KR101595684B1 - Method for teaching battery-replacing robot, and battery-replacing robot - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a method of teaching a battery exchange robot that allows a battery to be smoothly exchanged between a battery mount of a vehicle and a battery mount of a battery exchange robot even if the configuration of the battery exchange robot is simple. A battery loading section 22 on which the battery 3 is mounted when the battery 3 mounted on the vehicle is pulled out or when the battery 3 is inserted into the vehicle and a battery loading section 22 on which the battery 3 The battery 3 is mounted on the battery mounting table 6 of the vehicle, and the battery 3 is mounted on the battery mounting table 6 of the vehicle. The position where the battery 3 is mounted when the battery 3 is mounted on both the battery mount 6 and the battery mount 22 and the position where the battery 3 is mounted on the battery mount 22 Teaching the robot mounting position when it is mounted.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a method of teaching a battery exchange robot and a battery exchange robot,

The first invention relates to a teaching method of a battery exchange robot for replacing a battery mounted on a vehicle. The present invention also relates to a battery exchange robot taught by such a method of teaching a battery exchange robot.

The second invention relates to a battery exchange robot for exchanging a battery mounted on a vehicle, and a control method for such a battery exchange robot.

The third invention relates to a battery exchange system for exchanging a battery mounted on a vehicle, and a control method of such a battery exchange system.

The fourth invention relates to a battery exchange robot for exchanging a battery mounted on a vehicle, and a battery exchange system having such a battery exchange robot.

BACKGROUND ART [0002] Conventionally, a battery exchange apparatus for exchanging a battery mounted on an electric bus has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1). The battery replacement device disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a battery tray on which a battery is mounted, a vertical lift device for lifting and lowering the battery tray, a rotation platform on which a battery tray and a vertical lift device are mounted and rotatable, And a parallel movement platform movable in the horizontal direction. A docking hole is formed in the battery mounting portion of the electric bus, and a docking arm capable of engaging with the docking hole is provided in the battery tray. When the battery is replaced, the docking arm is engaged with the docking hole, thereby aligning the battery loading portion of the electric bus with the battery tray. Further, in Patent Document 1, the weight of the battery mounted on the electric bus is several hundred kilograms.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, a battery exchange apparatus for exchanging a battery mounted on an electric bus is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The battery exchange device is disposed on one side of the electric bus, and the battery is exchanged on one side of the electric bus.

Further, as an electric bus on which a battery is mounted, an electric bus is known in which a battery chamber in which a battery is accommodated is formed on both side surfaces (see, for example, Patent Document 2). In the electric bus described in Patent Document 2, openings of the battery compartment are formed on both sides of the electric bus.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-520173 International Publication No. 2009/011162

In the battery replacing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, when the battery is transferred, the docking arm is engaged with the docking hole when the battery is replaced, so that even when the weight of the battery is heavy, the battery is transferred between the battery loading portion of the electric bus and the battery tray , It is possible to prevent the level difference from being generated between the battery loading section and the battery tray. Therefore, in this battery exchange device, it is possible to smoothly transfer the battery between the mounting portion of the battery and the battery tray. However, in the battery replacement apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a large-scale mechanism such as a docking arm is required to smoothly transfer the battery between the battery loading unit and the battery tray, and consequently, It becomes complicated.

Accordingly, the object of the first invention is to provide a battery exchange robot capable of smoothly transferring a battery between a battery mounting base of a vehicle on which the battery is mounted and a battery mounting base of a battery exchange robot on which the battery is mounted And to provide a method of teaching a battery-exchange robot to be used. In addition, a problem of the first invention is to provide a battery exchange robot taught by such a teaching method of the battery exchange robot.

Further, a plurality of batteries may be mounted on the electric bus. In the battery replacement apparatus described in Patent Document 1, since the docking arm is engaged with the docking hole when the battery is replaced, even when a plurality of batteries are mounted on the electric bus, Thus, it is possible to replace each of the plurality of batteries appropriately. However, in the battery replacement apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, a large-scale mechanism such as a docking arm is required to prevent misalignment of each of the plurality of batteries and the battery tray, and to appropriately replace each of the plurality of batteries, As a result, the configuration of the battery exchange device becomes complicated.

Therefore, a second object of the present invention is to provide a battery exchange robot capable of appropriately exchanging a plurality of batteries mounted on a vehicle, even if the configuration is simple. A second object of the present invention is to provide a control method of a battery exchange robot in which even if the configuration of the battery exchange robot is simple, it is possible to appropriately replace a plurality of batteries mounted on the vehicle.

Further, as described above, Patent Document 1 discloses a battery replacing apparatus for replacing a battery on one side of an electric bus. Patent Document 2 discloses an electric bus in which a battery chamber is formed on both side surfaces. However, Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not disclose a means for replacing the battery of an electric bus formed on both sides of the battery chamber.

Therefore, a third object of the present invention is to provide a battery exchange system capable of appropriately exchanging a battery of a vehicle in which battery accommodation portions are formed on both side surfaces. A third object of the present invention is to provide a control method for a battery exchange system that enables a battery of a vehicle, on both sides of which a battery receiving portion is formed, to be properly replaced.

In the battery replacement apparatus described in Patent Document 1, since the docking arm which is engaged with the docking hole formed in the battery loading portion of the electric bus is installed in the battery tray at the time of replacing the battery, as described above, And positioning of the battery tray can be performed.

However, in this battery replacing apparatus, unless the electric bus is stopped at a predetermined position with high accuracy, it becomes difficult to engage the docking arm with the docking hole. That is, in the case of this battery exchange apparatus, if the accuracy of stopping the electric bus is low, it is difficult to align the battery loading portion of the electric bus with the battery tray, and the battery is transferred from the battery loading portion of the electric bus to the battery tray It becomes difficult. Therefore, in this battery exchange device, if the accuracy of stopping the electric bus is low, it may be difficult to replace the battery mounted on the electric bus appropriately.

Accordingly, a fourth object of the present invention is to provide a battery exchange robot and a battery exchange system which can appropriately replace a battery mounted on a vehicle even when the stopping accuracy of the vehicle is low.

In order to solve the above problems, a first invention is described in claims 1 to 6. A method of teaching a battery exchange robot of the first invention is a method of teaching a battery exchange robot when a battery mounted on a vehicle is pulled out and / A battery loading unit for loading the battery at the time of insertion and a battery loading unit for moving the battery at the battery loading unit by engaging with the battery when the battery is pulled out and / A method of teaching a robot, comprising: a vehicle mounting position when a battery is mounted on a battery mounting base of a vehicle; a battery successive position when a battery is mounted on both the battery mounting base and the battery mounting base; And teaching the robot mounting position when the robot is mounted.

In the teaching method of the battery exchange robot of the first invention, in addition to the vehicle mounting position when the battery is mounted on the battery mounting base of the vehicle and the robot mounting position when the battery is mounted on the battery mounting portion of the battery exchange robot, And the battery succession position when the battery is mounted on both the loading table and the battery loading section. Therefore, even if the docking arm of the battery exchange apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is not equipped with the battery exchange robot, the use of the method of teaching the battery exchange robot of the first invention can prevent the battery It is possible to appropriately operate the battery exchange robot when transferring the battery and to prevent a difference in level between the battery mount and the battery mount. As a result, it is possible to smoothly move the battery between the battery mount and the battery mount It becomes possible to exchange. That is, by using the teaching method of the battery exchange robot of the first invention, even if the configuration of the battery exchange robot is simple, it is possible to smoothly exchange the battery between the battery loading table and the battery loading section.

