JP2012041184A - Battery-type industrial vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To confirm a tendency to charge a battery by a simple system configuration, and to quickly confirm the tendency.SOLUTION: A battery-type fork lift includes: a means (display unit 25) for calculating the residual capacitance of the battery 26 when the charging is started; and a means (display unit 25) for counting the number of charging times of the battery 26 while corresponding to the residual capacitance of the battery 26 when the charging is started. Then, the counted result (number of charging times counted according to the residual capacitance of the battery 26 when the charging is started) is displayed on a display 25a mounted on the battery-type fork lift in a predetermined display style (frequency distribution style).

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery-powered industrial vehicle that travels using a battery mounted on a vehicle as a drive source.

  In recent years, industrial vehicles that run on a battery as a driving source, such as a battery-type forklift, have attracted attention due to problems such as soaring fossil fuels and environmental pollution. These battery-powered industrial vehicles are equipped with lead batteries (hereinafter simply referred to as “batteries”), and the driver appropriately charges the batteries.

  By the way, when charging the battery, it is preferable to consider so as not to perform charging that leads to a reduction in battery life. For example, it is preferable to consider not performing in a state where the discharge amount is very large (deep discharge state) or not performing in a state where the discharge amount is small. However, the usage environment of the battery varies depending on the worker, and not all workers charge the battery in a preferable usage environment.

  Therefore, conventionally, a system has been proposed in which battery information data is calculated and the charging tendency is known from the battery information data for the purpose of managing the state of charge of the battery (for example, Patent Document 1). And in patent document 1, while calculating battery information data with the controller with which the vehicle main body was equipped, the said data is memorize | stored in the external storage device with which the vehicle main body was equipped, and the data taken out from the external storage device are used by the external computer. A system configuration for analysis is established.

JP 2002-120999 A

  In the system configuration of Patent Document 1, the data stored in the vehicle body is taken out, and then the data is analyzed by an external computer, and the analysis result is displayed on a printout or display. Is very complex.

  In Patent Document 1, as described above, the charging tendency cannot be grasped unless data is taken out from the vehicle and analyzed by an external computer. For this reason, in order to know the charging tendency, it is necessary to provide data to an owner of an external computer for analyzing the data (for example, a service base) and wait for the analysis result. For this reason, in the system structure of patent document 1, since the structure is complicated as mentioned above, the operator side cannot confirm a charge tendency rapidly.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems, and the purpose thereof is a battery-powered industry that can confirm a charging tendency of a battery with a simple system configuration and can quickly confirm the tendency. To provide a vehicle.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 is a battery-powered industrial vehicle that travels using a battery mounted on a vehicle body as a drive source. The gist is provided with counting means for counting the number of times the battery is charged in association with the remaining capacity of the battery at the start of charging, and display means for displaying the counting result of the counting means.

  According to the present invention, since the result of counting the number of times of charging in association with the remaining capacity of the battery at the start of charging is displayed on the display means provided in the vehicle, the charging tendency of the battery is confirmed with a simple system configuration. Can be confirmed quickly.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the battery-powered industrial vehicle according to the first aspect, the battery-powered industrial vehicle further includes a remaining capacity display unit that separately displays the remaining capacity of the battery, and the counting unit determines the remaining number of times of charging. The gist is to count in units of display sections in the display means.

  According to the present invention, the counting result displayed on the display means can be easily replaced with the display section of the remaining capacity of the battery by counting the number of times of charging in display unit units in the remaining capacity display means. As a result, the charging tendency that can be grasped from the counting result can be grasped along the display category of the remaining capacity of the battery that is seen (familiar) during normal work.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the battery-powered industrial vehicle according to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the counting result of the counting means corresponds to the number of times of charging with respect to the remaining capacity of the battery. The gist is that it is displayed in the attached frequency distribution format.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily grasp the number of times of charging corresponding to the remaining capacity of the battery by displaying the count result in a frequency distribution.

  According to the present invention, the charging tendency of the battery can be confirmed with a simple system configuration, and can be quickly confirmed.

