JP2000354985A - Locomotive robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To secure chargeable time to the maximum by eliminating time loss due to charging preparatory motion in case of charging a battery during a period of time when a locomotive robot stops at a charging station. SOLUTION: An upper level controller gives an interrupt signal to a charging controlling controller 19 at the time when a moving robot l comes to be in a state to arrive at a charging station soon. The charging controlling controller 19 takes motion to give output of a battery 17 to a charger 9 by switching on an auxiliary electric source switch 23, and consequently, charges a large capacity condenser for smoothing in a rectifying smoothing circuit 11 to a specified level. The charging controlling controller 19 builds up an electric source of a ECU 15 by switching on a stand-by switch 22 and transmits a charging condition data to the ECU 15 by a serial signal.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mobile robot that travels between a plurality of stations to perform a robot operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a semiconductor manufacturing plant, robot work such as receiving or transferring an object to be transferred (eg, a wafer cassette) from a partner to a partner on a traveling unit moving between a plurality of work stations. Many mobile robots (automated guided vehicles) each equipped with an articulated arm robot for performing the operation are used. In such a mobile robot, since it is necessary to travel on its own, the running motor and the like are driven by a battery composed of a secondary battery. It is configured to charge from an AC power supply.

[0003] In recent years, a charger for charging a battery has been mounted on the mobile robot side.
Such a charger is generally provided with a large-capacity smoothing capacitor in order to perform a stable charging operation. However, in a charger including such a large-capacity smoothing capacitor, there is a problem that an extremely large rush current flows at the beginning when the charger is connected to an external AC power supply, which adversely affects circuit elements. For this reason, in practice, a configuration is adopted in which a resistance element for limiting the rush current is provided on the input side of the charger and a switch element that short-circuits both ends of the resistance element at a predetermined timing when the rush current level is reduced. Has been done.

[0004]

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional structure, the mobile robot arrives at the work station (charging station) and the charger is connected to the external AC power supply because of the provision of the rush current suppressing function. There is a situation in which the time required for the charger to start up (the time required for the smoothing capacitor to be charged to a sufficient level) is relatively long after the battery is charged, resulting in a time loss. On the other hand, mobile robots are often limited to a relatively short stoppage time at the work station, so if the time loss described above occurs, sufficient charging is required. It becomes difficult to secure time. For this reason, the battery may become overdischarged in some cases, and in such a case, it is necessary to stop the mobile robot at the work station only for charging, and The problem is that the power of the robot is reduced.

On the other hand, conventionally, when charging a battery through a charger, charging conditions by the charger are controlled based on the state (remaining capacity, temperature, etc.) of the battery. Specifically, after providing a charge control controller for determining the charge condition based on the state of the battery, the charger side receives the charge condition data determined by the charge control controller, 2. Description of the Related Art A charge state control circuit for controlling a charge state of a battery through a charger according to charge condition data is provided. In this case, the hardware configuration is simplified by transmitting the charging condition data as a serial signal.

However, in this configuration, since a relatively long time is required to transmit the charging condition data, the charging operation is performed between when the mobile robot arrives at the work station and when the charging operation by the charger is started. A time loss corresponding to the required time for transmitting the condition data occurs. Therefore, even when such a time loss occurs, it is difficult to secure a sufficient charging time of the battery, and it is necessary to stop the mobile robot at the work station only for charging. As a result, there is a problem that the power of the mobile robot is reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to charge a battery by eliminating a time loss associated with a charge preparation operation when the battery is charged while the charging station is stopped. An object of the present invention is to provide a mobile robot that can secure the maximum time.

[0008]

To achieve the above object, the means described in claim 1 can be adopted. According to this means, when the mobile robot is stopped at the charging station, the charger rectifies and smoothes the output of the external AC power supply, and the battery is charged by the rectified and smoothed output. In this case, the charging control means may charge the smoothing capacitor provided in the charger to a predetermined level by giving the output of the battery to the charger at a time before the mobile robot reaches the charging station. Control, that is, control for starting up the charger in advance is performed. Therefore, the time from when the mobile robot arrives at the charging station to when the battery starts to be charged can be reduced to a value close to zero time at the maximum, and there is no possibility that a time loss as in the conventional configuration will occur. . As a result, even in a situation where the stop time at the charging station is limited to a relatively short time, the charging time for the battery can be ensured as long as possible, so that the battery tends to be overdischarged beforehand. Can be prevented. Therefore, the possibility that the mobile robot is stopped only for charging is reduced, and the power of the mobile robot is improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the rush current flowing into the smoothing capacitor in the charger is suppressed by the current limiting means, so that there is an advantage that there is no possibility that the circuit elements are adversely affected. There is a situation that the time until the vessel rises becomes longer. Therefore, when there is such a situation, it is very useful to perform the control for starting up the charger in advance as described above.

