JP2001003398A - Hybrid construction machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To urgently operate an electric motor to secure safety when electric power can not be obtained from a generator and a main battery due to a failure or the like. SOLUTION: An electric motor 15 or the like can be operated by the electric power of a generator 11 driven by an engine 10, the electric power of a main battery 12 capable of charging the electric power of the generator 11 and the electric power of an auxiliary battery 42. The electric motor 15 or the like is operated by at least one normal electric power of the generator 11 and the main battery 12 during normal operation. During urgent operation where the electric motor 15 or the like can not be operated, a changeover switch 43 capable of changing over to operate the electric motor 15 or the like by the auxiliary electric power of an auxiliary battery 42 is provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hybrid construction machine such as a hybrid shovel for performing various operations by combining an engine and a battery.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, construction machines such as shovels are configured so that a hydraulic pump is driven by an engine and an actuator is driven by the hydraulic pressure. However, this configuration copes with a large load change during operation. As described above, the work needs to be performed while the engine output is largely fluctuated, so that the fuel efficiency is poor and there are also problems in environmental aspects such as noise and exhaust gas.

Therefore, in recent years, an electric motor or a generator is connected to the engine to convert part or all of the engine output into electric power, and the surplus electric power is charged to the battery while the light load operation is being performed. A hybrid construction machine and a control device therefor have been developed and proposed in which electric power is taken out of a battery at the time of load work and used for heavy load work (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-48501 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-4258).
No. 7). With this configuration, for example, FIG.
As shown in the figure, the variation of the work load (work energy) can be smoothed by charging and discharging the battery, so that even if the work load (work energy) fluctuates greatly, the fluctuation of the engine output can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to achieve good fuel efficiency, low noise, and low exhaust gas.

[0004]

However, in the above-described conventional configuration, when the engine, the generator, the battery, and the like fail to obtain power from the generator or the battery, the motor is operated. Therefore, subsequent operations cannot be performed. Therefore, for example, if the shovel fails when the boom is raised, the boom is stopped at an upper position, and this state is left until the repair is completed, thereby causing a safety problem.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a hybrid construction machine capable of ensuring safety by operating an electric motor urgently when electric power cannot be obtained from a generator or a battery due to a failure or the like. Things.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 comprises: an electric power of a generator driven by an engine; an electric power of a main battery capable of charging the electric power of the generator; A hybrid construction machine in which an electric motor is made operable with electric power of an auxiliary battery, wherein the electric motor is operated by normal electric power of at least one of the generator and the main battery during normal operation, and the electric motor is operated by the normal electric power. In the case of an emergency operation that cannot be performed, switching means is provided which can be switched to operate the electric motor with the auxiliary power of the auxiliary battery.

According to the above configuration, when normal power cannot be supplied to the electric motor due to a failure of the generator or the main battery during the normal operation, switching to the auxiliary battery is performed by the switching means. Emergency operation can be performed by operating the motor with the auxiliary power from the battery, so move the construction machine to a safe place or return to a safe position to ensure safety before repairing the faulty part be able to.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the hybrid construction machine according to the first aspect, wherein the hybrid construction machine further comprises a motor selecting means for selecting a motor operated by the auxiliary power during the emergency operation. According to the above configuration, since only the motor selected by the motor selection means operates with the auxiliary power, it is possible to employ an auxiliary battery having a smaller capacity than a main battery that needs to operate many motors simultaneously. Thus, the size of the auxiliary battery can be reduced, so that the size of the construction machine due to the mounting of the auxiliary battery can be suppressed to a necessary minimum.
Further, by preventing unintended operation due to erroneous operation, safety can be further improved.

