JP2009083978A - Stairway elevating/lowering machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a stairway elevating/lowering machine, easy to be installed and excellent in usability. <P>SOLUTION: A rechargeable battery 4 capable of fast charging is used for a power source of an elevating/lowering machine body 2. While the elevating/lowering machine body 2 is stopped at a parking part 9, an external charging part 13 is connected to charge the rechargeable battery 4 up to full charge, and continuous use is enabled. As a rechargeable battery 4 incorporated therein, a lithium-ion secondary battery capable of fast charging with an electric current of 10C is used. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a stair lift used for rising and lowering stairs.

  In recent years, with the advent of an aging society, barrier-free living environment has become an issue. For example, one of the problems of barrier-free in a residence is stairs.

  Stairs installed in a house require a great deal of labor for ascending and descending for elderly people and those with reduced mobility, and often require help from family members.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to install an elevator-like facility in the residence, but in order to install a large-scale facility such as an elevator in a narrow residence, an existing building requires a major modification. It is difficult to install.

  Conventionally, a stair lift has been put to practical use as means for contributing to barrier-free staircases (Patent Document 1). Such a stair lift is constructed such that a guide rail is installed along the staircase, and the main body of the elevator on which the chair is installed is moved along the guide rail, so that the stair can be raised and lowered. In this case, the user can automatically go back and forth between the upper and lower floors of the dwelling by simply sitting on the chair of the elevator body and pressing the destination switch.

By the way, a driving source such as a motor is used for such a stair lift, and a power source for operating the driving source is required. Therefore, for this power source, an AC power source (commercial power source) is generally used if it is a stair lift used indoors in a house. Moreover, secondary batteries, such as a lead storage battery and a nickel hydride storage battery, may be used for these power supplies.
JP 2007-022684 A JP-A-2005-123183

  However, when an AC power source (commercial power source) is used as a power source, a drive source such as a motor is provided in the elevator body, and therefore it is necessary to connect a power cord for supplying power to the elevator body. However, the elevator body moves along the guide rails built along the stairs, and power must be supplied to the elevator body running along the stairs. In addition, the power supply path becomes complicated, which is disadvantageous in terms of cost and also requires maintenance. Also, in the event of a power failure, the stair lift will not be able to operate. In the unlikely event that a power failure occurs while the stair lift is in operation, the stair lift will get stuck in the middle of the stairs, and the user will be There is a problem that it becomes impossible to move.

  On the other hand, when a secondary battery such as a lead storage battery, a nickel hydride storage battery, or a lithium ion secondary battery is used as a power source, a power cord and a complicated power supply path when using an AC power source (commercial power source) are not required. Even in the event of a power failure, as long as the capacity of the secondary battery is not used up, the use can be continued, and the stair elevator does not stop immediately due to a power failure. However, as a matter of course, since the secondary battery cannot be used unless it is charged, the battery must be charged each time the remaining battery level is low.

  Normally, it is sufficient to charge the elevator while the elevator is stopped. However, if the battery runs out due to continuous use, secondary batteries such as general lead-acid batteries, nickel-metal hydride batteries, and lithium-ion secondary batteries Rapid charging is not possible, and charging takes 1-2 hours. For this reason, it takes time to charge, and during this time, the elevator cannot be used. In other words, if the battery runs out when you want to use the stair lift, it takes a long time to charge and cannot be used immediately. In addition, if the battery runs out during use, it stops halfway and cannot be restarted because it cannot be charged. In order to avoid this, the remaining amount of battery is strictly managed, and a battery with a large capacity is always mounted in order to allow a sufficient margin, resulting in an increase in the size of the elevator body.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a stair lift that is easy to install and excellent in usability.

  The invention according to claim 1 is a stair lift that has an elevator body that is moved along a guide rail installed between upper and lower floors, and that transports a user who has boarded the elevator body between the upper and lower floors. A rechargeable battery that is provided inside the elevator body and that can be rapidly charged with a current of 10 C or more is used as a power source for supplying electric power necessary for the operation of the elevator body.

