JP2013251944A - Charging system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a charging system capable of charging a battery easily and stably even in the interval of cargo handling.SOLUTION: A charging system 1 performing non-contact charging of a battery 22 of a forklift 20 with boarding detection means 21 includes a power supply coupler 3, a power reception coupler 4 for receiving power from the power supply coupler 3, charging means 5 for charging a battery 22 based on a power received by the power reception coupler 4, and monitoring means 6 for monitoring the battery voltage. If boarding of an operator is not detected by the boarding detection means 21 in a state where the power supply coupler 3 and the power reception coupler 4 are coupled, charging is started when the power supply coupler 3 begins to send a power to the power reception coupler 4. If boarding of an operator is detected by the boarding detection means 21, or the battery voltage detected by the monitoring means 6 reaches a predetermined voltage value while charging, the power supply coupler 3 does not send a power to the power reception coupler 4, and charging is stopped.

Description

  The present invention relates to a charging system for charging a battery mounted on a forklift.

As a charging system for charging a battery mounted on a forklift, for example, the one described in Patent Document 1 is known. This charging system is for charging a battery mounted on a manned forklift such as a 3WAY forklift from night to morning when no cargo handling work is performed.
In this charging system, the forklift operator moves the forklift to the charging station after the day's handling operation is completed, and connects the charging device connection plug provided in the charging station to the battery, so that the next day's loading operation starts. The battery can be fully charged.

JP 2004-32869 A

  However, in the conventional charging system described in Patent Document 1, since it is necessary to manually connect the connection plug of the charging device to the battery, it takes time to prepare for charging, and there is a possibility that the operator may receive an electric shock. There was a safety issue.

  In addition, with the conventional charging system, all forklifts that have been used for loading and unloading work are charged all at once from the night to the morning. There was also a problem that a power supply was necessary.

Furthermore, in the conventional charging system, it is not possible to secure a space for the charging place in the work place where the cargo handling work is performed, and it is necessary to provide a charging place in a place away from the work place. If you try to do this, work efficiency will drop significantly.
For this reason, in the conventional charging system, there is a problem that a large capacity battery must be mounted on the forklift or a spare battery must be prepared so that the battery need not be charged during the day. there were.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a charging system that can easily and safely charge a battery even during a cargo handling operation. .

In order to solve the above problems, a charging system according to the present invention is a charging system for non-contact charging a battery mounted on a forklift having boarding detection means,
A feed coupler fixedly provided along the travel path of the forklift;
A power receiving coupler that is provided in the forklift and is coupled to the power feeding coupler in a non-contact state and receives power from the power feeding coupler;
Charging means for charging the battery based on the power received by the power receiving coupler;
Monitoring means for monitoring the battery voltage of the battery,
When the boarding detection means does not detect the boarding of the operator in a state where the power feeding coupler and the power receiving coupler are coupled, charging of the battery is started by the power feeding coupler starting to send power to the power receiving coupler,
While the battery is being charged, when the boarding detection means detects the boarding of the operator or the battery voltage detected by the monitoring means reaches a predetermined voltage value, the power feeding coupler stops sending power to the power receiving coupler. The charging is stopped.

In this configuration, non-contact charging can be performed by the power feeding coupler and the power receiving coupler, and the non-contact charging can be automatically started or stopped based on the detection result of the boarding detection means. It is possible to reduce the labor of the operator for preparing for the stop.
In addition, in this configuration, the feeding coupler is provided along the travel path of the forklift, and the power receiving coupler is provided on the forklift. Therefore, in order to charge the battery, a charging place that is remote from the work place like a conventional charging system is used. There is no need to move the forklift.
Therefore, according to this configuration, it is possible to frequently perform short-time charging during cargo handling work (daytime).

  As a result, according to this configuration, there is no need to charge the forklift that performed the cargo handling work from night to morning, so there is a problem that a space for the charging station must be secured, and a large-capacity factory power supply is required. The problem and the problem that a large-capacity battery must be mounted on the forklift or a spare battery must be prepared are eliminated.

