JP2019073148A - Electric work vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an electric work vehicle which enables connection of connectors and fixation to a battery in an easy and reliable manner despite low flexibility of a vehicle body side connector and a battery side connector.SOLUTION: An electric work vehicle includes: a battery housing part which is provided at a vehicle body so as to house a battery; a power supply coupler comprising a first connector 72 provided at the vehicle body side and a second connector 74 provided at the battery side; and an operation tool 8 which moves the battery and the second connector 74 in an attachment direction so as to shift from a pre-attachment posture at which the first connector 72 and the second connector 74 face each other and an attachment posture at which the first connector 72 and the second connector 74 are coupled.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrically operated vehicle that travels by supplying power from a battery mounted on a vehicle body.

  The electric working machine according to Patent Document 1 includes a working unit motor that drives a working unit, a traveling motor that rotates traveling wheels, and a battery that supplies power to the working unit motor and the traveling motor. A vehicle-side connector for connecting a battery is provided at the rear of the vehicle body, and the battery is provided with a battery-side connector connected to the vehicle-side connector. Wheels are attached to the battery to facilitate movement of the battery when the battery is mounted at the rear of the vehicle body. Although the battery transferred to the vehicle body needs to be connected to the control unit, the connection method is not disclosed in Patent Document 1, but in general, it is connected via an electric cable. At that time, if it is easy to connect the connector on the electrical cable side and the connector on the battery side, if the degree of freedom of either connector or both connectors is increased, if the connector shakes after connection, It may interfere with other parts. Conversely, eliminating the freedom of both connectors requires that the battery side connection of the battery be connected to the vehicle side connection as well as the connection between the connectors be completed, which requires an expensive precision guide mechanism. .

JP, 2013-115, A

  In view of the above situation, there is a demand for an electric working vehicle that can easily and reliably connect the connector and fix the battery to the vehicle body despite the low degree of freedom of the connector on the vehicle body side and the connector on the battery side. There is.

  The electric work vehicle according to the present invention travels by power feeding from a battery mounted on a vehicle body, and a battery storage portion provided on the vehicle body for storing the battery, and a battery compartment provided on the vehicle body side 1) A feed coupler having a connector and a second connector provided on the battery side, and a mounting in which the first connector and the second connector are coupled from a mounting posture in which the first connector and the second connector face each other An operation tool is provided for moving the battery and the second connector so as to shift to the posture.

  In this configuration, the feeding coupler for feeding connection from the battery to the vehicle body includes the first connector on the vehicle side and the second connector on the battery side. The connection between the battery and the vehicle body is established by coupling the first connector and the second connector. In the first stage of this feed connection, the battery is moved to the pre-loading posture in which the first connector and the second connector face each other. At that time, since only the first connector and the second connector need to face each other, a certain degree of error is allowed in the alignment between the first connector and the second connector. That is, after movement of the second connector and the battery to the mounting posture where high accuracy is not required, the battery and the second connector move from the mounting posture to the mounting posture by the operation using the operating tool as the next step. As a result, the first connector and the second connector are coupled. Since the distance between the pre-mounting posture and the mounting posture is short, it is easy to shift the first connector and the second connector from the pre-mounting posture to the mounting posture with high accuracy even with a simple operating tool. In addition, when the housing of the first connector or the housing of the second connector can be used as a telescopic guide mechanism, the positional accuracy required of the operation tool can be lowered.

  In one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the operation tool includes a bracket fixed to the vehicle body, and a first swing position and a second swing position around a first horizontal axis formed on the bracket. And a coupling body pivotally coupled to the operation lever about a second horizontal axis formed on the operation lever, the free end of the coupling body A locking portion is formed which can be locked to a locked portion formed on the battery in the mounting pre-position. The second horizontal axis is the first connector due to the swinging from the first swinging position to the second swinging position of the operation lever in the locked state between the locking portion and the locked portion. Moving in the mounting direction, and the first connector and the second connector are coupled. The transition procedure from the mounting posture to the mounting posture is as follows. First, the battery enters the battery storage unit and moves until the positional relationship between the first connector and the second connector becomes the mounting pre-posture. As a result, the locking portion of the connector can be locked to the locked portion of the battery by swinging the connector. The battery and the bracket are connected by the connector by locking the locking portion to the locked portion. The mounting relationship of the connector to the control lever is such that the second horizontal axis is displaced in the mounting direction when the control lever is swung from the first swing position to the second swing position in the connection state of the battery and the bracket It is set to. Therefore, the distance between the first connector and the second connector is reduced by the swinging of the operation lever from the first swinging position to the second swinging position, and finally the positions of the first connector and the second connector The relationship is the mounting posture. That is, the battery and the bracket are connected by the connector in the mounting posture, and the control lever is swung in the connected state, whereby the first connector and the second connector are connected.

  Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment, the first connector is movable with respect to the vehicle body, and the first connector is pivoted from the first pivoting position to the second pivoting position. The first connector is coupled to the control lever such that the second connector moves toward the second connector. Since the distance between the first connector and the second connector is reduced by the swinging of the operating lever from the first swinging position to the second swinging position in the connected state of the connecting body, the first connector relative to the vehicle body If it can move, both the first connector and the second connector approach each other due to the swing of the control lever. Thereby, the connection between the first connector and the second connector, that is, the transition to the mounting posture becomes smoother.

  At that time, it is convenient that the coupling body in the locked state functions as a holding mechanism for holding the operation lever in the second swing position. This is because, for example, the first horizontal axis and the second horizontal axis are generated such that a rocking force that opposes the rocking of the operating lever from the second rocking position to the first rocking position is generated by the elastic force of the connector. This is achieved by setting the positional relationship with the axis.

  Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment, the connector is a C-shaped member composed of two longitudinal pieces and a lateral piece connected to the longitudinal pieces, and the locking portion is both ends of the lateral pieces of the C-shaped member. The to-be-locked portion, which is formed on the rear surface of the housing and is engaged with each of the two locking portions, is positioned to sandwich the second connector. In this configuration, since the locking portions are formed at both ends of the coupling body, the coupling between the coupling body and the battery becomes stronger. Moreover, the rigidity of a connection body is also improved by forming a connection body in C shape. Furthermore, the second connector is disposed between the two engagement parts and the two engagement parts that engage with the two engagement parts, whereby the battery having the two engagement parts as action points (as a result, the second connector) In the movement from the mounting posture to the mounting posture, the force is smoothly transmitted, and the twisting of the connector is suppressed.

  In one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, a stopper that prevents movement of the battery beyond the mounting posture is provided, and movement is prevented by the stopper, and the mounting posture from the mounting front posture to the battery by the operation tool is provided. The biasing of the posture fixes the battery at the battery storage unit. In this configuration, when the operation tool moves the first connector along with the mounting direction along the mounting direction with the battery, the movement of the battery exceeding the mounting posture is blocked by the stopper. At that time, the battery is locked in a state of being in contact with the stopper by holding the operating tool in the mounting posture. That is, in this configuration, the operation tool also functions as a battery lock mechanism in cooperation with the stopper.

  In one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the battery is stored in a carrier, and a guide mechanism for guiding the carrier from the outside of the vehicle body to the battery storage portion is attached to both side surfaces of the battery storage portion. And a guide roller attached to both sides of the carrier so as to be guided by the guide rail. In this configuration, the battery is protected by the carrier, which reduces the possibility of damaging the battery during installation and removal. In addition, the guide mechanism makes it easy to move the carrier to the mounting posture of the first connector and the second connector.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a whole side view of the electric mower which is an example of an electric working vehicle. It is a whole top view of electric mower. It is a perspective view of battery storage part vicinity. FIG. 5 is an overall perspective view of the battery and the carrier showing the battery attached to the carrier. It is a whole perspective view of a battery and a state where a battery was attached to a carrier. It is a side view which shows the process in which the carrier which accommodated the battery is mounted | worn with the battery storage part of a vehicle body. It is a side view which shows the process in which the carrier which accommodated the battery is mounted | worn with the battery storage part of a vehicle body. It is a side view which shows the process in which the carrier which accommodated the battery is mounted | worn with the battery storage part of a vehicle body. It is a side view showing the battery and the operation tool in the mounting pre-position where the 1st connector and the 2nd connector face each other. It is a side view which shows the battery and the operation tool in the mounting posture which a 1st connector and a 2nd connector couple | bond. FIG. 10 is a side view showing the operating tool in which the locking portion of the coupling body is located in the vicinity of the locked portion and the operating lever is in the first swing position. It is a side view which shows the operation tool which the latching | locking part of a coupling body latches to a to-be-locked part, and a control lever is between a 1st rocking position and a 2nd rocking position. It is a side view which shows the operation tool which the latching | locking part of a coupling body latches to a to-be-locked part, and a control lever is a 2nd rocking position.