  The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 1, the elevator body is electrically connectable with an external charging means and charges the rechargeable battery in the connected state.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 2, wherein the guide rail is provided with a parking unit for stopping the elevator body on the upper and lower floors, and the elevator body is stopped at the parking unit. The external charging means is electrically connected, and the rechargeable battery can be charged.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the stair lift main body has a battery remaining amount display means for displaying a remaining battery amount of the rechargeable battery.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a stair lift that is easy to install and excellent in usability.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a stair lift according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, 1 is a guide rail, and this guide rail 1 is composed of two parallel rails 1a and 1b. This guide rail 1 is constructed between the upper and lower floors of the dwelling along a stairs (not shown). The guide rail 1 is provided with an elevator body 2. The elevator body 2 can travel along the guide rail 1 without slipping by a guide mechanism (not shown). The elevator body 2 includes a motor 3 as a drive source. The motor 3 drives the above-described guide mechanism to move the elevator body 2 along the guide rail 1. Moreover, the rechargeable battery 4 is accommodated in a battery chamber (not shown) inside the elevator body 2. Details of the rechargeable battery 4 will be described later.

  The elevator body 2 is provided with a chair 5. This chair 5 is for a user to sit down and board the elevator body 2, and the seating surface is horizontal to the ground. The chair 5 has an armrest portion 5a, and the operation portion 6 is provided on the armrest portion 5a. The operation unit 6 is provided with an operation button 6a for instructing an elevating operation of the elevator main body 2. In addition, a battery remaining amount display unit 7 is disposed in the operation unit 6. The battery remaining amount display unit 7 displays a discharge state of the rechargeable battery 4. The light emitting body blinks when the remaining charge amount of the rechargeable battery 4 is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and remains lit during charging. Turns off. For example, an LED is used as the light emitter. In this case, for example, a blue LED may be turned on when the remaining charge amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and a red LED may be turned on when the remaining battery amount falls below a predetermined value.

  An external AC power supply charging terminal 8 (not shown in FIG. 1) is provided on the rear surface of the elevator body 2. An external charging unit 13 of the parking unit 9 described later is connected to the external AC power supply charging terminal 8.

  The elevator main body 2 is provided with a sensor 10 for detecting a danger during traveling.

  On the other hand, parking units 9 are provided on the upper and lower floors of the stairs, that is, on both ends of the guide rail 1. In the drawing, only the parking unit 9 on the lower floor side is shown. The parking unit 9 stops the elevator main body 2 that has arrived at the lower floor side (or upper floor side) of the stairs, and gets on and off the person who goes up and down. The parking unit 9 is provided with a safety mechanism (not shown) that reliably maintains the stopped state of the elevator body 2. The parking unit 9 is provided with a charging terminal 9a and an external charging unit 13 as an external charging means. The charging terminal 9 a is automatically connected to the external AC power supply charging terminal 8 of the elevator body 2 in a state where the elevator body 2 is stopped at the parking unit 9. An external charging unit 13 is connected to the charging terminal 9a, and the rechargeable battery 4 is charged by the external charging unit 13.

  FIG. 2 shows a circuit configuration of the elevator body 2. In FIG. 2, the same parts as those in FIG.

  In FIG. 2, 4 is a rechargeable battery, and this rechargeable battery 4 is used as a power source necessary for the operation of the elevator body 2. As the rechargeable battery 4, a lithium ion secondary battery capable of rapid charging is used in the present embodiment. The lithium ion secondary battery includes a container made of an exterior member made of an aluminum laminate film, a nonaqueous electrolyte housed in the container, and a lithium cobalt oxide in a positive electrode current collector made of aluminum foil housed in the container. A positive electrode carrying a positive electrode layer containing as a positive electrode active substance; and a negative electrode carrying a negative electrode layer containing lithium titanium oxide as negative electrode active substance particles in a negative electrode current collector made of aluminum foil and housed in the container. It has the structure provided.