In the first aspect of the present invention, for example, the battery exchange robot includes a battery loading section and a holding member for holding the battery latching section, and the battery loading section and the battery latching section are movable in a direction approaching the vehicle and in a direction moving away from the vehicle In the battery succession position, the battery loading part moves in a direction approaching the vehicle and protrudes from the holding member. In this case, since the battery mounting portion protrudes from the holding member at the battery successive position, when the battery is lifted from the battery mounting portion to the battery mounting portion, the battery mounting portion is greatly bent and a large height difference In the first aspect of the invention, it is possible to suppress a large difference in height between the battery mount and the battery mount, and to smoothly transfer the battery between the battery mount and the battery mount.

In the first aspect of the present invention, the vehicle mounting position is such that a battery latch close to the vehicle is engageable with a battery mounted on the battery mounting table, and the battery loading position close to the vehicle and the battery mounting table It is preferable that the position is a position at which the battery can be transferred. In this case, when the battery is moved from the battery loading position to the battery loading position, a large difference in height is generated between the battery loading table and the battery loading section because the position closer to the battery succession position is set as the vehicle loading position It is possible to suppress effectively.

In the first invention, it is preferable that the robot mounting position is a position when the battery is fully mounted on the battery loading part close to the vehicle, and the battery loading part is engaged with the battery. In this case, since a position closer to the battery succession position is taught as a robot mounting position, it is possible to effectively prevent a large difference in height from being generated between the battery mounting table and the battery mounting portion when the battery is transferred from the battery loading portion to the battery loading portion It becomes possible to inhibit it.

In the first aspect of the present invention, when the battery starts to be transferred from the battery loading area to the battery loading area, or when the battery is completely loaded from the battery loading area, It is preferable to teach the second battery succession position when the battery starts to be transferred from the mounting portion to the battery loading portion or when the battery is completely transferred from the battery loading portion to the battery loading portion. With such a configuration, it is possible to effectively prevent the level difference from being generated between the battery mounting table and the battery mounting section when the battery is transferred between the battery mounting table and the battery mounting section. Therefore, it is possible to smoothly transfer the battery between the battery mount and the battery mount.

The battery exchange robot can be taught using the teaching method of the battery exchange robot of the first invention. The battery exchange robot taught by the teaching method of the battery exchange robot of the first invention can smoothly exchange the battery between the battery loading table and the battery loading section even if the configuration is simple.

In order to solve the above problems, the second invention is described in claims 7 to 12, wherein the battery exchange robot of the second invention is a battery exchange robot for exchanging a plurality of batteries mounted on a vehicle, A plurality of battery stacks provided in the vehicle and each of which is provided with a plurality of batteries, a plurality of batteries, each of which is provided in the vehicle, And a control unit for controlling the battery exchange robot. The control unit is configured to control the battery exchange robot based on a predetermined criterion for drawing out and / or inserting each of the plurality of batteries by the battery withdrawal insertion mechanism Position of the pull-out insertion position, which is the teaching data of the pull-out insertion position taught to the battery exchange robot, Which are data of a detection position serving as a reference when detection means detects detection of each of a plurality of detection marks of a vehicle in which a battery is actually exchanged, Wherein one target battery is set as a first battery and drawing drawing position teaching data for drawing and / or inserting the first battery is set as first drawing drawing insertion position teaching data, When the detection mark formed on the battery mount on which the battery is mounted is used as the first detection mark and the detection position data when the first detection mark is detected is set as the first detection position data, The first detection position data is read as data for replacement of the first battery when the first battery is drawn and inserted into the vehicle in which the first detection position data is actually exchanged, The battery exchange robot is operated on the basis of the data to detect the first detection mark and the first drawing extraction position teaching data is corrected based on the detection result of the first detection mark, And the battery exchange robot is operated based on the drawing position teaching data.

In order to solve the above problems, a control method for a battery-exchange robot according to a second aspect of the present invention is a control method for a battery-exchange robot that includes a battery withdrawal operation for inserting a plurality of batteries each mounted on a vehicle, And a detection mechanism for detecting each of the plurality of detection marks formed in each of the plurality of battery mounting bands on which the plurality of batteries are mounted, A method for controlling an exchange robot, comprising the steps of: using a vehicle that stops at a predetermined reference position to pull out and / or insert each of a plurality of batteries by a battery draw-inserting mechanism, In-position teaching teaching data and a plurality of detection marks of the vehicle in which the battery is actually exchanged Which is data of a detection position which is a reference when data is to be output by the detecting mechanism, and stores, as a first battery, one battery to be an object of exchange among a plurality of batteries, And the detection mark formed on the battery mounting table on which the first battery of the plurality of detection marks is mounted is set as the first drawing detection position teaching data, And the detection position data when the first detection mark is detected is set as the first detection position data, when the first battery is drawn and inserted into the vehicle in which the battery is actually exchanged, The data is read as the data for replacement of the first battery and the battery exchange robot is operated on the basis of the first detection position data to detect the first detection mark The first drawing extraction position teaching data is corrected based on the detection result of the first detection mark and the battery exchange robot is operated based on the corrected first drawing extraction position teaching data.

In the second invention, when detecting the first detection mark formed on the battery mounting table on which the first battery among the plurality of detection marks is mounted when the first battery is drawn and inserted into the vehicle in which the battery is actually exchanged The first detection position data of the first battery is read out as data for replacement of the first battery and the battery exchange robot is operated on the basis of the first detection position data to detect the first detection mark, The first drawing extraction position teaching data is corrected based on the detection result of the detection mark and the battery exchange robot is operated based on the corrected first drawing extraction position teaching data.

In other words, according to the second invention, on the basis of the detection result of the detection mark formed on the battery mounting table on which the battery to be replaced is mounted, the withdrawn insertion position teaching data of the replaced battery is corrected, And the battery exchange robot is operated on the basis of this. Thereby, on the basis of the detection result of the detection mark formed at a position closer to the battery, the fetch insertion position teaching data of the battery to be exchanged is corrected with high accuracy, and based on the fetch insertion position teaching data corrected with high accuracy It is possible to operate the battery exchange robot with high accuracy. Therefore, in the second invention, it is possible to appropriately replace each of the plurality of batteries mounted on the vehicle, even if the battery exchange robot does not have the docking arm of the battery exchange apparatus described in Patent Document 1. [ In other words, in the second invention, even if the configuration of the battery exchange robot is simple, it is possible to appropriately replace each of the plurality of batteries mounted on the vehicle. Further, in the second invention, it is possible to move to the replacement operation of the battery after detection of the detection mark formed on the battery mounting table on which the replaced battery is mounted, so that the replacement time of the battery can be shortened.

In the second invention, the vehicle reference position, which is the position of the vehicle actually detected by the detecting mechanism using the vehicle stopping at the reference position, and the vehicle actual position, which is the position detected by the detecting mechanism, For example, when the difference is a vehicle position deviation, for example, the control unit may use a vehicle that stops at the reference position to detect the position of each of the plurality of detection marks, Based on the deviation, the position for detection is calculated.