[0010] In order to achieve the above object, means according to claim 3 can be adopted. According to this means, while the mobile robot stops at the charging station, the battery is charged through the charger that rectifies and smoothes the output of the external AC power supply. In this case, before the mobile robot reaches the charging station, the charging control means determines charging conditions for the charger based on the state of the battery, and transmits the charging condition data to the charging state control circuit. Will be performed. In response, the charge state control circuit controls the charge state of the battery through the charger based on the received charge condition data. As described above, when the charging condition data is transmitted in advance to the charging state control circuit, the charging condition data is transmitted from when the mobile robot arrives at the charging station to when the charging operation by the charger is started. A time loss corresponding to the required transmission time does not occur. For this reason,
The time from when the mobile robot reaches the charging station to when charging of the battery is started can be shortened, so that there is no possibility of occurrence of time loss as in the conventional configuration. As a result, even in a situation where the stop time at the charging station is limited to a relatively short time, the charging time for the battery can be ensured as long as possible, so that the battery tends to be overdischarged beforehand. Can be prevented. Therefore, the possibility that the mobile robot is stopped only for charging is reduced, and the power of the mobile robot is improved.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the charging condition data is transmitted as a serial signal, there is an advantage that the hardware configuration can be simplified. Is longer. Therefore, when there is such a situation,
As described above, it is very useful to perform control for transmitting charge condition data to the charge state control circuit in advance.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an electrical configuration of a mobile robot 1 equipped with an articulated arm robot (not shown) that is related to the gist of the present invention. It is indicated by a combination of blocks. In FIG. 1, the power line is shown by a solid line and the signal line is shown by a broken line. In FIG. 1, the AC line and the circuit elements connected thereto are actually for three phases, but are shown in a simplified state here.

In FIG. 1, a power supply device 2 includes a three-phase
The configuration includes a commercial AC power supply 3 of 00V and a power supply coupler 4 connected thereto. The mobile robot 1 includes a power receiving coupler 5 connected to the power supply coupler 4 in a state where the mobile robot 1 is stopped at a charging station. Hereinafter, a main part of an internal configuration of the mobile robot 1 will be described.

That is, a circuit breaker 7 and a power switch 8 composed of, for example, a triac are connected in series between the power receiving coupler 5 and the main power line 6. Note that the power switch 8 may be constituted by another semiconductor switching element or a mechanical switch such as a relay switch.

The charger 9 connected to the main power supply line 6 has the following configuration. That is, a line filter 10 for removing a noise component superimposed on the main power supply line 6 is connected to an input stage of the charger 9. Rectifying smoothing circuit 1
1 is for rectifying and smoothing the output of the AC power supplied from the main power supply line 6 through the line filter 10, which is provided with a large-capacity smoothing capacitor (not shown). In this case, a resistance element 12 (corresponding to a current limiting means) for suppressing an inrush current flowing into a smoothing capacitor (not shown) is provided between an input portion of the charger 9, particularly, between the line filter 10 and the rectifying / smoothing circuit 11. ) And a bypass switch 13 (corresponding to a switch element) composed of a triac, for example, are connected, so that both ends of the resistance element 13 can be selectively short-circuited by the triac 13. Incidentally, the bypass switch 13 can also be constituted by another semiconductor switching element or a mechanical switch such as a relay switch, like the power switch 8.

The switching circuit 14 includes a rectifying / smoothing circuit 1
1 to generate a variable voltage AC output by switching the output of the ECU 1.
15 (corresponding to a charge state control circuit). The rectifying / smoothing circuit 16 receiving the output of the switching circuit 14 has a configuration in which a boosting transformer (not shown) is provided at the input stage, and the output thereof is supplied to the battery 1.
7 is supplied to the connected DC power supply line 18. The negative terminal of the battery 17 is grounded.

In this case, the ECU 15 receives a charge start command and charge condition data output from a charge control controller 19 (corresponding to charge control means) described later. The switching operation of the circuit 14 (that is, the charging operation of the battery 17) is started, and the switching rate is set to a state according to the charging condition data, thereby increasing the amount of charging current supplied from the rectifying and smoothing circuit 16 to the battery 17. It is configured to control the optimum state.

In addition, the charger 15 includes the ECU 15
A first auxiliary power supply 20 and a second auxiliary power supply 21 for supplying power to the power supply are provided. First auxiliary power supply 20
Is an auxiliary power terminal + VD having an output voltage of, for example, DC12V.
From the standby switch 22 to the ECU 15 in a stabilized state. The second auxiliary power supply 21 detects and operates when the first auxiliary power supply 20 stops functioning, and operates in a state where the DC output supplied from the DC power supply line 18 is stepped down and stabilized. The configuration is provided to the ECU 15.