The schematic side view of a battery-type forklift. The external view of the display unit with which the battery-type forklift was equipped. The schematic diagram of the display which displayed the remaining capacity of the battery. The block diagram which shows the control structure of a battery-type forklift. (A)-(c) is a figure which showed the data area with which EEPROM is equipped. The flowchart which shows the process for counting the frequency | count of charge. The schematic diagram of the display which displayed frequency distribution display of the count result of the frequency | count of charge.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, “front”, “rear”, “left”, “right”, “upper”, and “lower” are “front” and “front” when the forklift driver is facing forward (forward direction) of the forklift. “Back”, “Left”, “Right”, “Up” and “Down” are shown.

  As shown in FIG. 1, drive wheels (front wheels) 12 are provided at the front lower portion of a vehicle body 11 of a battery-type forklift 10 as a battery-powered industrial vehicle, and steering wheels (rear wheels) are provided at the rear lower portion of the vehicle body 11. ) 13 is provided. In addition, a cargo handling device is provided at the front portion of the vehicle body 11. The mast 14 constituting the cargo handling device is erected on the front portion of the vehicle body 11, and the mast 14 is provided with a pair of left and right forks (loading implements) 16 via a lift bracket 15. The fork 16 is lifted and lowered together with the lift bracket 15 by driving a lift cylinder 17 connected to the mast 14. Further, the fork 16 is tilted together with the mast 14 by driving a tilt cylinder 18 connected to the mast 14.

  A cab 20 is provided in the center of the vehicle body 11. The cab 20 is provided with a driving seat 21 on which an operator (driver) can sit. A handle 22 is provided in front of the driving seat 21. When the handle 22 is operated, the steering angle of the steered wheels 13 is changed according to the operation. A lift lever 23 that is operated when the fork 16 is moved up and down and a tilt lever 24 that is operated when the mast 14 is tilted are provided on the right side of the handle 22. As shown in FIG. 2, a display unit (display control controller) 25 having a display 25 a as display means for displaying various vehicle information such as the vehicle speed is provided in the back of the handle 22.

  In addition, a rechargeable lead battery (hereinafter simply referred to as “battery”) 26 is mounted in the lower part of the cab 20. The battery-type forklift 10 according to the present embodiment travels when the drive wheels 12 are rotationally driven by the driving force of a travel motor (not shown) that operates using a battery 26 mounted on the vehicle body 11 as a drive source. Moreover, in the battery-type forklift 10 of this embodiment, the remaining capacity of the battery 26 is managed. The remaining capacity of the battery 26 is displayed as vehicle information on the display 25a.

  In the present embodiment, the remaining capacity of the battery 26 is displayed in sections as shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the display 25a that displays the remaining capacity of the battery 26 as a function functions as the remaining capacity display means. The display of the remaining capacity of the battery 26 also functions as a capacity meter for the operator to check the remaining capacity of the battery 26. In the present embodiment, the remaining capacity of the battery 26 is set to 10 levels. On the screen of the display 25a displaying the management information of the battery 26, the symbol M0 indicating the remaining capacity of the battery 26 and 10 symbols M1 to M10 set for each of the 10 stages are set as the symbol M0. It is written side by side. The symbols M1 to M10 of each section correspond to the remaining capacity for 10%. Specifically, the symbol M1 is 0% to 10%, the symbol M2 is 11% to 20%, the symbol M3 is 21% to 30%, the symbol M4 is 31% to 40%, and the symbol M5 is 41% to 50%. It corresponds to each remaining capacity. Symbol M6 is 51% to 60%, Symbol M7 is 61% to 70%, Symbol M8 is 71% to 80%, Symbol M9 is 81% to 90%, and Symbol M10 is 91% to 100%. It corresponds to.

  Then, symbols M1 to M10 corresponding to the remaining capacity of the battery 26 are lit on the display 25a. For example, when the remaining capacity of the battery 26 is 21% to 30%, as shown in FIG. 3, the symbol M3 corresponding to 21% to 30% and the symbol M1, corresponding to less than the remaining capacity corresponding to the symbol M3 Three symbols M1 to M3 of M2 are lit up. As a result, the operator can visually grasp that the remaining capacity of the battery 26 is 21% to 30% from the screen display of the display 25a, and use it as a standard for charging the battery 26. In the screen display of the display 25a, the number of symbols that are lit and displayed is increased or decreased in accordance with the increase or decrease of the remaining capacity of the battery 26. In FIG. 3, the diagonal lines attached to the symbols M1 to M3 indicate “lighting display”.