  In addition, according to this configuration, as described above, non-contact charging can be automatically started or stopped based on the detection result of the boarding detection means, so that the possibility of electric shock of the operator can be greatly reduced. It can also improve safety.

When the forklift in the charging system moves along a guide rail along a traveling path between racks arranged side by side,
The feed coupler is provided in the rack,
The power receiving coupler is preferably provided on the side surface of the forklift body facing the rack.

In general, when performing non-contact charging, if the power feeding coupler and the power receiving coupler are too far apart, the power feeding coupler cannot send power to the power receiving coupler, and charging cannot be performed.
However, according to this configuration, the forklift moves along the guide rail, so that the operation of the operator can be performed by installing the power feeding coupler and the power receiving coupler in advance so that the distance between the couplers is appropriate (for example, 25 mm). Regardless of skill, the distance between the couplers can be maintained, and contactless charging can be performed reliably.

The charging system may further include a management machine that transmits a cargo handling command related to the content of cargo handling work to each of a plurality of forklifts,
The management machine periodically receives the battery voltage from each forklift during the loading operation that has received the loading instruction, determines the charging priority based on the received battery voltage and the content of the loaded loading operation, and the determined priority Thus, the forklift operator can be configured to notify the forklift operator who has received the charging command that charging is necessary.

  According to this configuration, the priority of charging is determined by the management machine based on the battery voltage of each forklift and the contents of the cargo handling work, and the charging command is transmitted to each forklift according to the priority, so that the work efficiency is lowered. Therefore, the battery of each forklift can be charged smoothly.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a charging system that can easily and safely charge a battery even between cargo handling operations.

1 is a block diagram of a charging system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the forklift provided with the power receiving side system of the charging system concerning the present invention. It is a block diagram of the charging system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a plane schematic diagram of the workplace to which the charging system according to the second embodiment of the present invention is applied.

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a charging system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 shows a charging system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in the figure, the charging system 1 according to this embodiment is for non-contact charging of a battery 22 mounted on a forklift 20 having a boarding detection means 21, and is fixed along the travel route of the forklift 20. The power supply side system provided for the purpose and the power reception side system provided for the forklift 20 are included.

  In the present embodiment, as the forklift 20 having the boarding detection means 21, as shown in FIG. 2, a 3WAY forklift that can perform a cargo handling operation in three directions without changing the direction of the vehicle body 23 is used.

  The forklift 20 is provided with a device storage chamber 24 in which a battery 22 is stored at the left rear portion of the vehicle body 23, and a driver seat 25 on which the operator stands while standing at the right rear portion of the vehicle body 23. Yes. A boarding detection means 21 and a brake pedal 26 are provided on the floor of the driver seat 25, and an accelerator lever 27 and an operation lever 28 for operating the fork are provided in front of the driver seat 25. Further, a power receiving coupler 4 and a charging unit 5 described later are provided on the left rear side surface of the vehicle body 23.

The boarding detection means 21 includes a pedal energized by the energizing means and a switch that is turned on and off by the pedal. When the operator gets on the driver's seat 25, the pedal is depressed by the operator's feet and the switch is turned on, so the boarding detection means 21 detects the boarding of the operator. On the other hand, when the operator leaves the seat, the pedal is raised by the urging means and the switch is turned off, so that the boarding detection means 21 does not detect the boarding of the operator (detects the operator's leaving).
In the forklift 20, when the boarding detection means 21 does not detect the boarding of the operator, the operation of the accelerator lever 27 and the operation lever 28 are invalidated.

  Referring to FIG. 1 again, the power supply side system includes an inverter 2, a power supply coupler 3, and a communication unit 8a. The power reception side system includes a power reception coupler 4, a charging unit 5, a monitoring unit 6, and the like. The control signal generating means 7 and the communication means 8b are provided.

  The inverter 2 includes a converter unit that rectifies and smoothes an AC input voltage supplied from an AC power source 10 such as a commercial AC power source (AC 100 V, 50 Hz / 60 Hz) and generates a DC voltage, and a DC voltage generated by the converter unit. The inverter unit is configured to generate primary AC voltage by switching with the switch unit, and the control unit controls the duty ratio of the switch unit.