In the second invention, the control unit stores the detection mark reference position data, which is the data of the detection mark reference position, which is the position of the detection mark actually detected by the detection mechanism using the vehicle stopping at the reference position, The data of the first detection mark reference position serving as the detection mark reference position, which is the position of the first detection mark detected by the mechanism, is set as the first detection mark reference position data, The first detection mark reference position data is read as data for replacement of the first battery, and when the first detection mark reference position data is read out as replacement data for the first battery, based on the detection result of the first detection mark and the first detection mark reference position data So as to correct the first drawing position teaching data. With this configuration, it is possible to correct the drawing insertion position teaching data of the battery to be exchanged with higher accuracy.

In this case, for example, the difference between the first detection mark actual position and the first detection mark reference position, which is the position of the first detection mark of the vehicle in which the battery is actually replaced, When the detection mark position deviation is determined, the control unit sets the first drawing-inserting position, which is the drawing-inserting position for drawing and / or inserting the first battery, to the first correcting position corrected based on the first detecting- And corrects the first drawing extraction position teaching data.

In the control method of the battery exchange robot of the second invention, the detection mark reference position data, which is the data of the detection mark reference position which is the position of the detection mark actually detected by the detection mechanism, And the data of the first detection mark reference position as the detection mark reference position, which is the position of the first detection mark actually detected by the detection mechanism, is set as the first detection mark reference position data, The first detection mark reference position data is read out as data for replacement of the first battery and the detection result of the first detection mark and the detection result of the first detection mark reference It is preferable to correct the first drawing extraction position teaching data based on the position data. With this configuration, it is possible to correct the drawing insertion position teaching data of the battery to be exchanged with higher accuracy.

In order to solve the above problems, a third invention is described in claims 13 to 17, wherein the battery exchange system of the third invention is a battery exchange system for replacing a battery mounted on a vehicle, A first battery exchange robot for exchanging a battery accommodated in a first battery accommodating portion provided therein and a second battery exchange robot for exchanging a battery accommodated in a second battery accommodating portion provided on the other side of the vehicle; The control unit controls the operation of the first battery exchange robot and the operation of the second battery exchange robot when the battery is pulled out from the vehicle and when the battery is inserted into the vehicle. .

In order to solve the above problems, a third aspect of the present invention is a control method for a battery exchange system comprising a first battery exchange robot for exchanging a battery accommodated in a first battery accommodating portion provided on one side of a vehicle, And a second battery exchange robot for exchanging a battery accommodated in a second battery accommodating portion provided on the other side of the vehicle so as to replace the battery mounted on the vehicle, And the operation of the first battery exchange robot and the operation of the second battery exchange robot are synchronized at the time of withdrawal of the battery of the first battery exchange robot and insertion of the battery into the vehicle.

In the third aspect of the present invention, in order to appropriately replace the batteries accommodated in the first battery accommodating portion and the second battery accommodating portion, for example, the battery exchange operation is taught to the first battery exchange robot and the second battery exchange robot do. Here, the weight of the battery 1 mounted on the vehicle is, for example, several hundred kilograms. Therefore, when the battery is pulled and inserted into the first battery accommodating portion, the height or the inclination of the second battery accommodating portion fluctuates, and the height or the inclination of the battery accommodated in the second battery accommodating portion fluctuates. Similarly, when the battery is pulled and inserted into the second battery accommodating portion, the height or the inclination of the first battery accommodating portion fluctuates, and the height or the inclination of the battery accommodated in the first battery accommodating portion fluctuates. Therefore, if the battery is pulled out of the first battery accommodating portion by the first battery exchange robot and the battery is pulled and inserted into the second battery accommodating portion by the second battery exchange robot separately, for example, The first battery accommodating portion or the battery to be replaced or the slope of the battery to be exchanged may fluctuate unexpectedly while the battery exchange robot is pulling and inserting the battery by the battery exchange robot, There is a possibility that the battery can not be pulled out or inserted properly even if the height or the inclination of the accommodating portion or the battery to be replaced fluctuates unexpectedly and the first battery exchange robot or the second battery exchange robot is operated based on the teaching results .

On the other hand, in the third invention, the operation of the first battery exchange robot and the operation of the second battery exchange robot are synchronized at the time of withdrawal of the battery from the vehicle and insertion of the battery into the vehicle. For example, in the present invention, the pulling operation of the battery by the first battery exchange robot and the pulling operation of the battery by the second battery exchange robot are performed at the same time, and the insertion operation of the battery by the first battery exchange robot and the pull- And the insertion operation of the battery by the second battery exchange robot is carried out at the same time. Therefore, in the third invention, it is possible to prevent unexpected fluctuation of the height or the inclination of the first battery accommodating portion or the battery to be exchanged when the battery is pulled and inserted by the first battery exchange robot, It is possible to prevent unexpected fluctuations in the height or the inclination of the second battery accommodating portion or the battery to be replaced when the battery is pulled and inserted by the robot. That is, in the third invention, it is possible to teach the first battery exchange robot that predicts variations in height or inclination of the first battery accommodating portion or the battery to be replaced when the battery is pulled and inserted by the first battery exchange robot It is possible to teach the second battery exchange robot which predicts the second battery accommodating portion and the fluctuation of the height or the inclination of the battery to be exchanged when the battery is pulled and inserted by the second battery exchange robot. Therefore, in the third invention, when the first battery exchange robot and the second battery exchange robot are operated based on the teaching results, it is possible to appropriately replace the battery of the vehicle in which the battery accommodating portion is formed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the pulling operation of the battery by the first battery exchange robot and the pulling operation of the battery by the second battery exchange robot are performed at the same time, and the insertion operation of the battery by the first battery exchange robot, The replacement operation of the battery by the battery exchange robot is performed at the same time, so that the replacement time of the battery can be shortened.

In the third invention, for example, the control unit may include a first control unit for controlling the first battery exchange robot, a second control unit for controlling the second battery exchange robot, and a second control unit for controlling the first battery exchange robot, A common control unit is provided to synchronize the operation of the first battery exchange robot and the operation of the second battery exchange robot according to the timing of the control command sent from the common control unit to the first control unit and the second control unit.

In the third invention, for example, the first battery exchange robot and the second battery exchange robot include a battery loading portion on which the battery is mounted when the battery is pulled out from the vehicle and when the battery is inserted into the vehicle, The battery loading portion and the battery loading portion are movable in a direction approaching the vehicle and in a direction moving away from the vehicle when the battery is pulled out of the vehicle and when the battery is inserted into the vehicle. When the battery is pulled out of the vehicle, the first control unit is capable of transferring the battery between the battery loading unit close to the vehicle and the vehicle, and a battery latch close to the vehicle Replace the first battery in the pull-out state by engaging the mounted battery The second control unit temporarily stops the second battery exchange robot in the retractable state and the common control unit detects that the first battery exchange robot and the second battery exchange robot are temporarily stopped in the retractable state When the confirmation is made, a control command is sent to the first control unit and the second control unit to start the pulling operation of the battery by the battery latching unit of the first battery exchange robot and the pulling operation of the battery by the battery latching unit of the second battery exchange robot .

