JP2001325994A - Automatic guided vehicle and its cell management system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic guided vehicle and its cell management system, managed so that a secondary cell used as a power source of the automatic guided vehicle may not run into a stage of overcharge and over-discharge. SOLUTION: A charge/discharge-electricity monitor 6 with which the automatic guided vehicle is equipped, by detecting a cell voltage, a module voltage, a charge/discharge-electricity current, and a cell temperature, demands a charging to a run control equipment 2, when a charge capacity calculated in running gets to allowable minimum line set in running. An automatic guided vehicle 1 is carried out run control and charged in a charge position with a charger 3. The charge/discharge-electricity monitor 6 carries out a charge end demand, when it becomes a permissible maximum line in running to which charge capacity was set by charge, and run control equipment 2 stops charge. A secondary battery 25 is prevented from an overcharge or a fault discharge by this control.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic guided vehicle and, more particularly, to an automatic guided vehicle for managing charging and discharging of a secondary battery, which is a power source of the automatic guided vehicle, so as not to cause overcharging and overdischarging. The present invention relates to a car and its battery management system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A lead-sealed storage battery is generally used as a power supply for an automatic guided vehicle. By replacing this battery with a nickel-metal hydride storage battery or a nickel-cadmium storage battery, it is possible to increase the power performance of the automatic guided vehicle. it can.

[0003]

However, a nickel-hydrogen storage battery has a high energy density, and if overcharged or overdischarged, the battery is destroyed and hydrogen is released to the outside. In particular, when an automatic guided vehicle travels in a closed space such as a clean room, the generation of hydrogen causes a serious obstacle. Therefore, accurate charge / discharge control that does not cause overcharge or overdischarge is required.

In addition, even when a nickel-cadmium storage battery is used, when the battery is destroyed due to overcharging or overdischarging, an obstacle to release hydrogen to the outside and release of harmful cadmium are released. In particular, accurate charge / discharge control is required from the viewpoint of a suitable environment.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a nickel alloy.
An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic guided vehicle capable of accurately performing charge / discharge control in an automatic guided vehicle using a secondary battery such as a hydrogen storage battery as a power supply, and a battery management system for the automatic guided vehicle.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic guided vehicle which travels on a transport route using a secondary battery as a power source, wherein the vehicle travels from a traveling position on the transport route. It is characterized by comprising a monitor means for monitoring the charge / discharge state of the secondary battery so that the secondary battery does not become overdischarged before traveling to a charging position provided at a predetermined position on the transport route and charging. The monitor means monitors the discharge state in consideration of the charge capacity consumed from traveling from the traveling position to the charging position until the battery is charged, so that the monitoring means can travel to the charging position before overdischarging. It can be charged before the next battery is overdischarged.

In the above configuration, the monitoring means monitors the charging capacity so as not to be below the discharge critical line, which is the limit of overdischarging, thereby preventing the rechargeable battery from being overdischarged.

In addition, the monitoring means is provided when the charging capacity reaches a minimum allowable driving time line set on the safe side from the discharge critical line in anticipation of the consumption of the charging capacity from the traveling position to the charging position. By moving the carrier to the charging position, charging is performed before the discharge critical line is reached, thereby preventing the secondary battery from falling into an overdischarged state.

Further, the monitoring means can control the power supply of the automatic guided vehicle to be turned off when the charge capacity becomes equal to or less than the discharge critical line, thereby preventing damage to the secondary battery due to overdischarge.

The monitoring means monitors a charge capacity calculated based on a battery voltage or a discharge current of the secondary battery as a charge capacity, and detects a charge capacity at which the secondary battery is overdischarged to prevent overdischarge. Can be achieved.

The monitoring means monitors the battery voltage of the secondary battery as a discharge critical line, and monitors the charge capacity calculated based on the discharge current as the minimum allowable line during running, thereby obtaining the charge capacity of the secondary battery. Accurate detection suitable for battery voltage characteristics can be performed.