  Here, the lithium ion secondary battery will be described in more detail. Such a lithium ion secondary battery includes a negative electrode containing lithium titanium oxide as an active substance. As disclosed in Patent Document 2, the lithium titanium oxide which is an active substance is a material capable of inserting and extracting lithium, and insertion / extraction of lithium ions is performed in the vicinity of 1.4 V to 1.7 V / Li. . For this reason, even if this secondary battery is rapidly charged with a large current, safety can be secured without precipitation of lithium as compared with the case where a carbon material is used as a conventional negative electrode active substance. In addition, since expansion and contraction associated with insertion and extraction of lithium can be suppressed, structural destruction of the negative electrode active substance can be suppressed even when rapid charging with 20 C current is repeatedly performed. As a result, a long life can be maintained even when charging and discharging are repeated.

  Specifically, it was confirmed that the lithium ion secondary battery assembled by the following method is a fast charge secondary battery that can be charged to about 80% battery capacity by charging at 20 C for 3 minutes. ing. Here, “C” is a unit representing a charge / discharge rate, and a rate that can be calculated in one hour when a constant current charge from full discharge to full charge (or from full charge to full discharge) is calculated is expressed as 1C. In the case of 1/10 hour, it is expressed as 10C. Therefore, for example, 20C charging requires 20 times as much current as 1C charging.

<Production of negative electrode>
The active substance is lithium titanate (Li ₄ Ti ₅ O ₁₂ ) powder having an average particle diameter of 5 μm and a Li storage potential of 1.55 V (vs. Li / Li ⁺ ), and carbon having an average particle diameter of 0.4 μm as a conductive agent. The powder and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF) as a binder were blended in a weight ratio of 90: 7: 3, and these were dispersed in an n-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) solvent to prepare a slurry.

  In addition, the laser diffraction type particle size distribution measuring apparatus (Shimadzu Corporation model number SALD-300) was used for the measurement of the particle diameter of an active substance. First, about 0.1 g of a sample was put in a beaker or the like, and then a surfactant and 1 to 2 mL of distilled water were added and stirred sufficiently, and poured into a stirred water tank. The light intensity distribution was measured 64 times at intervals of 2 seconds, the particle size distribution data was analyzed, and the particle size (D50) having a cumulative frequency distribution of 50% was defined as the average particle size.

Next, an aluminum foil (purity: 99.99%) having a thickness of 10 μm was applied to the negative electrode current collector, dried, and then pressed to prepare a negative electrode having an electrode density of 2.4 g / cm ³ .

<Preparation of positive electrode>
Lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO ₂ ) as an active substance, graphite powder as a conductive material, and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF) as a binder are blended in a weight ratio of 87: 8: 5, and these are mixed with n -A slurry was prepared by dispersing in a methylpyrrolidone (NMP) solvent. The slurry was applied to an aluminum foil (purity 99.99%) having a thickness of 15 μm, dried, and pressed to prepare a positive electrode having an electrode density of 3.5 g / cm ³ .

<Assembly of secondary battery>
As a forming material for the container (exterior member), an aluminum-containing laminate film having a thickness of 0.1 mm was prepared. The aluminum layer of this aluminum-containing laminate film had a thickness of about 0.03 mm. Polypropylene was used as the resin for reinforcing the aluminum layer. A container (exterior member) was obtained by laminating the laminate film by heat sealing.

  Next, a positive electrode terminal was electrically connected to the positive electrode, and a negative electrode terminal was electrically connected to the negative electrode. A separator made of a polyethylene porous film having a thickness of 12 μm was coated in close contact with the positive electrode. The positive electrode covered with the separator was overlapped with the negative electrode so as to face each other, and these were wound in a spiral shape to produce an electrode group. This electrode group was pressed into a flat shape. An electrode group formed into a flat shape was inserted into a container (exterior member).

LiBF ₄ , which is a lithium salt, is dissolved in an organic solvent in which ethylene carbonate (EC) and γ-butyllactone (GBL) are mixed at a volume ratio (EC: GBL) of 1: 2 to obtain a liquid. A non-aqueous electrolyte obtained by preparing a non-aqueous electrolyte was poured into the container and sealed by heat sealing of the aluminum laminate film opening with the positive and negative terminals exposed to the outside. Assembled.