A third aspect of the present invention is the hybrid construction machine according to the first or second aspect, which is a hybrid shovel. According to the above configuration,
Since the hybrid shovel takes various postures such as raising a boom and an arm, the hybrid shovel can be suitably applied when stopped in such a posture.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In the following description, a hybrid shovel employing a series hybrid system will be described, but the present invention can also be applied to a hybrid shovel employing a parallel hybrid system. As shown in FIG. 3, a hybrid shovel, which is a hybrid construction machine according to the present embodiment, includes a lower traveling unit 1, an upper revolving unit 2 rotatably provided at a center of an upper surface of the lower traveling unit 1, and an upper revolving unit 2. And a digging attachment 3 provided at the front of the revolving unit 2. The lower traveling body 1 includes a pair of crawler frames 4 arranged in parallel at both ends, a crawler frame 5 rotatably provided around each of the crawler frames 4, and a crawler 5 that comes into contact with the ground in a planar manner. Driving speed reducers 35 and 36 and electric motor 6
・ 7. The lower traveling body 1 configured as described above rotates the respective crawlers 5 individually in the forward and reverse directions by the electric motors 6 and 7 via the speed reducers 35 and 36, so that the entire shovel is placed on the ground. Forward, backward, rotate and turn.

In the center of the upper surface of the lower traveling body 1, a turning shaft 8a is provided orthogonal to the lower traveling body 1. A revolving frame 8 that forms part of the upper revolving unit 2 is rotatably provided above the revolving shaft 8a. On the upper surface of the revolving frame 8, a cabin 9 serving as an operator's cockpit and a machine housing 41 covered with a protective cover 40 are provided.
One end of the boom 17 and one end of the boom cylinder 18 are provided rotatably in the vertical direction.

The turning motor 13 is provided in the machine housing 41.
And a speed reducer 14, and an integrated boom actuator A1 integrally provided with a boom motor 15 and a boom pump 16. The turning electric motor 13 drives the turning frame 8 to turn around the turning shaft 8 a through the speed reducer 14. The integrated actuator for boom A1 is connected to the boom cylinder 18 via a hydraulic pipe (not shown).
By moving the cylinder rod of the boom cylinder 18 forward and backward by hydraulic pressure, the tip end (the other end) of the boom 17 is moved up and down.

An arm 1 is provided at the tip of the boom 17.
9 is provided rotatably. At the tip of the arm 19, a bucket 21 is provided rotatably. Also,
The boom 17 and the arm 19 are connected via an arm cylinder 20, and the arm 19 and the bucket 21
They are connected via a bucket cylinder 22. These cylinders 20 and 22 are provided with an integral arm actuator A2 and an integral bucket actuator A3, respectively.
Is configured such that the motors 23 and 25 and the pumps 24 and 26 are integrated. Then, each actuator A2 · A
3 moves the arm 19 and the bucket 21 up and down by moving the cylinder rods of the cylinders 20 and 22 by hydraulic pressure.

In addition to the turning electric motor 13 and the boom-integrated actuator A1, the engine housing 10 and the AC power according to the rotation speed (engine output) of the engine 10 are generated in the machine housing 41. The power generator 11 includes a main battery 12 used during normal operation, an auxiliary battery 42 used during emergency operation when the main battery 12 becomes unusable, and the like. The two batteries 12
A secondary battery such as a lead storage battery or a nickel hydride storage battery capable of repeatedly charging and discharging power is used for the battery.

As shown in FIG. 1, the generator 11
It is connected to the motor controller 37 of the control device.
The motor controller 37 includes the various motors 6 and 7 described above.
13, 15, 23, 25 and a changeover switch 4 connected to the main battery 12 and the auxiliary battery 42.
3 are connected. The changeover switch 43 includes three switch units 43a to 43c that can be switched in two directions.
System, and two switch units 43a and 43b
Is used to switch between charging and stopping the main battery 12, and the remaining one switch unit 43 c is used to switch between discharging from the main battery 12 and discharging from the auxiliary battery 42. And the changeover switch 43
Are set so that all the switch units 43a to 43c connect the main battery 12 and the motor controller 37 during the normal operation, and the switch units 43a and 43b are disconnected from the main battery 12 during the emergency operation. The unit 43c is switched to connect the auxiliary battery 42 and the motor controller 37. The switching operation of the changeover switch 43 may be performed manually by an operator or automatically when an abnormality such as a power drop is detected.