In addition, the monitor means sets the minimum allowable line during driving on the safe side from the critical discharge line in consideration of the detection error of the battery voltage and current, the calculation error of the charging capacity, and the fluctuation of the battery voltage due to the battery temperature. By monitoring, the allowable minimum line at the time of traveling does not exceed the discharge critical line due to errors and fluctuations, and it is possible to prevent overdischarge due to errors and fluctuations.

The monitoring means has a function of monitoring the secondary battery so as not to be overcharged at the time of charging, thereby preventing overcharge at the time of charging and preventing the secondary battery from being damaged by overcharging. be able to.

[0014] The monitor means monitors the charge capacity at or below the travel allowable upper limit line set on the safe side from the charge critical line, which is the limit for overcharging, to thereby maintain the travel allowable upper limit line. Overcharging is prevented.

Further, the monitoring means sets the allowable upper limit line at the time of traveling in consideration of the detection error of the battery voltage or the current and the like, thereby preventing the detection error from exceeding the allowable upper limit line at the time of traveling and becoming overcharged. .

Further, the monitoring means includes means for detecting the temperature of the secondary battery, so that the charge / discharge monitoring corresponding to the characteristic of the secondary battery that changes with the temperature can be performed.

Further, the monitoring means sets and monitors an allowable upper limit line during traveling in consideration of a change in the battery voltage due to the temperature of the secondary battery, so that overcharging corresponding to a change in the battery characteristics due to the battery temperature is performed. Monitoring can be performed.

Further, by providing the cooling means for the secondary battery, the temperature rise of the secondary battery is suppressed, the deterioration of the secondary battery due to the temperature rise is prevented, and the change in the characteristics due to the temperature fluctuation is suppressed to overcharge. In addition, a detection value for preventing overdischarge can be accurately obtained.

A battery unit in which a secondary battery and a cooling fan are integrated is provided, and this battery unit is detachably mounted on an automatic guided vehicle so that the secondary battery can be cooled efficiently and the battery can be replaced. Easy.

Also, a gap is formed between the parallel arrangement of the cells constituting the secondary battery, and all the cells can be cooled uniformly by blowing air between the gaps, and the temperature of each cell can be averaged. Can be kept.

The monitor means records the transition data of the charge capacity of the secondary battery as a history of the charge / discharge cycle, so that the monitor means itself records the history of the charge / discharge cycle of the secondary battery and Can be determined.

The monitoring means can be integrated with the battery unit so as to be detachable from the automatic guided vehicle, can be replaced together with the battery unit, and can monitor the history of the charge / discharge cycle of the secondary battery. Can be obtained together with the secondary battery.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of automatic guided vehicles running on a transport route using a secondary battery as a power source, and travel control for controlling travel of the automatic guided vehicle by communicating with each of the automatic guided vehicles. An automatic guided vehicle that includes a device and a charger that is installed at a charging position provided at a predetermined position on the transport route and charges the secondary battery, and that controls charging and discharging of the secondary battery included in the automatic guided vehicle. In the battery management system, the automatic guided vehicle includes a monitoring unit that monitors charging / discharging of the secondary battery so as to prevent the secondary battery from being overdischarged by moving from a traveling position to the charging position and charging. Wherein when the charging request is output from the monitoring means, the travel control device controls the automatic guided vehicle having output the charging request toward the charging position. If the charging request from the step is output,
Since the travel control device causes the automatic guided vehicle to travel to the charging position and charges the secondary battery, the secondary battery can travel the automatic guided vehicle without causing overdischarge.

In the above-mentioned battery management system, the monitor means is configured such that the remaining charge amount in the minimum allowable driving line set on the safer side than the discharge critical line in anticipation of the consumption of the charging capacity from the traveling position to the charging position. By outputting the charging request when the charging time is reached, the secondary battery is prevented from reaching the critical line before traveling to the charging position.