  FIGS. 3A and 3B are external views of the lithium ion secondary battery assembled in this manner. For example, a rectangular battery body 411 having an outer diameter of 5.5 × 65 × 100 mm is shown in FIGS. The positive electrode terminal 412 and the negative electrode terminal 413 are led out from one end of the battery main body 411, respectively. Such a secondary battery has a fully charged voltage of 2.8 V, a constant current and constant voltage charge at 400 mA to 2.8 V, and a capacity of about 2000 mAh when discharged to 2.0 V with a 2000 mA constant current discharge. is there. The secondary battery can be rapidly charged with a current of 10 C or more. Here, as described above, 1 C represents a current value that can be calculated in one hour when a constant current charge is performed from the discharge state to the charge, and corresponds to 2000 mA in the above-described secondary battery. Therefore, being able to charge rapidly with a current of 10 C or more means that it can be charged with a current (2000 × 10) mA 10 times that of 1C. As a result, when a 20A-2.8V constant current / constant voltage charge (10C charge) is performed from the discharge state (discharge until 2000V at 2000mA continuous discharge), the capacity of 80% (1600 mAh) or more is reached within 5 minutes. In addition, with 40A-2.8V constant current constant voltage charging (20C charging), a capacity of 80% or more can be charged within 3 minutes. During this rapid charging, problems such as abnormal heat generation do not occur. In other words, the secondary battery here can be rapidly charged, which is difficult with conventional nickel metal hydride storage batteries or lithium ion secondary batteries.

  The rechargeable battery 4 is provided with a monitoring protection circuit 11 as monitoring protection means. The monitoring protection circuit 11 monitors the state of the rechargeable battery 4 and drives a switch (not shown) according to the monitoring result to stop charging / discharging of the rechargeable battery 4. In this case, the monitoring protection circuit 11 monitors overcharge, overdischarge and overcurrent of the rechargeable battery 4. When the charging voltage of the rechargeable battery 4 is within a predetermined value range, charging / discharging of the rechargeable battery 4 is allowed. When the charging voltage of the rechargeable battery 4 exceeds a predetermined value, it is determined that the battery is overcharged and the switch (not shown) ) Is released to stop the charging of the rechargeable battery 4, and when the charging voltage of the rechargeable battery 4 falls below a predetermined value, it is determined that the battery is overdischarged and the switch (not shown) is opened to open the rechargeable battery 4. Stop the discharge. Further, when the discharge current of the rechargeable battery 4 or the charge current exceeds a predetermined value, it is determined as an overcurrent, and the switch (not shown) is opened to stop the discharge of the rechargeable battery 4. This prevents the rechargeable battery 4 from being overcharged and generating gas due to the decomposition of the electrolyte, thereby increasing the pressure inside the battery and preventing leakage, and the rechargeable battery 4 is in an overdischarged state. This prevents the battery performance from deteriorating. Such a monitoring protection circuit 11 is modularized and connected to the rechargeable battery 4. Note that the monitoring protection circuit 11 may monitor at least one of overcharge, overdischarge, and overcurrent of the rechargeable battery 4.

  An external AC power supply charging terminal 8 is connected to the rechargeable battery 4. An external charging unit 13 is connected to the external AC power supply charging terminal 8 through a charging terminal 9 a of the parking unit 9. The external charging unit 13 includes a charging control unit 12 and an AC / DC converter 14. The charging control unit 12 controls charging of the rechargeable battery 4 and is connected to a charging terminal 9a. The AC / DC converter 14 converts AC power of a 100V AC power source (commercial power source) 15 into DC power. This DC power is input to the charging control unit 12 and is charged from the charging terminal 9a to an external AC power source charging terminal. Power for charging is supplied to the rechargeable battery 4 via 8.