Next, the electrical configuration of the battery-type forklift 10 will be described with reference to FIG.
The battery-type forklift 10 is equipped with a traveling cargo handling controller 30 that controls traveling and cargo handling, a display unit 25, and a charging controller 31 that controls charging. The traveling cargo handling controller 30, the display unit 25, and the charging controller 31 are connected by a communication means 33 so that signals can be transmitted and received in both directions. The communication means 33 may be either a wired connection or a wireless connection. The display unit 25 is provided with an RTC (real time clock) 25b for measuring real time, a RAM 25d for storing a temporary operation, and an EEPROM 25c which is a nonvolatile memory. The EEPROM 25c stores various vehicle information such as travel time, travel distance, and various set values. The charge controller 31 is connected to a charge switch 31 a that is operated by an operator and instructs to start charging the battery 26. When the charge switch 31a is operated, the charge controller 31 charges the battery 26 from an external power source by controlling the charge transformer 32.

  In this embodiment, the traveling cargo handling controller 30 calculates the remaining capacity of the battery 26 from the voltage (current) of the battery 26. In this embodiment, the traveling cargo handling controller 30 calculates the remaining capacity of the battery 26 for each predetermined period, and transmits the calculated remaining capacity data to the display unit 25. On the other hand, the display unit 25 stores the received remaining capacity data in a predetermined storage area of the RAM 25d, and separately displays the remaining capacity of the battery 26 on the display 25a based on the stored remaining capacity data.

  The battery-type forklift 10 of this embodiment has a data display function for managing (obtaining) the charging tendency of the battery 26 by the operator. Hereinafter, the data display function will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  The EEPROM 25c is set with a data storage area for storing the number of times the battery 26 is charged in association with the remaining capacity of the battery 26 at the start of charging. In this embodiment, the data storage area is set on a monthly basis (“this month”, “last month”, “last month”) so that data for several months (three months in this embodiment) can be stored. Yes. In each data storage area, as shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, 10 divisions are set as counting divisions for counting the number of times of charging in accordance with the remaining capacity of the battery 26 at the start of charging. More specifically, the counting categories are “0-10%”, “11-20%”, “21-30%”, “31-40%”, “41-50%”, “51” as the remaining capacity. ˜60% ”,“ 61-70% ”,“ 71-80% ”,“ 81-90% ”,“ 91-100% ”. The setting of the count division is the same as the division setting when the remaining capacity of the battery 26 is displayed on the display 25a.

  Then, the display unit 25 counts the number of times of charging according to the counting category set in the data storage area at the start of charging and stores it in the EEPROM 25c. Further, the display unit 25 receives a display request for data stored in the data storage area, and displays the number of times of charging corresponding to the remaining capacity on the display 25a in a predetermined format (frequency distribution format in this embodiment). In the present embodiment, a data display request is made by operating a touch button set on the display 25a.

  In the following, the processing contents for the display unit 25 to count the number of times of charging in association with the remaining capacity of the battery 26 at the start of charging and store it in the data storage area will be described according to the flowchart shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the display unit 25 that executes processing described below functions as a calculation unit and a counting unit.

  The display unit 25 determines whether or not the charging switch 31a is turned on (step S10). In step S <b> 10, the display unit 25 determines whether or not an ON signal transmitted from the charging switch 31 a is input via the charging controller 31 when the operator operates the charging switch 31 a. When the determination result of step S10 is negative, the display unit 25 returns to the process of step S10 and repeats the determination of step S10. On the other hand, when the determination result of step S10 is positive, the display unit 25 calculates the remaining capacity data stored in the predetermined storage area of the RAM 25d as the remaining capacity of the battery 26 at the start of charging (step S20). The remaining capacity data stored in the predetermined storage area of the RAM 25d is data transmitted by the traveling cargo handling controller 30 calculating the remaining capacity of the battery 26.