In this case, it is possible to prevent unexpected variations in the height or tilt of the first battery accommodating portion or the battery to be exchanged when the first battery exchange robot draws the battery from the first battery accommodating portion, It is possible to prevent unexpected fluctuations in the height or the inclination of the battery accommodated in the second battery accommodating portion or the battery when the robot is pulling out the battery from the second battery accommodating portion by the robot. Therefore, the battery of the vehicle in which the battery accommodating portion is formed on both side surfaces can be appropriately drawn.

In the third invention, for example, the first battery exchange robot and the second battery exchange robot include a battery loading portion on which the battery is mounted when the battery is pulled out from the vehicle and when the battery is inserted into the vehicle, The battery loading portion and the battery loading portion are movable in a direction approaching the vehicle and in a direction moving away from the vehicle when the battery is inserted into the vehicle. When the battery is inserted into the vehicle, the first control unit enables the battery to be transferred between the battery loading unit close to the vehicle and the vehicle, and the battery mounted on the battery loading unit The first battery exchange robot is operated in the insertable state in which the first battery exchange robot And the second control unit suspends the second battery exchange robot in the insertable state and the common control unit confirms that the first battery exchange robot and the second battery exchange robot are temporarily stopped in the insertable state, A control command is sent to the first control unit and the second control unit to start the inserting operation of the battery by the battery latching unit of the second battery exchange robot for inserting the battery by the battery latching unit of the first battery exchange robot.

In this case, it is possible to prevent unexpected fluctuations in the height or tilt of the first battery accommodating portion or the battery to be replaced when the battery is inserted into the first battery accommodating portion by the first battery exchange robot, It is possible to prevent unexpected variations in height or inclination of the second battery receiving portion or the battery to be replaced when the battery is inserted into the second battery receiving portion by the robot. Therefore, the battery can be properly inserted into the vehicle having the battery accommodating portion on both side surfaces thereof.

In order to solve the above problems, a fourth invention is described in claims 18 to 23, wherein the battery exchange robot of the fourth invention is a battery exchange robot for exchanging a battery mounted on a vehicle, And a direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction and the up-and-down direction is set as a left-right direction, the battery pack is mounted on the vehicle, A detection mechanism for detecting a plurality of detection marks formed on the detection mechanism, and a control unit for a battery exchange robot to which the detection mechanism is electrically connected, wherein the detection mechanism includes a light emitting unit for emitting laser light, And a light receiving section for receiving the laser light reflected by the reflection material for reflecting the laser light, wherein the control section , The detection mechanism is moved in the left-right direction so that the laser beam emitted from the detection mechanism traverses each of the plurality of detection marks in the left-right direction, and the detection mechanism detects the detection mark on the battery mounting table or the battery And calculates a position and a slope of the image.

In order to solve the above problems, a battery exchange system of a fourth aspect of the invention is a battery exchange system having a battery exchange robot for exchanging a battery mounted on a vehicle, And a direction substantially orthogonal to the front-rear direction and the up-and-down direction is a left-right direction, a battery loading table provided on a vehicle and on which a battery is mounted, and a battery loading table A detection mechanism for detecting a plurality of detection marks; and a control section of a battery exchange robot to which a detection mechanism is electrically connected. The detection mechanism includes a light emitting portion for emitting laser light And a light-receiving portion for receiving the laser light reflected by the reflection member reflecting the laser light emitted from the light-emitting portion And the control unit moves the detection mechanism in the left and right direction so that the laser light emitted from the detection mechanism traverses each of the plurality of detection marks in the left and right direction, and, based on the detection result of the detection mark by the detection mechanism And calculates the position and inclination of the battery mount or the battery.

A battery exchange robot and a battery exchange system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention comprise a detection mechanism for detecting a plurality of detection marks formed on a battery mount or a battery and a control unit of a battery exchange robot to which a detection mechanism is electrically connected, The control unit moves the detection mechanism in the left and right directions so that the laser light emitted from the detection mechanism traverses each of the plurality of detection marks in the left and right direction, and, based on the detection result of the detection mark by the detection mechanism, Or the position and inclination of the battery. That is, in the fourth invention, the control unit directly or indirectly calculates the position and inclination of the battery mounted on the vehicle. Therefore, in the fourth invention, even if the stopping accuracy of the vehicle is low, the position and inclination of the battery mounted on the vehicle can be properly detected, and the battery-exchange robot and the battery can be aligned. Therefore, in the fourth invention, it is possible to appropriately replace the battery mounted on the vehicle.

Further, in the case where the detection mechanism for detecting the detection mark is, for example, an image sensor, an image processing apparatus or the like for processing an image photographed by the image sensor is required, so that the battery exchange robot or the battery exchange system is expensive . On the other hand, in the fourth invention, since the detection mechanism is the laser sensor, the cost of the battery exchange robot and the battery exchange system can be reduced.

In the fourth invention, the detection mechanism is capable of measuring the distance between the detection mechanism and the reflected object, and the detection mark is formed so that the width in the left-right direction becomes gradually narrower toward the upper side or the lower side, When the portion to be detected which reflects the laser beam from the detection mechanism is a portion to be detected when the laser beam to be emitted traverses the detection mark in the left and right direction, The height of the battery mount or the battery is calculated on the basis of the center position in the left and right direction of the detected portion and the position of the battery mount or the battery in the left and right direction is calculated based on the center position in the left and right direction of the detected portion, It is preferable to calculate the position of the battery mount or the battery in the front-rear direction based on the distance in the front-rear direction with respect to the detection mechanism. With this configuration, since the detection mark is formed so that the width in the left-right direction is gradually narrowed toward the upper side or the lower side, it is possible to prevent the deterioration of the battery mounting base or the battery in the vertical direction, It becomes possible to calculate the position.

In the fourth invention, two detection marks are formed on the battery mount or the battery, and the battery exchange robot is provided with two detection mechanisms so as to cross each of the two detection marks in the left and right direction, , The distance between the detection mechanism and the reflected object can be measured. The detection mark is formed such that the width in the left and right direction is gradually narrowed toward the upper side or the lower side, and the laser light emitted from one of the detection mechanisms The portion for reflecting the laser beam from one of the detection mechanisms of one of the detection marks is set as the first to-be-detected portion, and the laser beam emitted from the other detection mechanism And when the other detection mark traverses in the left and right direction, the laser light from the other detection mechanism of the other detection mark is reflected The control section determines whether or not the battery is to be detected based on the width of the first detected portion in the left and right direction and the width of the second detected portion in the left and right direction, The distance between the center position in the right and left direction of the first detected portion and the front and rear direction of the one detecting mechanism and the center position in the left and right direction of the second detected portion, It is preferable to calculate the inclination with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the top-bottom direction of the battery mounting table or the battery.

With this configuration, since the detection mark is formed so that the width in the left-right direction is gradually narrowed toward the upper side or the lower side, it is possible to prevent the battery mounting base or the battery from moving in the left- It is possible to calculate the inclination with respect to the horizontal direction and the inclination with respect to the horizontal direction when viewed from the up and down direction. In this configuration, two detection marks are formed on the battery mount or the battery, and two detection mechanisms are provided on the battery replacement robot so that the laser beams cross each of the two detection marks. Therefore, It is possible to simultaneously detect each of the two detection marks by each of the detection mechanisms. Therefore, it is possible to detect the inclination of the battery mount or the battery with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the front-rear direction and the inclination with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the up-down direction in a short time.

