JP2012040935A - Battery replacement device of electric vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically adjust the posture of a battery-loading table corresponding to an inclination of an electric vehicle.SOLUTION: A loading table 22 receives a charged battery 3 of a battery carrying truck 32 by the elevation of an elevating/lowering device 19. Distance sensors 31 start the distance-measuring operation while the loading table 22 is elevated. The distance sensors 31 at three points measure the distance between the loading table 22 and a vehicle body bottom surface 8. When all the measured distances are same, it is determined that an electric vehicle is not inclined. If the measured distance of the distance sensor 31 at one point is different from that of the distance sensors 31 at other points, it is determined that the electric vehicle is inclined. The loading table 22 is vertically moved by the operation of a movable member 26 corresponding to the distance sensor 31 detecting the different measured distance, and automatically adjusted so that the measured distances at three points are same. The loading table 22 automatically adjusted corresponding to the inclination of the electric vehicle is capable of correctly inserting the charged battery 3 in a battery accommodation part 9.

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery exchange device for mounting and removing a battery mounted on an electric vehicle.

  In an electric vehicle equipped with a large battery as a power source, the exhausted battery whose charge level has fallen below the predetermined amount is removed by using the battery exchange device, and a fully charged battery is installed by the battery exchange device instead. It is done.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a lifter with a slide table that can be used as a battery exchange device. In this lifter with a slide table, a first pedestal portion is provided at the upper end of an elevating mechanism installed on a carriage, and a third pedestal portion is provided on the first pedestal portion via a second pedestal portion. A slide table for placing a battery or the like is provided on the third pedestal. The vertical position of the slide table is adjusted by the lifting mechanism. A first tilt cylinder, a second tilt cylinder, and a universal hinge are provided on the first pedestal portion, and the second pedestal portion is supported at three points by these.

  The first tilt cylinder and the second tilt cylinder are disposed on one end side of the second pedestal portion, the lower ends of the first tilt cylinder and the second tilt cylinder are supported on the first pedestal portion, and the tip end portion of the cylinder rod is the second pedestal. It is rotatably connected to the bottom surface of the part. A rotatable universal hinge is disposed on the other end side of the second pedestal portion, and connects the second pedestal portion and the first pedestal portion. Then, the user operates the UP switches corresponding to the first tilt cylinder and the second tilt cylinder respectively provided on the tilt switch panel, so that the first and second tilt cylinders on the first pedestal portion are moved. Each of them operates independently, and the second pedestal portion is inclined at various angles around the universal hinge. Accordingly, the slide table is inclined at various angles via the third pedestal portion on the second pedestal portion.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-60176

  By the way, when the electric vehicle stops at the battery replacement position in order to replace the battery, if the air pressure of each tire is different or the position of the occupant or luggage in the vehicle is biased, the vehicle body will be inclined. . Moreover, the direction of the inclination, the degree of inclination, and the like are various, and it is difficult to control this.

When the vehicle body is tilted due to various factors as described above, even if the electric vehicle stops accurately at the battery replacement position, it is between the battery mounting table of the battery replacement device and the lower surface of the electric vehicle in which the battery is stored. There is a problem that displacement occurs and it takes time to replace the battery for accurate alignment.
In addition, when trying to manually adjust the battery mounting table according to the tilt of the vehicle body, the tilt of the vehicle body is different every time, so it takes time to adjust the tilt, and the battery replacement work is performed quickly. The problem of being unable to do so arises.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a battery exchange device that can automatically adjust the attitude of a battery mounting table in accordance with the inclination of an electric vehicle.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a battery exchange device for an electric vehicle in which a lifting device is disposed at a battery replacement position where the electric vehicle stops, and the battery is removed and attached by the lifting device. A distance formed by a lifting mechanism provided on the top and a battery mounting table provided at the top of the lifting mechanism, and detecting a distance between the top surface of the mounting table and the bottom of the body of the electric vehicle at three locations. A sensor is provided, and a movable member that movably supports the mounting table is provided at three locations of the lifting mechanism, and at least two of the movable members are based on detection signals of the distance sensor. It is characterized by comprising an actuator that moves up and down.

  According to the first aspect, since the posture of the battery mounting table can be automatically adjusted so as to be parallel to the body of the electric vehicle regardless of the inclination of the electric vehicle stopped at the battery replacement position, It can be done easily.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the movable member is disposed at three positions corresponding to the installation positions of the distance sensor. According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the position of the mounting table is directly operated in the vertical direction and the posture thereof is adjusted, the tilt adjustment work of the mounting table can be performed easily and accurately. Can do.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, all the movable members that support the three places of the mounting table are configured by the actuator. According to the third aspect, since the three positions of the mounting table can be individually moved up and down, the posture of the mounting table corresponding to the inclination of the electric vehicle can be quickly adjusted, and the battery mounting operation can be performed in a short time. Can be done accurately.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the actuator includes a cam member that contacts the lower surface of the mounting table and a drive member that drives the cam member. According to the fourth aspect, since the vertical movement of the mounting table can be accurately performed and the actuator can have a simple structure, the configuration for adjusting the posture of the mounting table can be compactly integrated. it can.

