device.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Bicycle parking lot 12 ... Central control room 14 ... Electric motorcycle 18 ... Battery 38 ... Display device with a touch panel 40 ... Key supply device 42 ... Battery supply device 44 ... Bicycle parking device 48 ... Inventory response device 50 ... Bicycle parking lot monitoring device 54 ... User Management device 56 ... User ID issuing device 58 ... Emergency call response device 60 ... Modem 64 ... Key box 108, 144 ... Lock mechanism 142 ... Positioning mechanism

Claims (1)

A battery supply device having a loading unit loaded with a battery of an electric vehicle and a charging circuit for charging the battery loaded in the loading unit,
A lock mechanism for locking the battery loaded in the loading unit;
The locking mechanism is
An inclined surface that is formed on the battery insertion port side of the loading unit and that is inclined in the battery insertion direction ; and an engagement surface that is formed on the opposite side of the loading unit from the battery insertion port. When inserting, the claw member in which the inclined surface of the protruding portion formed on the battery is in sliding contact with the inclined surface, and the engaging surface of the protruding portion of the battery engages with the engaging surface when the battery is extracted. When,
The claw member has an opening into which the claw member is inserted. The claw member is held in the opening in a state where the claw member can be moved forward and backward with respect to the protruding portion of the battery. A holder to hold it movable ;
An elastic member for projecting the claw member toward the projecting portion of the battery;
A first bracket connected to one end of the elastic member and supporting the claw member and the holder in a state in which the elastic member can be displaced in the advancing and retreating direction as the elastic member expands and contracts ;
Stopper moves back and forth in the operation of the solenoid for connecting the solenoid, the formal engagement Da match to secure the pre-Symbol holder in Rukoto or locking of the holder to be rotatable by away from the holder Means ,
To support the pre-Symbol holder rotatably, and a second bracket for holding the other end of the elastic member,
When the battery is inserted into the loading portion with the holder being fixed by the locking means, the inclined surface of the protruding portion of the battery presses the inclined surface of the claw member , After the claw member retreats into the opening of the holder against the elastic force of the elastic member and the protrusion passes through the claw member, the claw member is returned to the original position by the elastic force of the elastic member. The locking mechanism is locked by returning to
When withdrawing the battery in a state which enables rotating the holder by the engaging means from the loading section, by the engagement surface of the projecting portion of the battery to press the engaging surface of the pawl member The battery supply device is characterized in that the holder for holding the claw member is rotated in the battery removing direction to unlock the lock mechanism.

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