The monitor means monitors the state of charge so as not to be overcharged, and the travel control device stops charging by the charger in response to the notification from the monitor means, thereby preventing overcharge. it can.

In addition, by stopping the charging after a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of charging, even when the charging is not stopped due to a failure in the operation of the device, the charging is stopped by the time control, so that the overcharging due to the failure can be prevented. .

Further, the monitor means transmits the transition data of the charge capacity of the secondary battery to the traveling control device, and the traveling control device records the transition data as a history of the charging / discharging cycle to thereby advance the progress of the charging / discharging cycle. The state of deterioration of the secondary battery due to the above.

By recording only the values at the start of charging and at the end of charging as the transition data, it is possible to obtain the history of the charging / discharging cycle by recording the values at both ends which change linearly from the start of charging to the end of charging. And the recording capacity can be reduced.

In the history of the charge / discharge cycle, when the difference between the value at the start of charging and the value at the end of charging becomes smaller than a predetermined value, it can be determined that the secondary battery has deteriorated. Take measures to replace the secondary battery.

Further, the monitoring means stops charging when the voltage difference between the plurality of battery modules is equal to or more than a predetermined value and when the battery temperature is equal to or more than the predetermined value, thereby preventing rare short-circuit of the unit cell. Deterioration or battery destruction due to charging at a high battery temperature is prevented.

Further, the charger can identify the contact of the foreign object by detecting the voltage of the automatic guided vehicle that has moved to the charging position, and can prevent an accident such as a short circuit due to the contact of the foreign object. Further, when the voltage is equal to or higher than the predetermined value, a process of stopping charging is performed, so that overcharging can be prevented.

[0032]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings to provide an understanding of the present invention.
The embodiment described below is an example embodying the present invention, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

The battery management system for an automatic guided vehicle according to the present embodiment is configured so that a plurality of automatic guided vehicles 1 can travel on a set traveling route 12, as shown in FIG. The traveling of each automatic guided vehicle 1 is controlled by the traveling control device 2. The automatic guided vehicle 1 travels using a secondary battery as a power source, and when the charge capacity of the secondary battery is out of a predetermined range, the charger 3 is controlled by the travel control device 2.
Is moved to the charging position 3a where is disposed, and as shown in FIG. 2, the secondary battery is charged by the charger 3 from the lower part of the automatic guided vehicle 1. The charging power is supplied to the charger 3 from the charging power supply device 4.

As shown in FIG. 3, the automatic guided vehicle 1
A secondary battery 25 in which two nickel-hydrogen storage batteries are connected in series and a battery unit 5 provided with a cooling fan 26 for cooling the battery module 25a, and a traveling motor 15 Power source. The charge / discharge state and the abnormal state of the battery unit 5 are monitored by a charge / discharge monitor (monitor means) 6.

The charge / discharge monitor 6 uses the detection means 7 to
Battery 2 with two battery modules 25a in series
5, the battery voltage of each battery module 25a, the charge / discharge current, and the battery temperature are detected, and the charge capacity of the secondary battery 5 is calculated from the charge / discharge current detected by the capacity calculation means 8. Charging determination means 9 determines whether or not charging is necessary based on the charging capacity and the module voltage.
Further, the abnormal state of the secondary battery 5 is determined from each detected value and the calculated charging capacity by the abnormality determining means 10.

The automatic guided vehicle 1 and the travel control device 2 are connected by wireless communication, and the charge judging means 8 sends the request signal output means 11 to the request signal output means 11 when the calculated charge capacity becomes 50% or less. It outputs a charge request signal. The request signal output means 11 outputs a charge request signal and an identification signal of the automatic guided vehicle 1 to the traveling control device 2. The travel control device 2 that has received the charge request signal identifies the automatic guided vehicle 1 that has output the charge request signal from the identification signal, and controls travel of the corresponding automatic guided vehicle 1 to travel as shown in FIG. The vehicle is made to travel toward the charging position 3a set at an arbitrary position off the material transport route on the route 12.