  Next, the display unit 25 reads out the number of times of charging stored in association with the counting section to which the remaining capacity calculated in step S20 belongs from the data storage area, and adds 1 to the read value to determine the number of times of charging. Count (step S30). By the process of step S30, the number of times of charging is counted in association with the remaining capacity of the battery 26 at the start of charging. The data storage area for reading the number of times of charging in step S30 is a data storage area for storing data for “this month”. Then, the display unit 25 that has counted (added 1) the number of times of charging in step S30 stores (overwrites) the number of times of charging after the counting in association with the counting category to which the remaining capacity at the start of charging in the data storage area belongs. (Step S40).

  The display unit 25 changes the data storage area for storing the number of times of charging counted at the start of charging based on the time measurement result of the RTC 25b. More specifically, when the display unit 25 detects the month instead of the time measurement result of the RTC 25b, the data stored in the data storage area for “last month” shown in FIG. 5B is displayed in FIG. The data is stored (shifted) in the data storage area for “last month”. As a result, the data originally stored in the data storage area for “last month” is deleted. Further, the display unit 25 stores (shift processing) the data stored in the “current month” data storage area shown in FIG. 5A in the “last month” data storage area.

  Upon receiving the display request, the display unit 25 generates display screen data for displaying the number of times of charging corresponding to the remaining capacity based on the data stored in the data storage area, as shown in FIG. Is displayed on the display 25a. As a result, a frequency distribution table is displayed on the display 25a in which the 10 counting sections set in the data storage area are classified into classes, and the number of times of charging counted for each counting section is the frequency. In the present embodiment, since data for three months is stored, the display content can be changed by operating the touch button set on the display 25a. More specifically, the initial display content is a frequency distribution table for “this month”, and the display content is switched in the order of “last month” → “last month” → “this month” each time the touch button is operated.

  By such a data display function, the charging tendency of the worker can be grasped from the frequency distribution. Then, the worker or the manager can take measures for improving the usage environment (charging environment) of the battery 26 from the charging tendency. That is, it is generally desirable to charge the battery 26 when the remaining capacity of the battery 26 is around 25% (discharge rate is around 75%). For this reason, if the frequency distribution is confirmed and the number of times of charging when the remaining capacity of the battery 26 is, for example, “81 to 90%” is conspicuous, the charging tendency tends to repeat charging with almost no discharge of the battery 26. (Shallow discharge tendency, multi-charge tendency). In this case, environmental improvements such as reducing the number of times of charging can be implemented. On the other hand, if the frequency distribution is confirmed and the number of times of charging when the remaining capacity of the battery 26 is, for example, “11 to 20%” is conspicuous, the battery 26 is discharged to a place where the remaining capacity is close to zero. After that, it tends to repeat charging (deep discharge tendency). In this case, environmental improvements such as increasing the number of times of charging can be implemented.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The number of times of charging is counted in association with the remaining capacity of the battery 26 at the start of charging, and the counting result is displayed on the display 25a. Thereby, unlike the system configuration described in the prior art document, an analysis system (including an external device) for analyzing the operating state data and calculating the battery information data becomes unnecessary. As a result, the system configuration is simplified, and when the operator (or manager) wants to check the charging tendency, it can be confirmed quickly. That is, it is possible to improve the usage environment (charging environment) of the battery 26 at the level of the site where the battery-type forklift 10 is operated alone and at the site where the battery-type forklift 10 operates.

(2) By confirming the counting result and improving the usage environment of the battery 26, it is possible to contribute to the extension of the life of the battery 26. That is, it can contribute to effective utilization of resources.
(3) The counting section set in the data storage area is set to be the same as the display section of the remaining capacity of the battery 26. Thereby, the counting result (counting division as a class of the frequency distribution shown in FIG. 7) displayed on the display 25a can be easily replaced with the display division of the remaining capacity of the battery 26. As a result, the charging tendency that can be grasped from the counting result (frequency distribution) can be grasped along the display category of the remaining capacity of the battery 26 that is seen during familiar work (familiar). During normal work, the battery 26 can be charged at an appropriate time while paying attention to the charging tendency from the display category of the remaining capacity of the battery 26.