  The power feed coupler 3 is connected to the inverter section of the inverter 2 and includes a primary coil that generates a magnetic flux according to the primary AC voltage, and a resin housing that houses the primary coil.

  The power receiving coupler 4 includes a secondary coil and a resin housing that houses the secondary coil. The power receiving coupler 4 is coupled to the power feeding coupler 3 in a non-contact state, and receives power from the power feeding coupler 3 by inducing a secondary side AC voltage corresponding to the magnetic flux generated by the power feeding coupler 3 in the secondary coil. it can.

  The charging unit 5 is configured to charge the battery 22 based on the power received by the power receiving coupler 4. Specifically, the charging unit 5 rectifies and smoothes the secondary AC voltage induced by the power receiving coupler 4 and supplies the rectified and smoothed voltage to the battery 22.

  The monitoring unit 6 includes a voltage sensor that periodically detects the battery voltage of the battery 22 and outputs the detected battery voltage to the control signal generation unit 7.

The control signal generation means 7 is configured to generate a control signal (drive signal, stop signal) for driving or stopping the inverter 2 and to output it to the communication means 8b.
When the feed coupler 3 and the power receiving coupler 4 are coupled in a non-contact state, the control signal generation means 7 does not detect the operator's boarding by the boarding detection means 21 (the boarding detection means 21 causes the operator to leave the seat). Is detected), a drive signal for driving the inverter 2 is generated, and the drive signal is output to the communication means 8b.
Further, when the boarding detection means 21 detects the boarding of the operator or the battery voltage detected by the monitoring means 6 reaches a predetermined voltage value while the battery 22 is being charged, the control signal generation means 7 2 is generated, and the stop signal is output to the communication means 8b.

  The communication unit 8b includes an optical communication module that transmits the control signal generated by the control signal generation unit 7 to the communication unit 8a. The communication unit 8 a is configured by an optical communication module that outputs the received control signal to the control unit of the inverter 2.

When a drive signal is input to the control unit of the inverter 2, the inverter unit of the inverter 2 is driven under the control of the control unit, and power is sent from the power feeding coupler 3 to the power receiving coupler 4, thereby charging the battery 22. Be started.
On the other hand, when a stop signal is input to the control unit of the inverter 2 while the battery 22 is being charged, the inverter unit of the inverter 2 is stopped under the control of the control unit, and power is sent from the power feeding coupler 3 to the power receiving coupler 4. By disappearing, charging of the battery 22 is stopped.

In the charging system 1 according to the present embodiment, non-contact charging can be performed by the power feeding coupler 3 and the power receiving coupler 4, and non-contact charging is automatically started or stopped according to the detection result of the boarding detection means 21. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the time and labor of the operator for preparing to start charging or stop charging.
Moreover, in the charging system 1 according to the present embodiment, since the power feeding coupler 3 is provided along the travel path of the forklift 20 and the power receiving coupler 4 is provided on the vehicle body 23 of the forklift 20, in order to charge the battery 22 There is no need to move the forklift 20 to a charging station that is remote from the work place as in the conventional charging system.
Therefore, according to the charging system 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to frequently perform short-time charging during cargo handling work (daytime).

  As a result, according to the charging system 1 according to the present embodiment, there is no need to charge the forklift 20 that has performed the cargo handling work from night to morning, so there is a problem that a space for the charging station must be secured, and a large capacity The problem that a factory power supply is required and the problem that a large-capacity battery must be mounted on the forklift 20 or a spare battery must be prepared can be solved together.

  Further, according to the charging system 1 according to the present embodiment, the non-contact charging can be automatically started or stopped based on the detection result of the boarding detection unit 21 as described above, so that an electric shock of the operator is possible. Safety can be greatly reduced, and safety can be improved.