In the fourth invention, for example, the battery exchange robot includes a battery draw-out insertion mechanism for pulling out the battery from the vehicle and / or inserting the battery into the vehicle, The position and inclination calculated on the basis of the detection result of the battery mounting table or the battery of the battery based on the detection result in the detecting mechanism and the position calculated based on the detection result of the battery mounting table or the battery of the vehicle, A correction value for correcting the teaching data of the drawn-in insertion position taught to the battery exchange robot by using a vehicle that stops at the reference position to perform drawing and / or insertion of the battery by the battery drawing insertion mechanism . In this case, on the basis of the calculated correction value, the withdrawal insertion position of the battery exchange robot is corrected, and the battery mounted on the vehicle can be pulled and inserted by the battery exchange robot appropriately.

In the fourth invention, the detection mark is formed in, for example, a substantially triangular shape or a substantially trapezoidal shape in which the width in the left-right direction is gradually narrowed toward the upper side or the lower side.

As described above, by using the teaching method of the battery exchange robot of the first invention, it is possible to smoothly exchange the battery between the battery mounting table and the battery loading section even if the configuration of the battery exchange robot is simple. In addition, in the battery-exchange robot taught using the teaching method for the battery-exchange robot of the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to smoothly exchange the battery between the battery mounting table and the battery mounting section even if the configuration is simple.

In addition, in the second invention, even if the configuration of the battery exchange robot is simple, it is possible to appropriately replace each of the plurality of batteries mounted on the vehicle.

As described above, according to the third invention, it is possible to appropriately replace the battery of the vehicle in which the battery accommodating portion is formed on both side surfaces.

As described above, in the battery exchange robot and the battery exchange system of the fourth invention, even if the stopping accuracy of the vehicle is low, it is possible to appropriately replace the battery mounted on the vehicle.

1 is a schematic diagram of a battery exchange system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a perspective view of the battery exchange system shown in Fig.
Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing E portion of Fig. 2 from another angle. Fig.
4 is an enlarged view of the portion F in Fig.
5 is a front view showing a state in which the battery is housed in the battery accommodating portion shown in Fig.
6 is an enlarged view of a portion G in Fig.
Fig. 7 is a front view of the battery draw-inserting mechanism and the lifting mechanism shown in Fig. 2. Fig.
8 is a view showing a battery draw-inserting mechanism and a lifting mechanism in the HH direction in Fig.
Fig. 9 is a front view for explaining the battery mounting mechanism shown in Fig. 7. Fig.
Fig. 10 is a view for explaining the battery mounting mechanism shown in Fig. 7 from the side; Fig.
Fig. 11 is a view for explaining the battery mounting mechanism shown in Fig. 7 on the upper surface. Fig.
12 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the roller shown in Fig.
Fig. 13 is a front view for explaining the battery moving mechanism shown in Fig. 7. Fig.
Fig. 14 is a view for explaining the battery moving mechanism shown in Fig. 7 from the side; Fig.
Fig. 15 is a side view for explaining the state when the battery latch portion shown in Fig. 14 moves in a direction away from the bus.
16 is an enlarged view of a portion J in Fig.
17 is an enlarged view of a portion K in Fig.
Fig. 18 is a view for explaining the battery moving mechanism shown in Fig. 7 on the upper surface. Fig.
Fig. 19 (A) is an enlarged view of part M in Fig. 18, and Fig. 19 (B) is an enlarged view of part N in Fig.
Fig. 20 is a top view showing the state of the bus at the time of detection of the position of the bus by the detection mechanism shown in Fig. 11. Fig.
21 is a schematic diagram for explaining a bus position detection method by the detection mechanism shown in Fig.
Fig. 22 is a top view showing the state at the time of detecting the position of the battery by the detection mechanism shown in Fig. 11. Fig.
FIG. 23 is a view for explaining a method of detecting the position of the battery by the detecting mechanism shown in FIG. 11; FIG.
Fig. 24 is a flowchart showing a schematic flow of a battery exchange operation of the battery exchange robot shown in Fig. 2;
Fig. 25 is a view for explaining the pulling operation of the battery from the bus by the battery exchange robot shown in Fig. 2; Fig.
26 is a view for explaining a battery insertion operation with respect to a bus by the battery exchange robot shown in Fig.
Fig. 27 is a view for explaining an operation locus of the battery loading part and the battery latching part when the battery is pulled out from the bus by the battery exchange robot shown in Fig. 2;
Fig. 28 is a view for explaining the operation locus of the battery loading part and the battery latching part in the insertion operation of the battery with respect to the bus by the battery exchange robot shown in Fig. 2;
FIG. 29 is a view for explaining the locus of the battery loading portion and the battery latch portion when the battery is replaced by the battery replacement robot shown in FIG.
30 is a front view of the battery accommodating portion shown in Fig.
31 is a block diagram for explaining a part of data stored in the storage unit of the control unit and the second storage unit of the battery exchange robot shown in Fig.
32 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a control method of the battery exchange robot shown in Fig.
Fig. 33 (A) is a front view for explaining a detection mark according to another embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 33 (B) is a cross-sectional view of a WW section of Fig.
34 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration of a control unit of the battery exchange system shown in Fig.
35 is a sequence diagram for explaining an example of a control method of the battery exchange system shown in Fig.
36 is a diagram for explaining various values calculated at the time of calibration of the battery detection position in the battery exchange robot shown in Fig.
37 is a diagram for explaining various values calculated at the time of calibration of the battery detection position in the battery exchange robot shown in Fig.
38 is a diagram for explaining various values calculated at the time of calibration of the battery detection position in the battery exchange robot shown in Fig.
Fig. 39 is a diagram for explaining various values calculated at the time of calibration of the battery detection position in the battery exchange robot shown in Fig. 2; Fig.
40 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a control method of the battery exchange robot shown in Fig.
Fig. 41 is a view for explaining various values calculated at the time of replacing the battery in the battery exchange robot shown in Fig. 2; Fig.
Fig. 42 is a view for explaining various values calculated at the time of replacement of the battery in the battery exchange robot shown in Fig. 2;
FIG. 43 is a view for explaining various values calculated at the time of replacement of the battery in the battery exchange robot shown in FIG. 2; FIG.
44 is a diagram for explaining various values calculated at the time of replacement of the battery in the battery exchange robot shown in Fig.

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

(Schematic configuration of battery exchange system)

Here, the present invention will be described as the present invention relating to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention.

1 is a schematic view of a battery exchange system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a perspective view of the battery exchange system 1 shown in Fig. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing E part of Fig. 2 from another angle. Fig. In the following description, the three directions perpendicular to each other are X direction, Y direction and Z direction. In this embodiment, the Z direction coincides with the vertical direction (vertical direction). In the following description, the X direction is referred to as the forward and backward directions, and the Y direction is referred to as the leftward and rightward directions.