  According to the present invention, since the posture of the battery mounting table can automatically correspond to the inclination of the electric vehicle, the battery can be easily and accurately attached.

It is a side view which shows the outline | summary of a battery exchange apparatus. It is a side view which shows the attachment operation | movement of the charging battery by an raising / lowering apparatus. It is a schematic plan view of the lifting device. It is an enlarged view of a movable member. It is an exploded view of the positioning device of a battery accommodating part.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 1, the support 1 is located near the top of a slope (not shown) formed in a direction perpendicular to FIG. 1, and forms a replacement position for the battery 3 mounted on the electric vehicle 2. A pit 4 is formed below the support base 1, and a wheel stopper 6 for positioning the front wheel tire 5 of the electric vehicle 2 is installed on the upper surface of the support base 1. A through hole 7 is formed. On the vehicle body bottom surface 8 of the electric vehicle 2, a battery housing portion 9 formed by a concave space is installed. The battery 3 is guided by a positioning device 10 installed on the vehicle body side and inserted into the battery housing 9 and is held and fixed by an electrically operated lock device 11 provided on the vehicle body side.

  The configuration of the positioning device 10 for the battery 3 will be described with reference to FIG. The positioning device 10 is installed with the same configuration at a plurality of locations on the bottom surface of the battery housing portion 9, and has a funnel-shaped hole 12 that opens to the battery housing portion 9, an annular hole 13 that is connected to the funnel-shaped hole 12, and a connection that connects to the annular hole 13 It consists of a bottom cylindrical hole 14 and a funnel 15. The funnel 15 is formed to have a diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the funnel-shaped hole 12, and the direction of the funnel 15 is indicated by a virtual line by attaching the annular portion 16 provided at the upper end to the annular hole 13 in a loosely fitted state. Can be displaced in any direction.

  On the other hand, the same number of positioning pins 17 as the number of positioning devices 10 are projected from the upper surface of the battery 3. The positioning pin 17 is guided by the funnel 15 and enters the bottomed cylindrical hole 14 when the battery 3 is inserted into the battery housing portion 9 to position the battery 3. The battery 3 is positioned and fixed by the positioning device 10 and the positioning pin 17 and then held and fixed by the lock device 11. The operation of the lock device 11 is controlled by a control device (not shown).

  In the pit 4, an elevating device 19 is disposed at a position of the floor surface 18 that coincides with the through hole 7 of the support base 1 in the vertical direction. As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 2, the lifting device 19 includes a base 20 fixed on the floor 18, a lifting mechanism 21 provided on the base 20, and a mounting table provided on the top of the lifting mechanism 21. 22. The elevating mechanism 21 is configured by a pantograph mechanism, and has a structure in which a substrate 23 fixed to the base 20 and a support plate 24 above the substrate 23 are connected by two cross links 25.

  On the upper surface of the support plate 24, as shown in FIG. 3, movable members 26 are installed at a total of three locations including two left end portions and one right end portion, and each movable member 26 is an actuator having the same structure. It is configured. As shown in FIG. 4, the movable member 26 has a configuration in which a cam lever 29 is fixed to a motor shaft 28 of a motor 27 fixed to a support plate 24, and a ball 30 is rotatably held at the tip of the cam lever 29. The motor 27 and the motor shaft 28 constitute a drive member of the present invention, and the cam lever 29 and the ball 30 constitute a cam member of the present invention. The motor 27 can be constituted by a servo motor or a stepping motor.

  Since the ball 30 is in contact with the lower surface of the mounting table 22, the mounting table 22 is configured to be supported at three points by a movable member 26. Therefore, the mounting table 22 can freely slide in a straight direction or a rotational direction in a horizontal plane within an allowable range. Since the cam lever 29 is rotated from the solid line position to the virtual line 29A or 29B by forward / reverse rotation of the motor 27, the upper end position of the ball 30 is displaced up and down, and the mounting table 22 supported by the ball 30 is moved to the solid line position. Is moved up and down to the position of the virtual line 22A or 22B.