  In the present specification, “front” means the front with respect to the vehicle body longitudinal direction (traveling direction), and “rear” means the rear with respect to the vehicle body longitudinal direction (traveling direction) unless otherwise noted. Further, the lateral direction or the lateral direction means a transverse direction of the vehicle (vehicle width direction) orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The "upper" or "lower" is a positional relationship in the vertical direction (vertical direction) of the vehicle body, and indicates a relationship in the ground level.

  Next, one embodiment of a work vehicle according to the present invention will be described. Here, the work vehicle is an electric mower. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the electric mowing machine includes right and left front wheels 11 supported at the front of the vehicle body 1, right and left rear wheels 12 supported at the rear of the vehicle body 1, and the vehicle body 1. The mower unit 3 supported between the front wheel 11 and the rear wheel 12 at the lower part, the battery storage 4 supported between the right and left rear wheels 12 at the rear of the vehicle body 1, supported at the upper part of the vehicle body 1 A driver's seat 13 and a lops frame 14 are provided.

  The vehicle body 1 includes a frame 10 composed of right and left longitudinal beams extending in the front-rear direction and a cross beam connecting the longitudinal beams. The driver's seat 13 is supported by the frame 10, and the lower part of the lops frame 14 is connected to the frame.

  The front wheel 11 is a caster type wheel, and the rear wheel 12 is a drive wheel. At the rear of the frame 10, right and left traveling motors 15 and a speed reduction mechanism 16 are disposed. The power of the traveling motor 15 is transmitted to the rear wheel 12 via the reduction mechanism 16. The right and left rear wheels 12 are driven independently.

  The shift levers 17 are disposed on both sides of the driver's seat 13, respectively. The right traveling motor 15 is stopped when the right shift lever 17 is operated to the neutral position. When the right shift lever 17 is operated forward, the right travel motor 15 rotates forward, and when the right shift lever 17 is operated backward, the right travel motor 15 rotates backward. Similarly, when the left shift lever 17 is operated to the neutral position, forward and backward, the left travel motor 15 operates in the same manner as described above. By operating the right and left shift levers 17, forward and reverse travel and right and left turn can be performed by driving the right and left rear wheels 12 independently to the forward and reverse sides.

  The mower unit 3 includes a mower deck 30 and a cutting blade 31 rotatably supported around a longitudinal axis inside the mower deck 30, and the cutting blade motor 32 rotationally drives the cutting blade 31. The mower deck 30 is suspended from the frame 10 by the link mechanism 33 so as to be able to move up and down.

  A battery 6 for supplying power to the traveling motor 15 and the cutting blade motor 32 is accommodated at a rear portion of the vehicle body 1 in a battery accommodating portion 4 formed between the right and left rear wheels 12. In this embodiment, the battery 6 is surrounded by the carrier 5 and moves together with the carrier 5. Therefore, the battery storage unit 4 substantially functions as a carrier storage unit. The upper part of the battery storage unit 4 is covered by a rear cover 18 which pivots around a lateral axis.

As shown in FIG. 3, the battery housing 4 has the right and left side walls 41 fixed to the rear of the frame 10, and the front ends of the right and left side walls 41 are connected to the front wall 42. The lower end of the side wall 41 and the lower end of the front wall 42 are connected to the horizontal floor plate 43.
The right and left guide rails 44 along the front-rear direction are fixed to the right and left side walls 41 as a guide mechanism for guiding the carrier 5 having the battery 6 built therein to the battery storage portion from the outside. The guide rail 44 is a section having a channel-like cross section, and the right and left auxiliary rollers 45 are rotatably mounted slightly behind the rear end of the guide rail 44. Near the front end of the guide rail 44, a stopper 47 made of an elastic material such as a spring or rubber is provided in the channel.