The battery exchange system 1 of this embodiment is a system for exchanging the battery 3 mounted on the vehicle 2. [ The vehicle 2 of this embodiment is an electric bus. Therefore, hereinafter, the vehicle 2 is referred to as " bus 2. " The bus (2) is provided with a battery accommodating portion (4) in which a plurality of batteries (3) are accommodated. Specifically, battery receiving portions 4 are provided on both side surfaces 2a of the bus 2, respectively. The battery accommodating portion 4 is disposed so as to be exposed to the side surface 2a when a cover member (not shown) provided on the side surface 2a is removed. Further, the battery accommodating portion 4 is disposed on the lower side of the seat of the bus 2. At the time of replacement of the battery 3, the bus 2 is stopped so that its traveling direction and lateral direction substantially coincide with each other. Hereinafter, in order to distinguish between the two battery accommodating portions 4, the battery accommodating portion 4 provided on one side 2a side of the stationary bus 2 is referred to as a first battery accommodating portion 4A, And the battery accommodating portion 4 provided on the side of the other side 2a of the bus 2 is referred to as a second battery accommodating portion 4B.

The battery exchange system 1 includes two battery exchange robots 5 for exchanging a battery 3 accommodated in each of the battery accommodating portions 4 provided on both side surfaces 2a of the bus 2 Hereinafter referred to as " robot 5 "). That is, the battery exchange system 1 includes a robot 5 as a first battery exchange robot for exchanging a battery 3 accommodated in the first battery accommodating portion 4A, a second battery accommodating portion 4B, And a robot 5 serving as a second battery exchange robot for exchanging the battery 3 accommodated in the battery 3. [ The robot 5 faces the side surface 2a of the bus 2 in the front-rear direction so that the battery 3 accommodated in the battery accommodating portion 4 can be replaced. The robot 5 pulls out the battery 3 accommodated in the battery accommodating portion 4 and brings it into a buffer station (not shown), and loads the charged battery 3 accommodated in the buffer station into the buffer Out of the station and inserted into the battery accommodating portion 4. [ Hereinafter, when the two robots 5 are distinguished from each other, the robot 5 for exchanging the battery 3 accommodated in the first battery accommodating portion 4A is referred to as a first robot 5A, And the robot 5 for replacing the battery 3 accommodated in the second battery accommodating portion 4B is referred to as a second robot 5B.

A detection plate 9 for detecting the position of the bus 2 is formed or fixed on the side 2a of the bus 2. [ The detection plate 9 is formed in a flat plate shape and has a substantially rectangular shape with a substantially constant width in the vertical direction. The detection plate 9 is disposed, for example, on the front side of the battery accommodating portion 4 in the traveling direction of the bus 2. [ The detection plate 9 is arranged so as to be exposed to the side surface 2a when a cover member (not shown) provided on the side surface 2a is removed.

(Configuration of battery and battery accommodating portion)

Here, the present invention will be described as the present invention relating to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention.

4 is an enlarged view of the portion F in Fig. 5 is a front view showing a state in which the battery 3 is housed in the battery accommodating portion 4 shown in Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of a portion G in Fig.

The battery accommodating portion 4 is provided with a battery mount 6 on which the battery 3 is mounted and right and left side walls 7. The battery accommodating portion 4 is provided with a battery loading portion 6 and a side wall 7, 3 are formed in the receiving space. In the battery accommodating portion 4, a plurality of batteries 3 are accommodated and a plurality of batteries 3 can be accommodated. That is, a plurality of batteries 3 can be mounted on the bus 2. [ Four batteries 3 can be mounted on the bus 2 of this embodiment and the battery accommodating portion 4 is provided with four battery mounts 6 on which the four batteries 3 are mounted have. In the present embodiment, the two battery mounts 6 are disposed adjacent to each other in the left-right direction via the side wall 7, and the two battery mounts 6 adjacent in the left-right direction are adjacent to each other in the left- The other two battery mounts 6 are arranged so as to overlap in the vertical direction.

On the front surface of the battery mount 6, a detection mark 8 for indirectly detecting the position of the battery 3 is formed. The detection marks 8 are formed on both sides in the left and right direction of the battery mounting table 6, respectively. That is, a pair of (two) detection marks 8 are formed on the front surface of the battery mounting table 6 with a predetermined gap leftward and rightward. As described above, the battery accommodating portion 4 of this embodiment is provided with four battery mounts 6, and four pair of detection marks 8 are formed in the battery accommodating portion 4 . 4, the detection mark 8 is formed in a flat plate shape protruding from the front surface of the battery mounting table 6 and is formed into a substantially triangular shape in which the width thereof is changed in the vertical direction . Specifically, the detection mark 8 is formed in a substantially regular triangle shape with its width becoming narrower toward the upper side.

A handle 11 for pulling out the battery 3 from the battery accommodating portion 4 is formed on the front surface of the battery 3. In this embodiment, the handle portion 11 is formed on each of both ends in the left-right direction on the front surface of the battery 3. [ A protrusion 12 for positioning the battery 3 in the direction orthogonal to the drawing direction of the battery 3 pulled out by the robot 5 is formed to protrude downward from the lower surface of the battery 3 6). 5) for fixing the battery 3 to the battery accommodating portion 4 and a fixing member 13 for fixing the battery 3 to the battery accommodating portion 4 The release member 14 (see Fig.

The fixing member 13 is provided on the battery 3 so as to protrude from the left and right side surfaces of the battery 3, respectively. The fixing member 13 is provided on the front surface side of the battery 3. The fixing member 13 is held by the battery 3 so as to be movable in the left and right direction. Further, the fixing member 13 is pressed outward in the left-right direction by a pressing member (not shown). In this embodiment, the left and right outer end portions of the fixing member 13 engage with the engaging holes formed in the side wall 7 of the battery accommodating portion 4 by the urging force of the urging member, The battery 3 is fixed. The fixing member 13 has a function of positioning the battery 3 in the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction within the battery accommodating portion 4. [

The releasing member 14 is disposed on the inner side of the handle 11. The releasing member 14 is held by the battery 3 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. Further, the releasing member 14 is pressed to the front side of the battery 3 by a pressing member (not shown). When the release member 14 is pushed inward, the fixing member 13 moves inward in the left and right direction to engage the engaging hole formed in the side wall 7 of the battery accommodating portion 4 and the fixing member 13 The battery 3 can be pulled out of the battery accommodating portion 4. As a result,

A connector connected to a connector disposed inside the battery accommodating portion 4 is provided on the back surface of the battery 3. A positioning pin is provided on the back surface of the battery 3 for positioning the battery 3 in the up, down, left, and right directions within the battery accommodating portion 4. [

(Schematic Configuration of Battery Replacement Robot)

Here, the present invention will be described as the present invention relating to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention.

3, the robot 5 is provided with a battery draw-inserting portion 4 for drawing out each of the four batteries 3 from the bus 2 and for inserting each of the four batteries 3 into the bus 2, A lifting mechanism 18 for lifting and lowering the battery draw-inserting mechanism 17 and a turning mechanism 19 for rotating the battery draw-inserting mechanism 17 and the lifting mechanism 18 in the vertical direction in the axial direction And a horizontal movement mechanism 20 for moving the battery draw-in insertion mechanism 17, the elevation mechanism 18, and the rotation mechanism 19 in the left and right directions. The robot 5 is also provided with a detecting mechanism 21 for detecting the detecting mark 8 and the detecting plate 9.