As a judgment for outputting the charge request signal,
The reason why the charging capacity is set to 50% or less will be described with reference to the graphs shown in FIGS. FIG. 4 shows changes in charge capacity and battery voltage during charging and discharging of the secondary battery 25.
52 indicates a discharging time and 53 indicates a charging time. Here, the battery voltage corresponding to the discharge critical line S0 as the discharge limit of the nickel-metal hydride storage battery is set to 21V. When the battery voltage becomes equal to or lower than the battery voltage, the abnormality determination unit 10 determines that the battery is overdischarged, that is, an abnormal state. When this abnormal state occurs, it is sufficient that the vehicle can be charged immediately, but in order to charge it, the automatic guided vehicle 1 needs to travel to the charging position 3a, and the charging capacity during the movement from the current position to the charging position 3a. It is necessary to consider a decrease in battery voltage due to battery consumption.

In this embodiment, even if the automatic guided vehicle 1 is traveling at any position on the traveling route 12 and moves from that position to the nearest vacant charging position 3a, the discharge critical line S0 is established. Battery voltage 21
In order to avoid V
1 is a charge capacity of 50%. In addition, the permissible minimum line S1 at the time of traveling is the charging position 3 from the current position.
In addition to the decrease in the battery voltage due to the exhaustion of the charge capacity during the movement to a, the detection error of the detection means 7, the calculation error of the capacity calculation means 8, the fluctuation of the battery voltage due to the temperature change, and other conditions. It is set in consideration of the charging capacity and is set to 50%. When the vehicle travels below the permissible minimum line S1, the automatic guided vehicle 1 outputs a charge request signal. Therefore, the charging capacity 5
Even if 0% is detected and a charge request is issued, and the vehicle moves to the charge position 3a from that point, the discharge critical line S0 does not fall below the line S0, and overdischarge does not occur. The traveling allowable minimum line S1 can be changed according to the length of the traveling line 12. For example, when the traveling route 12 is long, the charging capacity can be set to a value higher than 50%. In addition, the reason why the discharge critical line S0 is the battery voltage and the driving allowable minimum line S1 is the charge capacity will be described. As shown in the graph of FIG. 5 showing the relationship between the charge capacity and the battery voltage, the charge capacity is 50%. In the state of ６０60%, there is no large change in the battery voltage, and the discharge critical line S0 is specified by the battery voltage. It cannot be accurately detected. Therefore, the traveling allowable minimum line S1 is detected based on the charge capacity.

Note that the discharge critical line S0 is not limited to a voltage value, and the traveling allowable minimum line S1 is not limited to a charge capacity, but a voltage value, a current value, a charge capacity or other charge / discharge state is specified. Anything is fine.

As shown in FIG. 2, the charger 3 is installed below the floor on which the traveling route 12 is provided at the charging position 3a, and is a charging terminal of the automatic guided vehicle 1 that has moved onto the charger 3. The electrode 41 is connected to 16, and the secondary battery 5 is charged by the charging power supplied from the charging power supply device 4 under the control of the traveling control device 2. By installing the charger 3 below the floor on which the traveling route 12 is provided, the installation area of the charger 3 can be reduced. When the charger 3 comes into contact with the charging terminal 16, the voltage between the positive and negative electrodes of the charging terminal 16,
That is, the presence or absence of a voltage between the positive and negative electrodes of the secondary battery 25 is detected, and it is confirmed that the contact is the charging terminal 16, and then the supply of charging power is started. The operation of the charger 3 prevents occurrence of a short circuit or the like due to contact of foreign matter.