  A horizontal surface 42a is formed on the upper end of the front wall 42 of the battery storage portion 4 fixed to the frame 10, and the horizontal surface 42a of the feed coupler 7 interposed in a feed line for sending power from the battery 6 to the vehicle body. A first connector unit 7A constituting a vehicle body side connector is disposed. The first connector unit 7A has a bracket 71 fixed to the horizontal surface 42a, and a first connector 72 slidably supported by the bracket 71 in the front-rear direction. As will be described in detail later, the bracket 71 is attached with an operation tool 8 for attaching and detaching the connector of the power feeding coupler 7.

  Next, the carrier 5 will be described using FIGS. 4 and 5. The carrier 5 creates a space defined by the front surface 50, the lower surface 51, the right and left side surfaces 52, and the rear surface 53 by a pipe or a plate, and the battery 6 is accommodated in the space. Shoes 54 are attached downward to the front right and left portions of the lower surface 51. At the rear of the side surface 52, right and left large-diameter wheels 55 for movement are rotatably provided via brackets. The carrier 5 can stand by the shoe 54 and the large diameter wheel 55, and the carrier 5 can be smoothly moved by the large diameter wheel 55 by floating the shoe 54. Right and left guide rollers 56 are rotatably attached to the front of the side surface 52. Furthermore, right and left guide rods 57 extending along the front-rear direction from the rear of the guide roller 56 are provided on the left and right side surfaces 52.

  As apparent from FIG. 4, the front surface 50 of the carrier 5 is used as a gate for carrying the battery 6 into and out of the carrier 5. As shown in FIG. 5, a plate-like fixing member 58 is provided to fix the battery 6 carried into the carrier 5, and the gate 58 is fixed by attaching the fixing member 58 to the front surface 50 of the carrier 5. The battery 6 is shut off and fixed in the carrier 5.

  The battery 6 has a form in which a large number of lithium ion type battery cells are built in a cube-shaped case 60. A second connector unit 7 </ b> B that constitutes a battery-side connector of the feed coupler 7 is provided at the top of the front of the battery 6. The second connector unit 7B has a fixed bracket 73 attached to the case 60 and a second connector 74 fixed to the case 60 by the fixed bracket 73. By mounting the second connector 74 on the first connector 72, coupling of the feed coupler 7 is realized, and power is sent from the battery 6 to the vehicle body.

  The process of loading the carrier 5 on which the battery 6 is mounted into the battery storage unit 4 is shown in FIGS. 6 to 9. FIG. 6 shows the state before the start of loading, and the carrier 5 is located at the rear of the vehicle body 1. The rear cover 18 is swung upward, and the rear and upper portions of the battery storage unit 4 are opened. As shown in FIG. 7, the carrier 5 is brought close to the battery storage unit 4, and the guide rod 57 of the carrier 5 is placed on the auxiliary roller 45 of the battery storage unit 4, and the carrier 5 is placed on the floor plate 43. Move in an inclined state.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the carrier 5 is advanced while being returned to the horizontal posture, and the guide roller 56 of the carrier 5 is advanced into the guide rail 44 of the battery storage unit 4. The carrier 5 can be smoothly moved in the horizontal posture by the rolling support by the guide rail 44, the guide roller 56, and the auxiliary roller 45 and the guide rod 57.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the forward movement of the carrier 5 is limited by the contact between the guide roller 56 and the stopper 47. The position of the stopper 47 is determined so that the mounting pre-posture in which the first connector 72 and the second connector 74 face each other at the positions of the carrier 5 and the battery housing 4 when the guide roller 56 contacts the stopper 47 It is done. As shown in FIG. 10, by bringing the first connector 72 and the second connector 74 closer to each other from the mounting posture, the mounting posture is established in which the first connector 72 and the second connector 74 are coupled. The operating tool 8 is used for the transition from the mounting posture to the mounting posture.