The charge control controller 19 for controlling the charger 9 configured as described above transmits and receives signals to and from the ECU 15 in the charger 9 and a higher-level controller (not shown) mounted on the mobile robot 1, respectively. And the power switch 8, the bypass switch 13,
The configuration is such that on / off control of the standby switch 22 and an auxiliary power switch 23 described later is performed. In particular,
In this case, the charging control controller 19 monitors the state (for example, voltage, current, and temperature) of the battery 17 and, based on the monitoring result, the battery 1 by the charger 9.
7, and the determined charging condition data is transmitted to the ECU 15 by a serial signal. The power of the charge controller 19 is supplied from an output terminal of a DC / DC converter 24 which reduces the output of the DC power supply line 18 to about 12 V (this output terminal corresponds to the above-described auxiliary power supply terminal + VD).

The auxiliary power switch 23 is connected between the DC power line 18 and a common connection point of the line filter 10 and the resistance element 12 in the charger 9, and in an ON state, outputs the output of the battery 17 to the charger. 9 is provided as an input. This auxiliary power switch 2
3 and the standby switch 22 can be configured by a mechanical switch such as a relay switch or a semiconductor switching element.

The flowchart of FIG. 2 schematically shows the contents of a charge preparation routine directly related to the gist of the present invention, among the control programs executed by the charge control controller 19, which will be described below. . That is,
The upper controller (not shown) always knows the position of the mobile robot 1 and,
When it is soon to arrive at the charging station, an interrupt signal is given to the charging controller 19. The charge control controller 19 starts the charge preparation routine of FIG. 2 when receiving the interrupt signal.

In this charging preparation routine, first, the standby switch 22 and the auxiliary power switch 23 are turned on (step S1). Then, the standby switch 22
Is turned on, the output of the battery 17 is supplied to the first auxiliary power supply 20 in the charger 9 through the output terminal (auxiliary power supply terminal + VD) of the DC / DC converter 24. Is started. Further, in response to the turning on of the auxiliary power switch 23, the output of the battery 17 is supplied to the rectifying and smoothing circuit 11 in the charger 9 through the resistance element 12, and the smoothing capacitor (not shown) in the rectifying and smoothing circuit 11 Is started by the output of the battery 17. In this case, since the charging of the smoothing capacitor is performed through the resistance element 12, a large inrush current is suppressed.

Then, the ECU 15 waits until the delay time τ required for establishing the power supply of the ECU 15 elapses (step S2). After the delay time τ elapses, data indicating the charging condition determined based on the state of the battery 17 is stored. Is transmitted to the ECU 15 by a serial signal (step S3). After that, the transmission of the charging condition data is completed, and the time T required for the smoothing capacitor in the rectifying / smoothing circuit 11 to reach a predetermined charge level is reached.
(Step S4). The charge level does not need to be a level corresponding to the fully charged state, but may be any level close to this.

When the time T has elapsed, the bypass switch 13 is turned on (step S5). However, it is not necessary to set the on-timing of the bypass switch 13 after the elapse of the time T, and there is no problem if the inrush current to the smoothing capacitor falls within an allowable range. Robot 1
May be the timing after the power supply from the power supply device 2 is started after stopping at the charging station.

Thereafter, the mobile robot 1 waits until the mobile robot 1 reaches the charging station (step S6). When the mobile robot 1 reaches the charging station, the power receiving coupler 5 is connected to the power supply coupler 4 of the power supply device 2 side.
Is determined based on a signal from the host controller (step S7). When the power receiving coupler 5 is connected to the power supply coupler 4, the ECU 1 sequentially executes Step S <b> 8 of turning off the auxiliary power switch 23 and Step S <b> 9 of turning on the power switch 8, and then executes the ECU 1.
5, a step S10 of giving a charge start command consisting of a serial signal having an extremely short data length is executed, and the process returns.

Therefore, when the mobile robot 1 arrives at the charging station and the power supply coupler 4 and the power receiving coupler 5 are connected, the charging start command is output from the charging controller 19 and the battery by the charger 9 is output. 1
7, the charging operation starts immediately. In order to immediately start the charging operation as described above, the timing at which the interrupt signal is given from the upper controller (not shown) to the charging control controller 19 is determined by the time when the mobile robot 1 arrives at the charging station and the power supply coupler 4 and the power reception coupler 5 change. It is necessary to set the time at least a time T or more before the time when the connection state is established.