As shown in FIGS. 9A to 9C, the electrode 4
Numeral 1 is attached to an electrode block 43, and the electrode block 43 is moved up and down by a linear head (vertical moving means) 42 to enter and exit the floor. FIG.
As shown in (a), during standby, the shutter 46 provided on the side plate 44 closes the opening 50 through which the electrode 41 enters and exits. By being formed obliquely, foreign substances and liquid are discharged to the outside by sliding on the inclined surface, and occurrence of an accident such as a short circuit can be prevented. FIG. 9B
As shown in FIG. 7, when the linear head 42 raises the electrode block 43 during charging, the electrode block 43
Dog plate 4 by a cam follower 47 provided in
5 and the side plate 44 swing to open the opening 50, and the electrode 41 protrudes from the opening 50 onto the floor surface. In this charging operation, when a large foreign object falls into the opening 50 and is not discharged to the outside from the shutter 46 as shown in FIG. 9C, the side plate 44 cannot move and the dog plate 45 moves. Therefore, an abnormal state can be detected by detecting this movement by a sensor (not shown).

The charging of the secondary battery 25 can be performed by calibration charging or normal charging. In the case of calibration charging, when the detection means 7 detects that the battery voltage has exceeded the set upper limit voltage. The charge determination means 9 determines that the charging is completed. Further, in the case of normal charging, the detection means 7 similarly detects that the battery voltage has become equal to or higher than the traveling allowable upper limit line S2 (see FIG. 4) which is the upper limit value at which there is no problem during traveling. When the means 8 detects that the charge capacity has reached 60% or more, the charge determination means 9 determines that charging has been completed. Note that the above-mentioned allowable upper limit line S during traveling is
The detection means 7 is based on a charge critical line S3 (see FIG. 4), which is an upper limit at which overcharging is performed when charging is further performed.
Is set on the safe side in consideration of the detection error of the above and the calculation error of the capacity calculating means 8. In addition, since the battery voltage of the nickel-metal hydride storage battery changes depending on the battery temperature, the allowable upper limit line S2 is set to a value obtained by taking into account the battery temperature corresponding to the charge capacity of 60% and the change due to the battery temperature. When the charge determination means 9 determines that charging has been completed, the request signal output means 11 outputs a charge completion request signal to the travel control device 2. Therefore, the travel control device 2 stops the output of the charging power of the charging power supply device 4. To stop the charging, and return the automatic guided vehicle 1 to the transport operation.

The charger 3 has a timer, and stops the charging operation after a certain period of time has elapsed even when the charge / discharge monitor 6 cannot determine the end of charging. This operation prevents overcharging even when a failure occurs.

As described above, since the rechargeable battery 25 has a charge capacity of between 50% and 60%, overcharge and overdischarge can be prevented. Each time the automatic guided vehicle 1 is charged, charge / discharge data is transmitted to the travel control device 2 and recorded as a charge log. The recording of the charge log can be made only of the data at the start of charging and at the end of charging in order to reduce the recording capacity. As shown in FIG. 6, the charge / discharge data can be represented by a straight line connecting the peaks at the start of charge a and the end of charge b, so that only the data at the peak position can be recorded without recording all. . Since the history of the charge / discharge cycle of the secondary battery 25 is left for each automatic guided vehicle 1 in this charge log, the life of the secondary battery 25, which can be determined from the charge / discharge cycle, is known, and can be used for determining the replacement time. As shown in FIG. 6, since the height difference between the charge start time a and the charge end time b decreases as the charge / discharge cycle progresses, when the height difference becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value, the battery life is determined. When it is determined that the battery life has expired, the travel control device 2 operates the corresponding automatic guided vehicle 1
To replace the battery unit 5 with respect to.

Incidentally, the history of the charge / discharge cycle may be stored in a storage means (not shown) provided in the charge / discharge monitor 6. Further, the charge / discharge monitor 6 may also be integrated with the battery unit 5 so as to be detachable integrally with the battery unit 5 from the automatic guided vehicle 1. In this case, since the battery unit 5 is provided with the charge / discharge monitor 6, even after the battery unit 5 is detached from the automatic guided vehicle 1, it is possible to monitor the charge / discharge and log the history of the charge / discharge cycle.