(4) By displaying the count results in a frequency distribution, the count results can be easily grasped visually. As a result, the charging tendency can be easily grasped.
(5) While storing data for a plurality of months, it is possible to grasp a charging tendency with high reliability by grasping a charging tendency from the results of the plurality of months. In addition, it is possible to grasp whether or not environmental improvement has been achieved from the results of multiple months.

In addition, you may change embodiment as follows.
In the embodiment, the charge count counting section and the remaining capacity display section may be set to different sections. For example, if the counting section of the number of times of charging is made smaller than the display section of the remaining capacity, and the counting result is displayed on the display 25a according to the section, the remaining capacity of the battery 26 and the counting result of the number of times of charging at the start of charging. Can be found in more detail.

In the embodiment, the display format for displaying the counting result on the display 25a may be another display format.
In the embodiment, the storage device that stores the counting result may be another nonvolatile memory. In addition, the storage device may be a volatile memory (for example, SRAM or DRAM) as long as it can be used in an environment where power is constantly supplied to the storage device.

  In the embodiment, the control controller may be configured by appropriately combining the traveling cargo handling controller 30, the display unit 25, and the charging controller 31. Specifically, a single controller for control having the function of the traveling cargo handling controller 30, the function of the display unit 25, and the function of the charge controller 31 may be mounted, or for control having any two functions. A controller and a control controller having another function may be mounted.

  The embodiment may be embodied in another battery-powered industrial vehicle that is different from the forklift. For example, the present invention may be embodied in a towing vehicle (conveyor vehicle) such as a towing tractor or a floor cleaner.

  In the embodiment, when the count result is displayed in the frequency distribution format, the latest count result including the latest count result may be displayed separately from the other count results. For example, it may be distinguished by color coding, or may be distinguished by lighting display and blinking display.

  Among the functions of the display unit 25 in the embodiment, a function as a calculation unit that calculates the remaining capacity of the battery 26 at the start of charging and the number of times of charging the battery 26 are associated with the remaining capacity of the battery 26 at the start of charging. A control controller having a function as counting means for counting may be mounted on a battery-powered industrial vehicle. The controller for control is constructed as a management device (or a battery information management device) for the battery 26 that collects and manages information (the number of times of charging) related to the battery 26. The battery-type industrial vehicle provided with such a controller for control may be provided with an external output device for taking out the data collected by the management device of the battery 26 to the outside. According to such a configuration, the data can be analyzed by an external device (such as a personal computer). In Patent Document 1 described in the Background Art column, the charge amount and discharge amount per day are calculated, and the battery 26 is managed by comparing these amounts. Difficult to understand if charging is in progress. That is, the tendency of charging by the worker cannot be grasped. According to the management device according to this alternative example, the number of times of charging is counted in association with the remaining capacity at the start of charging, so that the charging tendency can be accurately and in detail and the usage environment (charging) of the battery 26 can be understood. Measures (advice) to improve the environment) can be taken appropriately.

Next, a technical idea that can be grasped from the above embodiment and another example will be added below.
(A) In a battery management device mounted on a battery-type industrial vehicle that travels using a battery mounted on a vehicle body as a drive source, a calculation means for calculating the remaining capacity of the battery at the start of charging, and the number of times the battery is charged And a counting means for counting in association with the remaining capacity of the battery at the start of charging.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Battery type forklift, 11 ... Vehicle body, 25 ... Display unit, 25a ... Display, 26 ... Battery.

Claims (3)

In battery-powered industrial vehicles that run using a battery mounted on the vehicle as a drive source,
Calculating means for calculating the remaining capacity of the battery at the start of charging;
Counting means for counting the number of times the battery is charged in association with the remaining capacity of the battery at the start of charging;
A battery-powered industrial vehicle comprising: display means for displaying a counting result of the counting means. Further comprising a remaining capacity display means for displaying the remaining capacity of the battery separately;
2. The battery-powered industrial vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the counting unit counts the number of times of charging in units of display sections in the remaining capacity display unit.   3. The battery type according to claim 1, wherein a counting result of the counting unit is displayed on the display unit in a frequency distribution format in which the number of times of charging is associated with the remaining capacity of the battery. Industrial vehicle.

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