  After all, according to the charging system 1 according to the present embodiment, the battery 22 can be easily and safely charged even during the cargo handling operation.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 3 shows a charging system 1 ′ according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in the figure, the charging system 1 ′ according to the present embodiment is charged according to the first embodiment except for including a management machine 9 that transmits a cargo handling command to the plurality of forklifts 20 </ b> A to 20 </ b> D. It is common with the system 1.
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, four forklifts 20 </ b> A to 20 </ b> D perform a cargo handling operation in accordance with a cargo handling instruction in a warehouse in which eight racks R <b> 1 to R <b> 8 are arranged in parallel. Moreover, each forklift 20A-20D shall drive | work between racks R1-R8 along the guide rail not shown laid in the driving | running route between racks R1-R8.

  The racks R1 to R8 have a plurality of openings in the height direction and the horizontal direction. Loads placed on the pallet are stored in the plurality of openings, but an inverter 2 and a power feeding coupler 3 are used instead of loads in the opening at the right end of the rack R7 located near the entrance between the racks R6-R7. Is provided.

  The management machine 9 stores information necessary for loading and unloading, such as the product name, quantity, code number, and rack front-end number of the goods that are loaded into the racks R1 to R8 (or are loaded from the racks R1 to R8). Based on these pieces of information, a cargo handling command relating to the optimum cargo handling work performed by each forklift 20A to 20D is generated, and the cargo handling command is transmitted to each forklift 20A to 20D.

Moreover, the management machine 9 periodically receives the battery voltage detected by the monitoring means 6 from each of the forklifts 20A to 20D during the cargo handling operation that has received the cargo handling command, and performs the cargo handling operation of the received battery voltage and the transmitted cargo handling command. The charging priority is determined based on the contents. In principle, the priority order is in ascending order of the battery voltage, but is determined in consideration of the contents of the cargo handling work of each of the forklifts 20A to 20D.
For example, even when the battery voltage of the forklift 20C is lower than the battery voltage of the forklift 20A, as shown in FIG. 4, when the forklift 20C is performing a cargo handling operation away from the power supply coupler 3, The forklift 20A located near the coupler 3 is charged first, and the priority order is determined so that the forklift 20C during the cargo handling operation is charged later.

  When the priority order is determined, the management machine 9 transmits a charging command to each of the forklifts 20A to 20D in order according to the determined priority order to notify the operators of the forklifts 20A to 20D that charging is necessary. The charging command includes a charging time, a battery voltage at which charging ends, and the like.

For example, when a charging command is transmitted to the forklift 20A, the operator of the forklift 20A who has confirmed the charging command on the display provided near the driver's seat 25 couples the power feeding coupler 3 and the power receiving coupler 4 in a non-contact state. Therefore, the forklift 20A is stopped at the charging field (near the entrance between the racks R6 and R7).
Then, after the power feeding coupler 3 and the power receiving coupler 4 are coupled in a non-contact state, when the operator gets out of the floor of the driver's seat 25 of the forklift 20A, the boarding detection means 21 detects the absence of the operator and generates a control signal. A drive signal for driving the inverter 2 is generated by the means 7. When the generated drive signal is transmitted to the inverter 2 by the communication means 8a and 8b, the inverter 2 is driven, power is sent from the power feeding coupler 3 to the power receiving coupler 4, and charging of the battery 22 is started.
When charging of the battery 22 is started, the battery is charged until the operator gets on the floor of the driver's seat 25 of the forklift 20A or the battery voltage reaches a predetermined voltage value (for example, a voltage value specified by the charge command). The charging of 22 is continued.

According to the charging system 1 'according to the present embodiment, since the power feeding coupler 3 is provided in the rack R7 and the power receiving coupler 4 is provided in the forklifts 20A to 20D, the cargo handling work can be performed without reducing work efficiency. The battery 22 can be frequently charged near the entrance between the racks R6 to R7.
As a result, since it is not necessary to charge the forklifts 20A to 20D all at once from the night to the morning, as with the charging system 1 according to the first embodiment, there is a problem that a space for the charging station must be secured, and a large capacity The problem that a factory power source is required and the problem that a large-capacity battery must be mounted on the forklifts 20A to 20D or a spare battery must be prepared can be solved together.