Next, the configuration and operation of the operation tool 8 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 11, 12 and 13. FIG.
The operating tool 8 includes a bracket 71 fixed to the vehicle body 1, an operation lever 81, and a connecting body 82. The bracket 71 has a channel shape, and the bottom surface thereof is fixed to a horizontal surface 42 a of the front wall 42 of the battery storage unit 4. On both side walls of the bracket 71, a first hole 81a having a first horizontal axis X1 is provided. The operation lever 81 is a U-shaped member manufactured by bending from a plate material, and the distance between both ends thereof is substantially the same as the width of the bracket 71, and sandwiching the bracket 71, around the first horizontal axis X1. Is pivotally attached to the bracket 71 via a pivot pin. The connecting body 82 is a C-shaped member which is manufactured from a rod material by bending such as a cross-sectional shape of a lip channel steel. Thus, the connector 82 includes two vertical pieces 82a and a horizontal piece 82b connected to the vertical pieces 82a. The operation lever 81 is provided with a second hole 81b having a second horizontal axis X2 on the lower end side of the first hole 81a. The opposite end portions of the vertical pieces 82a of the coupling body 82 are swingably inserted into the second holes 81b, whereby the coupling body 82 is coupled to the operation lever 81.

  In this embodiment, the bracket 71 slidably holds the first connector 72 in the front-rear direction. Furthermore, a guide pin 81p extending in the lateral direction is provided on the inner surface of the leg portion of the operation lever 81, and a longitudinal groove hole 72h into which the guide pin 81p is inserted is provided in the housing of the first connector 72. . As a result, the first connector 72 moves rearward as the control lever 81 swings rearward.

  FIG. 3 shows the first swinging position of the operating lever 81 and the home position of the connecting member 82. The operating lever 81 in the first swinging position and the connecting member 82 in the home position are tilted forward. .

  11, 12 and 13, the mounting posture of the power feeding coupler 7 in which the first connector 72 and the second connector 74 are coupled from the mounting front posture of the power feeding coupler 7 in which the first connector 72 and the second connector 74 face each other. The transition to is shown.

  FIG. 11 shows a posture before mounting. In this pre-loading posture, the second connector 74 is in the housing of the first connector 72 but is not in the coupled state. In the mounting posture, the connector 82 is swung rearward from the home position to the acting position. The fixed bracket 73 attached to the case 60 of the battery 6 includes a gate-shaped member for holding and holding the second connector 74, and a notch extending backward from the rear is formed in the vicinity of the upper end of both legs ing. In the working position of the connector 82, the connector 82 and the fixing bracket 73 are connected through the notch. At this time, the notch functions as a locked portion 73z locked with the locking portion 82z of the coupling body 82. The locking portion 82z is formed at the free end of the connection body 82, and here, is formed at a portion close to the vertical piece 82a of the horizontal piece 82b of the connection body 82.

  FIG. 12 shows an intermediate posture between the mounting posture and the mounting posture. The positional relationship between the second horizontal axis X2 and the first horizontal axis X1 is such that the second horizontal axis X2 is displaced forward relative to the first horizontal axis X1 due to the swinging of the operation lever 81 from the mounting pre-position to the rear. It is set to That is, the second horizontal axis X2 moves in the mounting direction of the second connector 74. Therefore, in this intermediate posture, the locking portion 82z is firmly locked to the locked portion 73z, and the second connector 74 is moved forward together with the carrier 5. The forward movement of the second connector 74 and the backward movement of the first connector 72 described above cause the first connector 72 and the second connector 74 to approach each other. At this time, the guide roller 56 of the carrier 5 presses the stopper 47 to elastically displace the stopper 47.

  FIG. 13 shows the mounting posture. Through the transition to the mounting posture, the first connector 72 and the second connector 74 further approach each other, and finally the first connector 72 and the second connector 74 are coupled. Further, in this mounting posture, the guide roller 56 of the carrier 5 further presses the stopper 47, and the carrier 5 receives a rearward biasing force from the elastically displaced stopper 47. The carrier 5 is firmly fixed to the battery storage portion 4 by the biasing force and the locking between the locking portion 82z of the coupling body 82 and the locked portion 73z.