In short, according to the above-described embodiment, when the mobile robot 1 is stopped at the charging station,
The charger 9 mounted on the mobile robot 1 rectifies and smoothes the AC power output of the power supply device 2 provided at the charging station, and the battery 17 is charged by the rectified and smoothed output. In this case, the auxiliary power switch 23 is turned on at a predetermined timing before the mobile robot 1 reaches the charging station, whereby the large-capacity smoothing provided in the charger 9 by the output of the battery 17 is performed. Control for charging the storage capacitor to a predetermined level, that is, control for starting up the charger 9 in advance.

For this reason, the time from when the mobile robot 1 reaches the charging station to when the charging of the battery 17 is started can be reduced to near zero time at the maximum, and the time loss as in the conventional configuration can be reduced. There is no danger of occurrence. As a result, even in a situation where the stop time at the charging station is limited to a relatively short time, the charging time for the battery 17 can be ensured as long as possible. This can be prevented beforehand. Therefore, the possibility that the mobile robot 1 is stopped only for charging is reduced, and the power of the mobile robot 1 is improved.

At the time before the mobile robot 1 reaches the charging station, the ECU 15 in the charger 9
Is turned on, and charging condition data by the charger 9 determined based on the state of the battery 17 is transmitted to the ECU 15.
After the mobile robot 1 arrives at the charging station, the charger 9 is operated based on the charging condition data received as described above.
Then, the charging operation of the battery 17 through the battery is started immediately. Therefore, no time loss occurs due to the required transmission time of the charging condition data between the time when the mobile robot 1 arrives at the charging station and the time when the charging operation by the charger 9 is started. For this reason, also from this aspect, the time from when the mobile robot 1 reaches the charging station to when the charging of the battery 17 is started can be reduced, and a time loss as in the conventional configuration may occur. And the power of the mobile robot 1 is improved as described above.

Further, since the resistance element 12 for suppressing the rush current flowing into the smoothing capacitor in the charger 9 is provided, there is an advantage that the circuit elements constituting the charger 9 are not adversely affected. In particular, when such a resistance element 12 is provided, there is a situation that the time until the charger 9 rises becomes longer. Therefore, it is necessary to perform the control for previously activating the charger 9 as described above. Very useful.

Further, since the charging condition data is transmitted as a serial signal, there is an advantage that the hardware configuration can be simplified. In particular, in the case of such a configuration in which serial communication is performed, the time required for transmitting the charging condition data becomes long, so that the power supply of the ECU 15 is established and the E
It is very useful to perform control for transmitting charging condition data to the CU 15 in advance.

In the above embodiment, the power supply of the ECU 15 is started when the mobile robot 1 reaches the charging station soon.
Since the power consumption of the CU 15 is small, the power supply of the CU 15 may be always activated.
In this case, the standby switch 22 becomes unnecessary.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a main part of control contents of a charge control controller;

[Description of Signs] 1 is a mobile robot, 2 is a power supply device, 3 is a commercial AC power supply,
4 is a power supply coupler, 5 is a power receiving coupler, 6 is a main power line, 8 is a power switch, 9 is a charger, 11 is a rectifying and smoothing circuit, 12
Is a resistance element (current limiting means), 13 is a bypass switch (switch element), 14 is a switching circuit, 15 is an ECU (charge state control circuit), 16 is a rectifying and smoothing circuit,
Reference numeral 7 denotes a battery, 19 denotes a charge control controller (charge control means), 22 denotes a standby switch, and 23 denotes an auxiliary power switch.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A mobile robot configured to charge a battery for driving a load while stopped at a charging station, wherein the mobile robot is provided so as to be supplied with power from an external AC power supply during a period when the charging station is stopped, A charger for charging the battery with an output obtained by rectifying and smoothing the output of the AC power supply; and a smoothing unit provided in the charger by supplying the battery output to the charger before reaching the charging station. A mobile robot equipped with charging control means for controlling charging of a capacitor to a predetermined level. 2. An input section of the charger is provided with current limiting means for suppressing an inrush current flowing into the smoothing capacitor, and a switch element for selectively short-circuiting both ends of the current limiting means. The mobile robot according to claim 1, wherein: 3. A mobile robot configured to charge a battery for driving a load while stopped at a charging station, wherein the mobile robot is provided so as to be supplied with power from an external AC power supply during a period when the charging station is stopped. A charger for charging the battery with an output obtained by rectifying and smoothing the output of the AC power supply; a charging control unit for determining a charging condition of the charger based on a state of the battery; and the charging condition data from the charging control unit. And a charge state control circuit configured to control a charge state of the battery through the charger based on the received charge condition data. At the point of time, an operation of transmitting the charging condition data to the charging state control circuit is performed. Mobile robot and butterflies. 4. The mobile robot according to claim 3, wherein the charging control means transmits the charging condition data to the charging state control circuit as a serial signal.