The battery draw-inserting mechanism 17 includes a battery mounting mechanism 23 having a battery loading section 22 on which the battery 3 is mounted when the battery 3 is pulled out and inserted, And a battery moving mechanism 25 having a battery latching portion 24 (see FIG. 7) for latching the battery 3 at the time of insertion and moving the battery 3 on the battery loading portion 22. The battery loading section 22 and the battery latching section 24 are movable in a direction close to the bus 2 and a direction moving away from the bus 2. [

Further, the battery draw-inserting mechanism 17 is held in a holding member 26 formed in a substantially rectangular tube shape. The holding member 26 includes a first holding member 27 constituting the lower end side thereof and a second holding member 28 constituting the upper end side thereof. The first holding member 27 is formed in a square groove shape with the upper side opened and the second holding member 28 is formed into a square groove shape with the lower side opened. The first holding member 27 and the second holding member 28 are fixed in combination in the vertical direction so that both ends of the battery loading portion 22 and the battery latching portion 24 in the moving direction As shown in Fig.

(Configuration of Battery Mounting Mechanism)

Here, the present invention will be described as the present invention relating to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention.

7 is a front view showing the battery draw-in insertion mechanism 17 and the lifting mechanism 18 shown in Fig. 8 is a view showing the battery draw-in insertion mechanism 17 and the lifting mechanism 18 in the direction of H-H in Fig. Fig. 9 is a front view for explaining the battery mounting mechanism 23 shown in Fig. Fig. 10 is a side view for explaining the battery mounting mechanism 23 shown in Fig. Fig. 11 is a view for explaining the battery mounting mechanism 23 shown in Fig. 7 on the upper surface. 12 is an enlarged sectional view of the roller 32 shown in Fig.

The battery loading mechanism 23 includes a loading section moving mechanism 30 for moving the battery loading section 22 in a direction approaching the bus 2 and a direction away from the bus 2 in addition to the battery loading section 22 described above .

The battery mounting portion 22 is formed into a flat block shape in the vertical direction. A plurality of rollers 31 and 32 which are in contact with the lower surface of the battery 3 are rotatably provided on the upper surface of the battery mounting portion 22. [ 11, the plurality of rollers 31 are arranged at a predetermined interval in the moving direction of the battery loading section 22, and the plurality of rollers 32 are arranged in the same direction as the roller 31, 22 at a predetermined interval in the moving direction. The roller 31 and the roller 32 are arranged at a predetermined interval in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the battery loading portion 22. [

The roller 31 is a flat roller. On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 12, the roller 32 is a groove-formed roller having a groove portion 32a formed on its outer circumferential surface to be recessed toward the inner circumferential side. The groove portion 32a is formed such that the protruding portion 12 formed on the lower surface of the battery 3 is engageable with the battery 3. When the battery 3 is mounted at a predetermined position of the battery loading portion 22, The protruding portion 12 is engaged. The battery 3 is positioned with respect to the battery loading portion 22 in the direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the battery loading portion 22 by engaging the protrusion 12 with the groove portion 32a.

The mounting portion moving mechanism 30 includes a motor 33 and a screw member 34 such as a ball screw and a nut member 35 screwed to the screw member 34 . The mounting portion moving mechanism 30 is configured to guide the battery loading portion 22 and includes a guide rail 36 formed in a linear shape and a guide rail 36 which are engaged with the guide rail 36, And a guide block 37 that is movable relative to the guide block 37.

The motor 33 is fixed to the upper surface side of the rear end portion of the battery loading portion 22. The screw member (34) is rotatably held on the lower surface side of the battery loading section (22). The motor 33 and the screw member 34 are connected to each other via a pulley or a belt. The nut member (35) is fixed to the first holding member (27). The guide rail 36 is fixed to the lower surface of the battery loading part 22 and the guide block 37 is fixed to the first holding member 27. [ Thus, in this embodiment, when the motor 33 rotates, the battery loading section 22 is guided by the guide rail 36 and the guide block 37 and moves linearly with respect to the first holding member 27 .

(Configuration of Battery Movement Mechanism)

Here, the present invention will be described as the present invention relating to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention.

13 is a front view for explaining the battery moving mechanism 25 shown in Fig. Fig. 14 is a side view for explaining the battery moving mechanism 25 shown in Fig. 7; Fig. Fig. 15 is a view for explaining the state when the battery latching portion 24 shown in Fig. 14 moves in a direction away from the bus 2. Fig. 16 is an enlarged view of a portion J in Fig. 17 is an enlarged view of a portion K in Fig. Fig. 18 is a diagram for explaining the battery moving mechanism 25 shown in Fig. 7 on the upper surface. Fig. 19 (A) is an enlarged view of part M in Fig. 18, and Fig. 19 (B) is an enlarged view of part N in Fig.

The battery moving mechanism 25 is provided with a latching portion moving mechanism 39 (not shown) for moving the battery latching portion 24 in a direction close to the bus 2 and a direction away from the bus 2, And a movement holding member 40 which movably holds the battery latching portion 24 and is movably held by the second holding member 28. [

The battery latching portion 24 includes an engagement claw portion 41 that engages with the handle portion 11 of the battery 3, an air cylinder 42 that moves the engagement claw portion 41 up and down, And a base portion 43 on which the base portion 42 is mounted. The engaging pawl portion 41 is fixed to the movable side of the air cylinder 42 and the fixed side of the air cylinder 42 is fixed to the front end surface of the base portion 43. The two engaging pawls 41 and the two air cylinders 42 are provided on the base 3 so that the engaging claws 41 are engaged with each of the two grips 11 formed on the battery 3. [ Are arranged at a predetermined interval on the front end surface of the second end portion (43).

The engaging pawl portion 41 includes a fixed portion 41a fixed to the air cylinder 42 and a pawl portion 41b engaged with the pull portion 11. The claw portion 41b enters from the upper side between the front end portion of the handle 11 and the front surface of the battery 3 and engages with the handle 11. When the claw portion 41b is engaged with the handle 11, the claw portion 41b pushes the releasing member 14 to be engaged with the engaging hole formed in the side wall 7 of the battery accommodating portion 4 Thereby releasing the engagement state of the member (13). Thereby, when the claw portion 41b is engaged with the handle 11, the battery 3 can be pulled out or inserted by the battery draw-inserting mechanism 17.

The movement holding member 40 is formed in a shape elongated in the moving direction of the battery latching portion 24. [ Further, the movement holding member 40 is formed so as to have a substantially H-shaped shape when viewed from the moving direction of the battery latching portion 24. [

The engaging portion moving mechanism 39 includes a motor 44 and a screw member 45 such as a ball screw and a screw member 45 for moving the battery engaging portion 24 and the movable holding member 40 A nut member 46 screwed to the pulleys 47 and 48 and pulleys 47 and 48 and a belt 49 extending over the pulleys 47 and 48. The engaging portion moving mechanism 39 is configured to guide the battery engaging portion 24 and the movement holding member 40 and includes a guide rail 50 formed in a straight line shape, And a guide block 51 which is movable relative to the guide rail 50 along the guide rail 50 and includes a guide rail 52 formed in a linear shape and guide rails 52 And a guide block 53 which is movable along the guide rail 52 with respect to the guide rail 52. As shown in FIG.