  A controller 16 is connected to the rechargeable battery 4. The control unit 16 controls the entire elevator body 2 and is connected to a motor 3, an operation unit 6, a battery remaining amount display unit 7, and a sensor 10. The motor 3 drives a guide mechanism (not shown) of the elevator body 2 and moves the elevator body 2 along the guide rail 1. The operation unit 6 instructs the lifting / lowering operation of the elevator body 2 by operating the operation button 6a. The sensor 10 senses various states during travel of the elevator body 2.

  The control unit 16 includes a motor control unit 161, an abnormality detection unit 162, and a battery remaining amount monitoring unit 163. The motor control unit 161 controls the driving of the motor 3 in accordance with the operation of the operation button 6 a of the operation unit 6. The abnormality detection unit 162 stops the traveling of the elevator body 2 when the abnormality of the elevator body 2 is detected by the detection signal of the sensor 10 that senses various states during traveling of the elevator body 2. The battery remaining amount monitoring means 163 monitors the discharge state of the rechargeable battery 4, and when the remaining charge amount becomes a predetermined value or less, the light emitting body of the remaining battery amount display portion 7 blinks and remains lit during charging, and the charging is completed. Goes off.

  Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described.

  The elevator body 2 is stopped at the parking unit 9 on the lower floor (or upper floor) of the stairs, and the external AC power charging terminal 8 is connected to the charging terminal 9 a of the parking unit 9. .

  If the remaining battery level of the rechargeable battery 4 of the elevator main body 2 does not reach full charge, it is automatically charged on the parking unit 9. In this case, DC power is input from the AC power source 15 to the charging control unit 12 via the AC / DC converter 14 of the external charging unit 13, and is supplied from the charging terminal 9 a to the rechargeable battery 4 via the external AC power source charging terminal 8. Charging power is supplied and the rechargeable battery 4 is charged to full charge.

  The state of the rechargeable battery 4 can be confirmed by the battery remaining amount display section 7 while the user sits on the chair 5. In this case, the remaining battery level monitoring unit 163 monitors the remaining battery level of the rechargeable battery 4. If the remaining battery level falls below a predetermined value, the light emitter of the remaining battery level display unit 7 blinks. . The user confirms the display of the battery remaining amount display unit 7, and if the illuminant of the battery remaining amount display unit 7 is blinking, the use is stopped, and the illuminant of the battery remaining amount display unit 7 is turned off to turn off the rechargeable battery 4. When it is confirmed that the battery is fully charged, the operation button 6a of the operation unit 6 of the elevator body 2 is operated. Thereby, the motor 3 is driven by the motor control means 161, and the user is transferred along the guide rail 1 to the upper floor side (or the lower floor side) of the stairs along with the elevator body 2.

  Therefore, in this way, the rechargeable battery 4 that can be rapidly charged is used as the power source of the elevator body 2, and the external charging unit 13 is connected while the elevator body 2 is stopped at the parking unit 9. Thus, the rechargeable battery 4 is charged to a full charge, enabling continuous use. Moreover, as the rechargeable battery 4 to be incorporated, a lithium ion secondary battery that can be rapidly charged with a current of 10 C or more is used.

  Since the rechargeable battery 4 mounted on the stair elevator as described above can be rapidly charged, the waiting time for charging the battery is very short, and there is no inconvenience in use due to the waiting time for charging. If it is confirmed by the light-emitting body of the display unit 7 that it can be used, the stair lift can be operated by sitting on the seat.

  Further, as a merit of using the rechargeable battery 4 as a power source, it can be used even when a power failure occurs, and there is no problem of stopping halfway. In addition, since it is not necessary to always connect a commercial power source as a power source, an extremely long power cord and a complicated power supply path are not necessary, which can be advantageous in terms of cost and can be easily maintained and installed in a residence. Easy to do.