Further, in the charging system 1 ′ according to the present embodiment, the forklifts 20A to 20D travel between the racks R1 to R8 along the guide rail, so that the power feeding coupler 3 is adjusted to have an appropriate distance between the couplers (for example, 25 mm). By installing the power receiving coupler 4 in advance, the distance between the couplers can be maintained regardless of the operator's driving skill, and non-contact charging can be performed reliably.
Since the forklifts 20A to 20D are provided with positioning lasers for accurately taking out the loads from the racks R1 to R8, the operator uses the positioning lasers to allow the operator to supply the power feeding coupler 3 and the power receiving coupler 4. Can be easily aligned.

  Furthermore, according to the charging system 1 ′ according to the present embodiment, the management device 9 determines the priority order of charging based on the battery voltage of each of the forklifts 20A to 20D and the contents of the cargo handling work, and each forklift 20A according to the priority order. Since the charging command is transmitted to ˜20D, the battery 22 mounted on each of the forklifts 20A to 20D can be charged smoothly without reducing the work efficiency.

  As mentioned above, although preferable embodiment of the charging system which concerns on this invention was described, this invention is not limited to said structure.

  For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, the boarding detection means 21 includes a pedal urged by the urging means and a switch operated by the pedal, and detects boarding (or leaving) of the operator. Any configuration can be used as long as it can.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, the inverter 2 is included in the power supply side system. However, the DC power may be directly supplied to the power supply coupler 3 using an appropriate DC power source without using the inverter 2.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, in order to reliably stop the charging when the operator is on board, the switch that constitutes the boarding detection means 21 is turned off only when the switch is on (state in which the operator boarding is detected). Another switch that enters a state may be provided between the charging means 5 and the battery 22.

  Further, in the present invention, the installation location of the inverter 2 and the power feed coupler 3 can be arbitrarily changed as long as the power feed coupler 3 is fixedly provided at least along the travel route of the forklift 20. For example, the power feeding coupler 3 may be installed in the racks R1 to R8, and the inverter 2 may be installed outside the racks R1 to R8.

  Further, in the present invention, for example, in order to prevent the forklifts 20 and 20A to 20D from being left for a long time while being charged in the charging station and reducing the work efficiency, for example, the charging time specified by the charging command is passed. However, the forklift 20 may be provided with warning means such as a lamp that is turned on when charging is performed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1 'Charging system 2 Inverter 3 Feeding coupler 4 Power receiving coupler 5 Charging means 6 Monitoring means 7 Control signal generation means 8a, 8b Communication means 9 Management machine 10 AC power supply 20, 20A-20D Forklift 21 Boarding detection means 22 Battery 23 Car body 24 Equipment storage room 25 Driver's seat 26 Brake pedal 27 Accelerator lever 28 Operation lever

Claims (3)

A charging system for contactlessly charging a battery mounted on a forklift having boarding detection means,
A feed coupler fixedly provided along the travel path of the forklift;
A power receiving coupler that is provided on the forklift and is coupled to the power feeding coupler in a non-contact state and receives power from the power feeding coupler;
Charging means for charging the battery based on the power received by the power receiving coupler;
Monitoring means for monitoring the battery voltage of the battery,
In the state where the power feeding coupler and the power receiving coupler are coupled, when the boarding detection unit does not detect boarding of the operator, the power feeding coupler starts to send power to the power receiving coupler, and charging of the battery is started.
While the battery is being charged, when the boarding detection means detects the boarding of the operator or when the battery voltage detected by the monitoring means reaches a predetermined voltage value, the power feeding coupler supplies power to the power receiving coupler. The charging system is characterized in that charging of the battery is stopped when it is not sent. The forklift moves along a guide rail along a traveling route between racks arranged side by side,
The power supply coupler is provided in the rack;
The charging system according to claim 1, wherein the power receiving coupler is provided on a side surface of the forklift that faces the rack. It further comprises a management machine that transmits a cargo handling command related to the content of each cargo handling work to the plurality of forklifts,
The management machine periodically receives the battery voltage from each forklift during the loading operation that has received the loading instruction, and determines the priority of charging based on the received battery voltage and the transmitted loading operation content. 3. The forklift operator who receives the charging command is notified of the need for charging by transmitting a charging command to each of the forklifts in order according to the determined priority order. Charging system.

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