The history of the charge / discharge cycle may be recorded only when the charge capacity reaches the discharge critical line or the charge critical line, and when the charge capacity reaches the discharge critical line or the charge critical line, The replacement of the battery unit 5 may be instructed when the time interval from when the discharge critical line or the charge critical line is reached immediately before becomes less than a predetermined amount.

The charge / discharge monitor 6 monitors an abnormal state of the secondary battery 25 in addition to detecting the charge / discharge state. The abnormality determination unit 10 determines that the battery voltage, the module voltage, and the battery temperature detected by the detection unit 7 are abnormal when the following states are detected.

As a voltage monitoring function, when the voltage difference between the module voltages of the two battery modules 25a becomes 1 V or more, it is determined that a rare short circuit has occurred in one of the battery cells of one of the battery modules 25a and the battery is charged. To stop. When any one of the module voltages becomes 10.5 V or less, or when the battery voltage becomes 21.0 V or less, it is determined that the critical line S0 or less has been reached. Turn off the power.

Further, as a temperature monitoring function, when the battery temperature becomes higher than a predetermined temperature (40 ° C.) during charging, charging is stopped to prevent overcharging. When a rise in battery temperature is detected, the charge / discharge cycle is lengthened to suppress the rise in temperature. In addition, during charging, the charging current is reduced to suppress a temperature rise.

When an abnormality is detected by the abnormality judging means 10, the abnormal state is transmitted from the request signal output means 11 to the travel control device 2, and the automatic guided vehicle 1 in which the secondary battery 25 becomes unusable. Is removed from the transport operation.

Since the overcharge of the secondary battery 25 leads to the destruction of the battery, the following overcharge prevention function is provided in addition to the above overcharge prevention function.

As described above, the charger 3 detects the charging terminal 16 of the automatic guided vehicle 1 by detecting the voltage. When the detected voltage value is equal to or higher than a predetermined value at which overcharging is performed. Is controlled not to start the charging operation. Further, the timer is provided in the charger 3 as described above, and the charging is forcibly stopped at a set predetermined time. With this function, even when an operation abnormality of the charge / discharge monitor 6 occurs, overcharging can be prevented from being caused by forcibly stopping charging.

This timer can stop charging for a predetermined time (for example, one minute) when the secondary battery 25 is charged by manual operation. In manual operation, overcharging is likely to occur due to forgetting to stop charging, but safety can be achieved by forcibly stopping charging using a timer. The charge control is performed by the charge / discharge monitor 6 even when charging is performed manually.

As shown in FIG. 7, the battery unit 5 is provided with cooling fans 26, 26 at the bottom of the battery container 31. On top of this, as shown in FIG. Battery module 25a integrating storage battery 27
Are arranged. A plurality of rows of projections are formed on the long side surface of the nickel-metal hydride storage battery 27 in the height direction. When the projections face each other, they come into contact with each other.
0 is formed. When the side surface of the battery module 25a is closed by the battery container 31 and blown from the cooling fan 26 in the state of being opened upward, the cooling air passes through the narrow gap of the gap 30 to increase the flow velocity and increase the flow rate of each nickel-metal hydride storage battery. The heat of 27 is effectively taken away and flows upward. Also, since the inner nickel-hydrogen storage battery 27 where heat is most easily accumulated is cooled on both sides of the long side, each nickel-hydrogen storage battery 27 is cooled.
The hydrogen storage battery 27 is cooled uniformly, and the temperature rise is efficiently suppressed.

The battery unit 5 is detachably mounted on the automatic guided vehicle 1 and can be replaced when the battery life has expired or damage has occurred.

In the embodiment described above, a case where a nickel-metal hydride storage battery is used as the secondary battery 25 has been described, but it is also possible to use a nickel-cadmium storage battery.