  Furthermore, even if the rechargeable battery 4 runs out of battery, in the present invention, a lithium ion secondary battery that can be rapidly charged with a current of 10 C or more is used as the built-in rechargeable battery 4. It can be fully charged by quick charging of a short time, and it is easy to deal with battery exhaustion, and the time from stoppage due to battery exhaustion to re-operation by charging can be greatly shortened, making it easy to use stairs Elevator can be realized. For example, in the case of continuous and repeated use, there is a possibility that the battery may run out if the power source is a rechargeable battery such as a normal lead storage battery, nickel hydride storage battery, or lithium ion secondary battery. In the present invention, the elevator body 2 is charged every time the parking unit 9 stops, and since it is a quick charge, it can be fully charged even in a short parking time, and continuously Even when used, the possibility of running out of battery can be reduced.

  Further, if the rechargeable battery 4 can be charged in a short time, an operation of frequently charging can be considered. In this case, a rechargeable battery having a small battery capacity 4 can be used. The main body 2 can be reduced in size and weight, and the cost can be reduced. These can be realized by using a rechargeable battery capable of rapid charging.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, In the implementation stage, it can change variously in the range which does not change the summary. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the battery remaining amount monitoring unit 163 only blinks the light-emitting body of the battery remaining amount display unit 7 when the remaining charge amount of the rechargeable battery 4 is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and turns it off when fully charged. However, the display of the luminous body of the battery remaining amount display unit 7 may be displayed in several stages from fully charged to no remaining battery. In this way, since the remaining battery level of the rechargeable battery 4 can be closely monitored, the period during which the rechargeable battery 4 cannot be used during charging can be minimized, and the use efficiency of the stair elevator can be increased. Moreover, you may make it provide the indicator which displays the state which can be raised / lowered only once or 2 times before the battery remaining amount. In this way, it is possible to immediately check the state of being charged up to a state where it can be raised and lowered only once or twice in a short time, and thus the use can be resumed immediately.

  In the above-described embodiment, the guide rail 1 is installed along the stairs and the elevator main body 2 travels along the guide rail 1. However, the guide rail 1 is arranged substantially vertically, The present invention can also be applied to a configuration in which the elevator main body 2 travels in the vertical direction along the guide rail 1.

  In addition, the above embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some constituent requirements are deleted from all the constituent requirements shown in the embodiment, the problem described in the column of the problem to be solved by the invention can be solved, and is described in the column of the effect of the invention. If the above effect is obtained, a configuration from which this configuration requirement is deleted can be extracted as an invention.

The figure which shows the external appearance of the stair lift of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the circuit structure of the stair lift of 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the front and side of a rechargeable battery used for 1st Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Guide rail, 1a, 1b ... Rail 2 ... Elevator main body, 3 ... Motor, 4 ... Rechargeable battery 411 ... Battery main body, 412 ... Positive electrode terminal, 413 ... Negative electrode terminal 5 ... Chair, 5a ... Armrest part, 6 ... Operation Unit 6a ... Operation button, 7 ... Battery remaining amount display unit 8 ... AC power supply charging terminal, 9 ... Parking unit 9a ... Charging terminal, 10 ... Sensor, 11 ... Monitoring protection circuit 12 ... Charge control unit, 13 ... External charging , 14 ... AC / DC converter 15 ... AC power source, 16 ... control unit, 161 ... motor control means 162 ... abnormality detection means, 163 ... battery remaining amount monitoring means

Claims (4)

In a stair lift that has an elevator body that is moved along a guide rail installed between the upper and lower floors, and that transports a user who has boarded the elevator body between the upper and lower floors,
A stair lift comprising a rechargeable battery that is provided inside the elevator main body and is used as a power source for supplying electric power necessary for the operation of the elevator main body and can be rapidly charged with a current of 10 C or more. The stair lift according to claim 1, wherein an external charging means can be electrically connected to the elevator body and the rechargeable battery is charged in the connected state. The guide rail is provided with a parking unit for stopping the elevator body on the upper and lower floors, the external charging means is electrically connected to the parking unit with the elevator body stopped, and the rechargeable 3. The stair lift according to claim 2, wherein the battery can be charged. 2. The stair lift according to claim 1, wherein the stair lift main body has a battery remaining amount display means for displaying a battery remaining amount of the rechargeable battery.

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