The motor controller 37 has a power conversion function (inverter function) for converting AC power from the generator 11 to DC power, DC power from the batteries 12 and 42 to AC power, and an operation lever. For example, AC power obtained by power conversion from the main battery 12 based on the operation signal from
25, a normal charging mechanism for charging the main battery 12 with the electric power generated by the generator 11, and the regenerative electric power generated by each electric motor 6, 7, 13, 15, 23, 25 to the main battery 12. Various functions such as a regenerative charging function for charging are provided, and these functions are arbitrarily executed based on the amount of charge of the main battery 12, the amount of power generated by the generator 11, and the like.

The motor controller 37 has a battery switching detecting section 52 and an actuator switching section 53. The changeover switch 43 is connected to the battery changeover detection section 52, and detects the changeover state of each of the switch sections 43 a to 43 c in the changeover switch 43 and outputs the changeover detection signal to the actuator changeover section 53.
The actuator switching unit 53 is connected to the operation lever 45 and the actuator selection switch 54 in addition to the battery switching detection unit 52 described above. These operation lever 45 and actuator selection switch 54
The operation lever 45 is provided in the cabin 9 of FIG.
Outputs an operation signal corresponding to the amount of operation by the operator. Further, the actuator selection switch 54 is provided with electric motors 6, 7.
Used when the operator designates 13, 15, 23, 25.

The actuator switching section 53 to which the signals are inputted from the sections 45, 52 and 54 as described above monitors the switching detection signal from the battery switching detection section 52 while executing the actuator selection routine of FIG. When it is recognized based on this signal that the motor is connected to the main battery 12, all the motors 6, 7, 13, 1
5, 23 and 25, while the auxiliary battery 4
2 is recognized as being connected to the specific motor 6, 7,.
Only 13, 15, 23, 25 are enabled.

The operation of the hybrid shovel in the above configuration will be described. When the operator in the cabin 9 shown in FIG. 3 performs a start operation such as turning an operation key to turn on the power to the motor controller 37 and operate the engine 10, the motor controller 37 first The charge amount of the battery 12 is checked, and if the charge amount is insufficient, the main battery 12 is charged by converting the AC power generated by the generator 11 rotationally driven by the engine 10 into DC power. If the amount of charge of the main battery 12 is extremely insufficient, the output (rotational speed) of the engine 10 is increased to increase the amount of power generated by the generator 11, so that the charge of the main battery 12 is quickly performed. Do. On the other hand, if the charge amount of the main battery 12 is sufficient, the output (rotation speed) of the engine 10 is set to the minimum idling state or the engine 10 is stopped to prevent the main battery 12 from being excessively charged. It waits until an operation signal is input from the operation lever 45.

Next, when the operator operates the operation lever 45 so as to perform a predetermined operation, the operation lever 45 outputs an operation signal corresponding to the operation amount. The operation signal is input to the actuator switching unit 53 of the motor controller 37. At this time, the actuator switching unit 53 monitors the connection state (selection state) of the switch 43 based on the switching detection signal from the battery switching detection unit 52 while executing the actuator selection routine of FIG. S1). When it is recognized that the motor 6 is connected to the main battery 12 (S1, YES), each of the electric motors 6 is operated with an operation amount corresponding to an operation signal from the operation lever 45.
Work is performed using normal power from the main battery 12 and the generator 11 so as to operate 7, 13, 15, 23, and 25.

Next, during the operation, when the engine 10, the generator 11, the main battery 12, etc. fail, the normal electric power is supplied to the electric motors 6, 7, 13, 15, 15, 23, 25. When the operation becomes impossible, the boom 17 and the arm 19 shown in FIG. 3 are stopped during the operation. For example, when the boom 17 is stopped in the posture rotated upward, there is a possibility that the boom 17 may suddenly drop by its own weight during repair of a failed part, which is extremely dangerous for the worker. In addition, when the vehicle is stopped on a slope, the balance of the shovel is poor, and it is necessary to handle a repair tool while the shovel is inclined.