  On the upper surface of the mounting table 22, distance sensors 31 are arranged at three locations. The distance sensor 31 is disposed at a position corresponding to the movable member 26, and is composed of an optical sensor such as a laser sensor. The distance sensor 31 is directed to the bottom surface 8 of the vehicle body around the battery housing 9, and measures the time until the laser emitted from the distance sensor 31 is reflected on the bottom surface 8 of the vehicle and received by the distance sensor 31, The distance from the top surface of the mounting table 22 to the bottom surface 8 of the vehicle body can be measured. The irradiation timing of the distance sensor 31, the measurement of the light reception time, and the measurement of the distance are controlled by a control device (not shown).

  On the other hand, the battery carrier 32 shown in FIG. 1 travels between the lifting device 19 in the pit 4 and a battery warehouse (not shown). The battery carrying cart 32 is composed of a plate-shaped receiving base 33 having a size capable of placing two batteries 3 and six traveling wheels 34 for supporting the receiving base 33. When the cradle 33 travels toward the lifting device 19, for example, a battery 3 whose charge amount has been exhausted to a predetermined amount or less (hereinafter referred to as a “exhaust battery 3”) is placed on the front side, and the rear side is full. A charged battery 3 (hereinafter, charged battery 3) is placed. Note that the placement positions of the exhaust battery 3 and the rechargeable battery 3 may be reversed.

  A through-hole 35 through which the mounting table 22 can pass is formed at the mounting position of the exhaust battery 3 and the rechargeable battery 3, and each battery 3 is configured such that an end portion is supported by the receiving base 33. (See FIG. 3). Further, although not shown, a positioning member that restricts the mounting position of the charging battery 3 is installed at the mounting position of the charging battery 3. The travel and stop of the battery transport cart 32 are controlled by a control device (not shown).

  Next, the replacement operation of the battery 3 will be described. The operation of each unit described below is controlled by a control device (not shown). As shown in FIG. 1, the lifting device 19 in the pit 4 normally stands by in the lowest position. When the electric vehicle 2 stops at the support base 1 where the battery 3 is exchanged, the battery transport cart 32 places the charging battery 3 on the receiving base 33 and travels into the pit 4 in a battery warehouse (not shown). The battery carrying carriage 32 stops in a state where the placement part of the exhaust battery 3 of the receiving base 33 has reached the battery replacement position (see the phantom line in FIG. 1).

  When the battery transport carriage 32 stops, the elevating mechanism 21 is activated, and the placement table 22 is raised to a preset height. The rising position of the mounting table 22 is set to a height at which the exhaust battery 3 mounted in the battery housing portion 9 of the electric vehicle 2 can be received, and the lifting mechanism 21 is based on a detection signal of a proximity switch (not shown). Stop. The amount of movement of the lifting mechanism 21 until the mounting table 22 stops is stored in a control device (not shown) and used when the charging battery 3 is attached.

  When it is confirmed that the mounting table 22 is stopped, the lock device 11 is released, so that the exhausted battery 3 is transferred from the battery housing portion 9 onto the mounting table 22. Subsequently, the elevating mechanism 21 is lowered to the lowest position shown in FIG. The exhaust battery 3 is transferred onto the cradle 33 when the placement table 22 passes through the cradle 33 of the battery carrying cart 32.

  When the removal of the exhaust battery 3 is completed, the battery carrying carriage 32 moves and stops until the rechargeable battery 3 reaches the upper position of the mounting table 22 which is the battery replacement position. After confirming that the battery carrying carriage 32 is stopped, the lifting device 19 is activated. The mounting table 22 starts to rise by the operation of the elevating mechanism 21, and when it passes through the receiving base 33 of the battery carrying carriage 32, it receives the charging battery 3 and rises. The elevating mechanism 21 is operated until the height position stored at the time of removal of the exhaust battery 3 is reached, but the distance measuring operation by the distance sensor 31 is started while the mounting table 22 is being raised.

  The distance sensors 31 installed at the three locations respectively irradiate the laser toward the vehicle body bottom surface 8 and measure the distance from the mounting table 22 to the vehicle body bottom surface 8. If the measurement distances by the three distance sensors 31 are all the same, it is determined that the electric vehicle 2 is not tilted and the battery housing portion 9 and the rechargeable battery 3 are in a parallel positional relationship.

  If the measurement distance of one distance sensor 31 is different from the measurement distances of other distance sensors 31, it is determined that the electric vehicle 2 is tilted and installed corresponding to the distance sensor 31 that has detected a different measurement distance. The movable member 26 is actuated to move the mounting table 22 up and down to the position indicated by the imaginary line 22A or 22B in FIG. 4 and adjust the measurement distance to be the same as the measurement distance by the other distance sensors 31.

  Note that the vertical movement adjustment of the mounting table 22 is not limited to a method of operating only the movable member 26 installed corresponding to the distance sensor 31 that has detected different measurement distances, and includes all other movable members 26. A method of adjusting by the movable member 26 can also be implemented. The vertical movement adjustment by the three movable members 26 can reduce the movement amount of the mounting table 22 and can contribute to shortening the adjustment time.