[0057]

As described above, according to the present invention, the charge / discharge of the secondary battery provided in the automatic guided vehicle is accurately managed, so that damage to the secondary battery due to overcharge or overdischarge can be prevented. In addition, the secondary battery can be protected from an abnormal state that damages the secondary battery, and accidents such as release of hydrogen due to overcharge or destruction of the battery due to the abnormal state can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a battery management system for an automatic guided vehicle according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a charged state of the automatic guided vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a battery management included in the automatic guided vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating the setting of a discharge critical line S0, a traveling allowable minimum line S1, a traveling allowable upper line S2, and a charging critical line S3.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing a relationship between a charging capacity of a secondary battery and a battery voltage.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing transition data of charge and discharge.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a configuration of a battery unit.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a configuration of a battery module.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are diagrams showing the configuration of charging / discharging electrodes of the charger, wherein FIG. 9A shows a standby state, FIG. 9B shows a charging state, and FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Unmanned guided vehicle 2 Travel control device 3 Charger 5 Battery unit 6 Charge / discharge monitor 7 Detecting means 8 Capacity calculating means 9 Charging determining means 10 Abnormality determining means 11 Request signal output means 12 Running route 25 Secondary battery 25a Battery module 26 Cooling Fan 27 Single cell S0 Discharge critical line S1 Permissible minimum line during traveling S2 Permissible upper limit line during traveling S3 Critical charging line

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H02J 7/00 H02J 7/00 P (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Funazo 1006 Kazuma Kazuma, Kadoma City, Osaka Matsushita Electric Within Sangyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shuji Yahagi 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yoichi Sugitomo 1006 Okadoma Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. ( 72) Inventor Nobuo Mino 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture F-term in Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (reference) TI05 TI06 TI10 TR19 TU04 TU11 TU16 TU17 UI29

Claims (32)