Therefore, if the operation stops during the operation,
When the operator switches the connection state of the changeover switch 43 from the main battery 12 to the auxiliary battery 42,
The auxiliary power of the auxiliary battery 42 is
Can be supplied to each of the electric motors 6, 7, 13, 15, 23, 25 via the. When the connection state of the changeover switch 43 is switched, the battery switching detection unit 52 that has detected the connection state outputs a switching detection signal indicating that the connection state to the auxiliary battery 42 is present to the actuator switching unit 53. Then, when the actuator switching unit 53 recognizes that it is in the connection state to the auxiliary battery 42 based on the switching detection signal (S1, NO), it takes in the selection signal from the actuator selection switch 54, and based on this selection signal. It is determined whether the operation of the boom 17 has been selected (S3). For example, when the boom 17 stops in the posture rotated upward, if the operator specifies “boom selection” on the actuator selection switch 54, it is determined that the boom 17 is selected (S3, YES), and
Only the boom motor 15 can be operated by the electric power from the auxiliary battery 42 (S4). Thus, the boom 17 can be lowered to a safe position by operating the operation lever 45 by the operator, and even if an erroneous operation is performed, the shovel is not operated by an operator's unintended operation.

If the boom 17 has not been selected (S1, NO), it is determined whether the arm 19 has been selected (S5). If the arm 19 has been selected (S5, YES),
Only the arm motor 23 is enabled (S6). On the other hand, if not selected (S5, NO), bucket 2
It is determined whether 1 is selected (S7). If the bucket 21 is selected (S7, YE
S), while enabling only the bucket motor 25 (S8), if not selected (S7, NO), it is determined whether or not the turning operation is selected (S9). If the turning operation is selected (S9, YES), only the turning electric motor 13 is made operable (S10). If not (S9, NO), it is determined whether the traveling operation is selected. It is determined (S11), and if the traveling operation is selected (S11, YES), only the left traveling electric motor 6 and the right traveling electric motor 7 are enabled (S12).

Then, after the specific electric motors 6, 7, 13, 15, 15, 23, 25 selected in this way are made operable and the shovel is moved to a safe position or a safe place,
Perform fault detection and repair. Thereafter, when the repair is completed, the changeover switch 43 is switched to a state of connection to the main battery 12, whereby the all motors 6, 7, 13, and 15 are switched.
・ Work on normal operation with 23 and 25 operable with normal power.

As described above, the hybrid shovel according to the present embodiment includes the power of the generator 11 driven by the engine 10, the power of the main battery 12 capable of charging the power of the generator 11, and the power of the auxiliary battery 42. The motor 15 and the like are made operable in this manner.
1 and the main battery 12 to operate the electric motor 15 and the like with normal electric power, while the auxiliary battery 42 is used for emergency operation when the electric motor 15 and the like cannot be operated with normal electric power.
And a changeover switch 43 (switching means) for switching the electric motor 15 and the like with the auxiliary power.

According to the above configuration, when normal power cannot be supplied to the motor 15 or the like due to a failure of the generator 11 or the main battery 12 during normal operation,
By switching to the auxiliary battery 42 by the changeover switch 43, the electric motor 15 and the like can be operated with the auxiliary power from the auxiliary battery 42 to perform an emergency operation.
After the construction machine has been moved to a safe place or returned to a safe position to ensure safety, repair of the failed part can be performed.

The hybrid shovel is provided with an actuator selection switch 54 (motor selection means) capable of selecting the motor 15 or the like operated by auxiliary power during an emergency operation. As a result, since only the electric motor 15 and the like selected by the actuator selection switch 54 operate with the auxiliary power, the auxiliary battery 42 having a smaller capacity than the main battery 12 which needs to operate many electric motors 15 and the like at the same time is used. Can be. Accordingly, the size of the auxiliary battery 42 can be reduced, so that an increase in the size of the shovel due to the mounting of the auxiliary battery 42 can be suppressed to a minimum. Further, by preventing unintended operation due to erroneous operation, safety can be further improved.