  The position of the mounting table 22 is automatically adjusted according to the inclination of the electric vehicle 2 by the operation of the movable member 26, and is raised to the stored height position. As the mounting table 22 is raised, the rechargeable battery 3 is accurately inserted into the battery housing portion 9, and the positioning pin 17 of the rechargeable battery 3 enters the funnel 15 of the positioning device 10. The mounting table 22 stops at the stored height position in a state where the horizontal posture of the charging battery 3 is adjusted by the fitting of the positioning device 10 and the positioning pin 17. In this state, the posture of the charging battery 3 is accurately aligned with the battery housing portion 9 in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, and is reliably held and fixed by the operation of the lock device 11.

  When the attachment of the rechargeable battery 3 is completed, the mounting table 22 is lowered to the lowest position shown in FIG. When the mounting table 22 reaches below the cradle 33 of the battery carriage 32, the battery trolley 32 moves back to a battery warehouse (not shown), and the exhaust battery 3 on the cradle 33 is moved to a predetermined location in the battery warehouse. Store in position. In addition, the electric vehicle 2 on the support base 1 can move when the mounting table 22 is immersed in the pit 4.

  The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention, and can be implemented as follows.

(1) The movable member 26 that supports the mounting table 22 at three points is a universal joint or universal hinge that supports the movable member 26 at one point so that the mounting table 22 can freely rotate in a tilting direction at a fixed position. Even if it comprises and the other two movable members 26 are comprised with the actuator by which the mounting table 22 is moved up and down like the said embodiment, the effect of this invention can be acquired.
(2) The cam member of the actuator constituting the movable member 26 may be configured using an eccentric ring.
(3) The distance measuring operation by the distance sensor 31 may be set to be performed after the placement table 22 reaches the height position stored when the exhausted battery 3 is removed and stops.

(4) In the embodiment of the present invention, the three movable members 26 are all provided at positions corresponding to the installation positions of the distance sensor 31, but may be configured to be provided at different positions.
(5) The distance sensor 31 is not limited to an optical sensor such as a laser sensor, and an ultrasonic sensor or the like may be used.
(6) The actuator that moves the mounting table 22 up and down is not limited to motor driving, and may be driven by hydraulic pressure or air pressure.
(7) The elevating mechanism 21 is not limited to the pantograph mechanism, and may be configured using a mechanism that moves the mounting table 22 up and down by a motor or a cylinder.

(8) Although the said embodiment is comprised so that the mounting table 22 may be adjusted with respect to the inclination of the electric vehicle 2, it can also be comprised so that the electric vehicle 2 may be adjusted. For example, the wheel stopper 6 of the tire 5 is configured to be movable up and down, and the wheel stopper 6 is moved up and down based on the detection signal of the distance sensor 31 so that the electric vehicle 2 is automatically adjusted to be parallel to the mounting table 22. .
(9) The battery exchanging device in the above embodiment is configured to stop the electric vehicle 2 on the support base 1 following the slope and perform the battery exchanging work. However, a vehicle lift is provided on the floor, and the vehicle lift is provided. After stopping the electric vehicle 2 above, the vehicle lift may be raised to perform battery replacement work.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Support stand 2 Electric vehicle 3 Battery 4 Pit 6 Wheel stop 8 Car body bottom face 9 Battery accommodating part 10 Positioning device 11 Locking device 17 Positioning pin 19 Lifting device 21 Lifting mechanism 22, 22A, 22B Mounting table 26 Movable member 32 Battery transport vehicle 33 cradle

Claims (4)

In the battery replacement device for an electric vehicle, the lifting device is disposed at a battery replacement position where the electric vehicle stops, and the battery is removed and attached by the lifting device.
The lifting device is formed by a base, a lifting mechanism provided on the base, and a battery mounting table provided on the uppermost part of the lifting mechanism, and the body of the electric vehicle is provided at three positions on the top surface of the mounting table. A distance sensor for detecting a distance to the bottom surface is provided, and a movable member for movably supporting the mounting table is provided at three positions of the lifting mechanism, and at least two movable members among the movable members are the distance. A battery exchange device for an electric vehicle comprising an actuator for moving the mounting table up and down based on a detection signal of a sensor.   The battery replacement apparatus for an electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the movable member is disposed at three positions corresponding to the installation positions of the distance sensor.   The battery replacement device for an electric vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein all the movable members that support the three places of the mounting table are configured by the actuator.   The said actuator is comprised from the cam member which contacts the lower surface of the said mounting table, and the drive member which drives the said cam member, The any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned. Battery replacement device for electric vehicles.

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