  Further, the positional relationship between the second horizontal axis X2 and the first horizontal axis X1 in the mounting posture is such that the tensile force generated at the second horizontal axis X2 due to the tension state of the connector 82 swings the operation lever 81 in the forward direction Create a rocking force. That is, the connecting body 82 functions as a holding mechanism for holding the operation lever 81 in the second swing position in a locked state (mounting posture) with the fixed bracket 73 (second connector 74).

  In the transition from the mounting posture to the mounting posture, the locking between the connector 82 and the fixing bracket 73 is released, the connector 82 is swung forward, and then the control lever 81 is moved from the second swing position Return to the first swing position. As a result, the first connector 72 moves forward, and the coupling between the first connector 72 and the second connector 74 is released. Furthermore, since the carrier 5 is in a free state, the carrier 5 can be moved from the battery storage unit 4 to the outside.

  The embodiment disclosed in the specification is an exemplification, and the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this, and can be appropriately modified within the scope of the object of the present invention.

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the embodiment described above, the first connector 72 is also moved rearward as the control lever 81 swings from the first swing posture to the second swing posture, but the first connector 72 is on the vehicle body side It may be fixed to
(2) In the embodiment described above, the battery 6 is surrounded by the carrier 5, but the carrier 5 is omitted, and the function given to the carrier 5, for example, the guide roller 56 or the large diameter wheel 55 It may be prepared for six.
(3) In the embodiment described above, the operation lever 81 and the connecting body 82 are provided on the vehicle body side (first connector side), but may be provided on the battery side (second connector side) instead. .

  The present invention is applicable to all electrically powered work vehicles equipped with a removable battery.

1: Vehicle body 4: Battery storage portion 44: Guide rail 45: Auxiliary roller 47: Stopper 5: Carrier 56: Guide roller 57: Guide rod 58: Fixing device 6: Battery 60: Case 7: Power feeding coupler 7A: First connector unit 7B: Second connector unit 71: Bracket 72: First connector 73: Fixing bracket 73z: Locked portion 74: Second connector 8: Operation tool 81: Operation lever 82: Coupling body 82z: Locking portion X1: First Horizontal axis X2: second horizontal axis

Claims (7)

An electric working vehicle that travels by supplying power from a battery mounted on the vehicle body,
A battery storage unit provided on the vehicle body to store the battery;
A feed coupler having a first connector provided on the vehicle body side and a second connector provided on the battery side;
An operating tool for moving the battery and the second connector so as to shift from a mounting posture in which the first connector and the second connector face each other to a mounting posture in which the first connector and the second connector are coupled;
Electric working car equipped with The operation tool includes a bracket fixed to the vehicle body, and an operation lever capable of swinging between a first swing position and a second swing position about a first horizontal axis formed on the bracket; The connection body is connected to the control lever so as to be pivotable about a second horizontal axis formed on the control lever, and the free end of the connection body is formed on the battery in the mounting posture. A locking portion capable of being locked to the locked portion is formed;
The second horizontal axis is the first connector due to the swinging from the first swinging position to the second swinging position of the operation lever in the locked state between the locking portion and the locked portion. The electric power working vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the first connector and the second connector are coupled to each other by moving in the mounting direction.   The first connector is movable with respect to the vehicle body, and the first connector is moved toward the second connector by swinging the control lever from the first swing position to the second swing position. The electric work vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the first connector is connected to the operation lever so as to move.   The electric working vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the coupling body functions as a holding mechanism that holds the operation lever in the second swing position in the locked state.   The connecting body is a C-shaped member composed of two longitudinal pieces and a lateral piece connected to the longitudinal pieces, and the locking portion is formed at both ends of the lateral piece of the C-shaped member. The electric work vehicle according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the engaged portions engaged with the respective engagement portions are positioned to sandwich the second connector.   A stopper is provided to prevent movement of the battery beyond the mounting posture, and movement prevention by the stopper and urging of the battery from the mounting posture to the mounting posture with respect to the battery cause the battery to The electrically powered work vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which is fixed by a battery storage unit.   The battery is stored in a carrier, and a guide mechanism for guiding the carrier from the outside of the vehicle body to the battery storage portion is guided by a guide rail attached to both side surfaces of the battery storage portion and the guide rail The electrically powered work vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising guide rollers attached to both sides of the carrier.

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