The configuration of the present embodiment can be suitably applied to a hybrid shovel that takes various postures such as raising the boom 17 and the arm 19.
The present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to all hybrid construction machines such as bulldozers and cranes.

[0029]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the motor can be operated by the power of the generator driven by the engine, the power of the main battery capable of charging the power of the generator, and the power of the auxiliary battery. The hybrid construction machine, wherein the electric motor is operated by normal electric power of at least one of the generator and the main battery during normal operation, while the auxiliary electric power of the auxiliary battery is used during emergency operation when the electric motor cannot be operated with the normal electric power. This is a configuration having switching means capable of switching to operate the electric motor.

According to the above configuration, when normal power cannot be supplied to the motor during normal operation due to a failure of the generator, the main battery, or the like, switching to the auxiliary battery is performed by the switching means. Emergency operation can be performed by operating the motor with the auxiliary power from the battery, so move the construction machine to a safe place or return to a safe position to ensure safety before repairing the faulty part It has the effect of being able to do so.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the hybrid construction machine according to the first aspect, wherein the hybrid construction machine further comprises a motor selecting means for selecting a motor operated by the auxiliary power during the emergency operation. According to the above configuration, since only the motor selected by the motor selection means operates with the auxiliary power, it is possible to employ an auxiliary battery having a smaller capacity than a main battery that needs to operate many motors simultaneously. Thus, the size of the auxiliary battery can be reduced, so that the size of the construction machine due to the mounting of the auxiliary battery can be suppressed to a necessary minimum. further,
By preventing unintended operation due to erroneous operation,
There is an effect that safety can be further improved.

A third aspect of the present invention is the hybrid construction machine according to the first or second aspect, wherein the hybrid construction machine is a hybrid shovel. According to the above configuration, since the hybrid shovel takes various postures such as raising the boom and the arm, there is an effect that the hybrid shovel can be suitably applied when stopped in such a posture.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a control device of a hybrid shovel.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an actuator selection routine.

FIG. 3 is an overall schematic side view of the hybrid shovel.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of charge and discharge of a battery when working in a hybrid system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lower traveling body 2 Upper revolving superstructure 3 Excavation attachment 4 Crawler frame 5 Crawler 8 Revolving frame 9 Cabin 10 Engine 11 Generator 12 Main battery 13 Turning motor 14 Reduction gear 15 Boom motor 16 Boom pump 17 Boom 18 Boom cylinder 19 Arm 20 Arm cylinder 21 Bucket 22 Bucket cylinder 23 Electric motor for arm 24 Arm pump 41 Machine accommodating part 42 Auxiliary battery 43 Switching switch 45 Operating lever 52 Battery switching detecting part 53 Actuator switching part 54 Actuator selecting switch

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2D003 AA01 AB06 BA05 BA07 CA02 CA10 DA04 3G093 AA07 AA10 AA16 BA12 CB14 EC01 3H089 BB01 CC01 CC08 DA06 DA14 GG02 JJ02 5H115 PA08 PG10 PI15 PI16 PI24 PO17 PU08 PU26 PV09 Q08 Q16 TZ14

Claims (3)

[Claims] An electric power of a generator driven by an engine,
A hybrid construction machine in which an electric motor is made operable with electric power of a main battery capable of charging electric power of the generator and electric power of an auxiliary battery, the normal electric power of at least one of the generator and the main battery being in normal operation. While operating the electric motor by
A hybrid construction machine, comprising: switching means capable of switching to operate the motor with the auxiliary power of the auxiliary battery during an emergency operation in which the motor cannot be operated with the normal power. 2. The hybrid construction machine according to claim 1, further comprising: a motor selecting unit that can select a motor operated by the auxiliary power during the emergency operation. 3. The hybrid construction machine according to claim 1, wherein the hybrid construction machine is a hybrid shovel.