[Claims] 1. An unmanned transport vehicle that travels on a transport route using a secondary battery as a power source, and is configured to travel from a travel position on the transport route to a charging position provided at a predetermined position on the transport route. An automatic guided vehicle comprising a monitoring means for monitoring a charge / discharge state of a secondary battery so that the battery is not over-discharged. 2. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring means monitors the charging capacity so that the charging capacity does not fall below a discharge critical line which is a limit of overdischarging. 3. The monitor means detects the consumption of the charged capacity from the traveling position to the charging position, and monitors the unoccupied state when the charged capacity reaches the minimum allowable driving line set on the safe side from the discharge critical line. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the guided vehicle is moved to a charging position. 4. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the monitoring means turns off the power of the automatic guided vehicle when the charge capacity becomes equal to or less than the discharge critical line. 5. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the monitor monitors a charge capacity calculated based on a battery voltage or a discharge current of the secondary battery as the charge capacity. 6. The unmanned transport according to claim 3, wherein the monitoring means monitors a battery voltage of the secondary battery as a discharge critical line, and monitors a charge capacity calculated based on a discharge current as a minimum allowable line during running. car. 7. The monitor means sets the allowable minimum line during driving on the safer side than the critical discharge line in consideration of the detection error of the battery voltage and current, the calculation error of the charging capacity, and the fluctuation of the battery voltage due to the battery temperature. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 6, which is monitored. 8. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring means monitors the secondary battery during charging so as not to be overcharged. 9. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 8, wherein the monitoring means monitors so as to maintain a charge capacity equal to or less than a traveling allowable upper limit line set on a safer side than a charge critical line which is an overcharge limit. 10. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 9, wherein the monitor means sets the permissible upper limit line during traveling in consideration of a detection error of a battery voltage or a current. 11. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 8, wherein the monitor monitors the temperature of the secondary battery. 12. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 11, wherein the monitoring means sets and monitors a permissible upper limit line during traveling in consideration of a change in battery voltage depending on a temperature of the secondary battery. 13. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising cooling means for a secondary battery. 14. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 13, further comprising a battery unit in which the secondary battery and the cooling fan are integrated, and wherein the battery unit is detachably mounted. 15. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 14, wherein a gap is formed between the parallel arrangement of the cells forming the secondary battery, and all the cells are uniformly cooled by blowing air between the gaps. 16. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the monitoring unit records transition data of the charge capacity of the secondary battery as a history of charge / discharge cycles. 17. The monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring means is integrated with the battery unit and is detachable from the automatic guided vehicle.
4. The automatic guided vehicle according to 4. 18. A plurality of automatic guided vehicles traveling on a transport route using a secondary battery as a power source, a traveling control device for controlling traveling of the automatic guided vehicle by communicating with each automatic guided vehicle, And a charger installed at a charging position provided at a predetermined position to charge the secondary battery, and a battery management system for the automatic guided vehicle that manages charging and discharging of the secondary battery included in the automatic guided vehicle. The automatic guided vehicle includes monitoring means for monitoring charging and discharging of the secondary battery so that the secondary battery does not become overdischarged before moving to the charging position and charging; and the traveling control means includes the monitoring means. A battery management system for an unmanned guided vehicle, characterized in that when a charging request is output from the controller, the unmanned guided vehicle is controlled to travel toward the charging position. 19. The monitor means sets a charge capacity at a traveling allowable minimum line which is set on the safe side from a discharge critical line which is a limit of overdischarge in anticipation of consumption of the charge capacity from the traveling position to the charging position. 20. The battery management system for an automatic guided vehicle according to claim 18, wherein a charge request is output when the condition is reached. 20. The monitoring means monitors the state of charge so as not to be overcharged, and the travel control device stops charging by the charger in response to a notification from the monitor means.
20. The battery management system for an automatic guided vehicle according to 8 or 19. 21. The battery management system for an automatic guided vehicle according to claim 20, wherein charging is stopped after a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of charging. 22. The monitor means transmits the transition data of the charging capacity of the secondary battery to the travel control device, and the travel control device records the transition data as a history of the charge / discharge cycle. The battery management system of the automatic guided vehicle according to the paragraph. 23. The battery management system for an unmanned guided vehicle according to claim 22, wherein only the values at the start of charging and at the end of charging are recorded as the transition data. 24. When the difference between the value at the start of charging and the value at the end of charging in the history of the charge / discharge cycle falls below a predetermined value, the secondary battery of the corresponding automatic guided vehicle is replaced. 24. The battery management system for an automatic guided vehicle according to 23. 25. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 22, wherein only the values when the charge capacity reaches the critical discharge line and when the charge capacity reaches the critical charge line, which is the limit of overcharging, are recorded as the transition data. Battery management system. 26. In the history of charge / discharge cycles, the time interval from when the charge capacity reaches the discharge critical line or charge critical line immediately before reaching the discharge critical line or charge critical line is equal to or less than a predetermined value. 26. The battery management system for an automatic guided vehicle according to claim 22 or 25, wherein the secondary battery of the automatic guided vehicle is replaced when the condition is reached. 27. The monitor means stops charging when the voltage difference between the plurality of battery modules is equal to or more than a predetermined value or when the battery temperature is equal to or more than a predetermined value.
27. The battery management system for an automatic guided vehicle according to any one of -26. 28. The battery charger installed under a floor provided with a traveling route and charged from a lower part of the automatic guided vehicle.
28. The battery management system for an automatic guided vehicle according to any one of to 27. 29. The battery charger according to claim 28, wherein the charger is provided with a charging electrode, a vertically moving means for moving the electrode up and down, and a shutter which opens when the electrode rises and closes above the electrode when it falls. Battery management system for automatic guided vehicles. 30. The battery management system for an automatic guided vehicle according to claim 29, wherein the shutter is inclined when closed, and discharges foreign matter or liquid dropped on the shutter to the outside of the charger. 31. The battery management system for an automatic guided vehicle according to claim 29, wherein the shutter is opened and closed by the action of the electrode up and down moving means. 32. The battery management system for an automatic guided vehicle according to claim 29, wherein an abnormality is determined when the shutter cannot be opened / closed due to a foreign object being caught on the shutter.