The motor 44 is fixed to the upper surface of the rear end of the second holding member 28. The screw member 45 is rotatably held on the upper surface portion of the second holding member 28. The motor 44 and the screw member 45 are connected via a pulley or a belt. The nut member (46) is fixed to the rear end of the movement holding member (40). The pulley 47 is rotatably held at the rear end of the movable holding member 40 and the pulley 48 is rotatably held at the front end of the movable holding member 40. [

The belt 49 is fixed to the base portion 43 of the battery engaging portion 24 via the belt fixing member 54 and is fixed to the upper surface of the second holding member 28 via the belt fixing member 55. [ Respectively. More specifically, when the movement holding member 40 is projected from the second holding member 28 and the belt fixing member 55 is disposed in the vicinity of the pulley 47 as shown in Fig. 17, The belt retaining member 54 is disposed in the vicinity of the pulley 48 and the movement retaining member 40 is accommodated in the second retaining member 28. As shown in Figure 15, The belt 49 is fixed to the belt fixing members 54 and 55 so that the belt fixing member 54 is disposed in the vicinity of the pulley 47 when the belt fixing member 55 is disposed in the vicinity of the pulley 48. [ And is fixed to the base portion 43 and the second holding member 28 through the through-

The guide rail 50 is fixed to the upper surface portion of the second holding member 28 and the guide block 51 is fixed to the upper surface of the movable holding member 40. The guide rail 52 is fixed to the lower surface of the movable holding member 40 and the guide block 53 is fixed to the upper end side of the base portion 43 of the battery latching portion 24.

In this embodiment, when the motor 44 rotates, the movement holding member 40 together with the battery engaging portion 24 is fixed to the guide rail 50 and the guide block 50 by the screw member 45 and the nut member 46 51, and moves linearly with respect to the second holding member 28. As shown in Fig. When the motor 44 rotates, the battery engaging portion 24 is guided to the guide rail 52 and the guide block 53 by the pulleys 47 and 48 and the belt 49, 40 in a straight line.

(Structure of lifting mechanism, first connecting mechanism and second connecting mechanism)

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described as the present invention related to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention.

2, 3, and 7, the lifting mechanism 18 moves the battery loading portion 22 and the battery latching portion 24 in a moving direction (hereinafter referred to as a "first direction"), And a first lifting mechanism (59) and a second lifting mechanism (60) disposed at both ends of a direction perpendicular to the up and down direction (hereinafter, this direction is referred to as a "second direction"). The first lifting mechanism (59) is connected to the first end of the first holding member (27) in the second direction by the first connecting mechanism (61). The second lifting mechanism (60) is connected to the other end side of the first holding member (27) by the second connecting mechanism (62). The first lifting mechanism 59 and the second lifting mechanism 60 are arranged in a manner to tilt the holding member 26 in the horizontal direction (i.e., in the second direction when viewed from the first direction, And to tilt the holding member 26 in the second direction when viewed from the moving direction of the battery latching portion 24). The holding member 26 is connected to the first lifting mechanism 59 and the second lifting mechanism 60 so as to be slantable in the horizontal direction.

The first elevating mechanism 59 and the second elevating mechanism 60 include an elevating member 63 movable in the vertical direction, a columnar member 64 holding the elevating member 63 so as to be able to ascend and descend, And a lifting and driving mechanism 65 for lifting and lowering the lifting mechanism 63. The columnar member 64 is formed into a columnar shape that is elongated in the vertical direction. 7, an upper end portion of the columnar member 64 constituting the first lifting mechanism 59 and an upper end portion of the columnar member 64 constituting the second lifting mechanism 60 are connected to each other by a connecting member Shaped frame member 66 and the two columnar members 64 and the connecting member 66 constitute a door-shaped frame.

8, the elevating drive mechanism 65 includes a motor 67, a screw member 68 such as a ball screw, and a screw member 68, which are members for lifting and lowering the elevating member 63, And a nut member (69) screwed into the nut member (69). 7, the elevation driving mechanism 65 includes a guide rail 70 formed in a straight line and guiding rails 70 engaged with the guide rail 70, And a guide block (71) which is movable along the guide rail (70).

The motor 67 is fixed to the upper end side of the columnar member 64. The screw member 68 is rotatably held by the columnar member 64. The motor 67 and the screw member 68 are connected via a coupling 72. The nut member (69) is fixed to the elevating member (63). The guide rail 70 is fixed to the side surface of the columnar member 64. The guide block 71 is fixed to the elevating member 63. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the motor 67 rotates, the elevation member 63 is guided by the guide rail 70 and the guide block 71 and moves up and down with respect to the columnar member 64.

The first connecting mechanism 61 connects the holding member 26 and the elevating member 63 so that the holding member 26 can be pivoted relative to the elevating member 63 of the first elevating mechanism 59 . The second connection mechanism 62 is configured such that the relative movement of the holding member 26 with respect to the elevation member 63 of the second lifting mechanism 60 and relative movement in the second direction is possible, 26 and the elevating member 63 are connected to each other. In this embodiment, when the motor 67 rotates so that the amount of movement of the elevating member 63 of the first lifting mechanism 59 is equal to the amount of movement of the elevating member 63 of the second lifting mechanism 60, 26 are kept parallel to the horizontal direction. On the other hand, when only one of the motor 67 of the first lifting mechanism 59 or the motor 67 of the second lifting mechanism 60 rotates, the holding member 26 tilts in the horizontal direction. When the motor 67 is rotated so that the amount of movement of the elevating member 63 of the first lifting mechanism 59 is different from the amount of movement of the elevating member 63 of the second lifting mechanism 60, And descends with respect to the horizontal direction.

(Configuration of Rotating Mechanism and Horizontal Moving Mechanism)

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described as the present invention related to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention.

2 and 3, the pivoting mechanism 19 includes a pivoting member 85 on which the battery withdrawing insertion mechanism 17 and the lifting mechanism 18 are mounted and which is rotatable together with the pivoting member 85, And a rotation driving mechanism 86 that rotates the rotation driving mechanism. 2 and 3, the horizontal movement mechanism 20 includes a slide member (not shown) which is mounted with the battery draw-in insertion mechanism 17, the lifting mechanism 18 and the rotation mechanism 19, 87, and a horizontal drive mechanism 88 for moving the slide member 87. As shown in Fig.

The pivoting member 85 is formed in a substantially disc shape. The slide member 87 is formed in an oval rectangular plate shape with its lateral direction being the longitudinal direction. The width of the slide member 87 in the left-right direction is larger than the diameter of the tiltable member 85 and the width of the slide member 87 in the anteroposterior direction is smaller than the diameter of the tiltable member 85.

The pivoting member 85 is disposed on the upper side of the slide member 87. The pivoting member 85 is rotatable about its center of curvature. On the upper surface of the rotating member 85, the lower ends of the two columnar members 64 are fixed. More specifically, the lower ends of the columnar members 64 are fixed to the opposite ends of the upper surface of the tiltable member 85 in the first direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the battery loading portion 22 and the battery latching portion 24, respectively .

The rotation driving mechanism 86 includes a motor, a pulley, a belt, and the like as a structure for rotating the tiltable member 85. The rotation driving mechanism 86 includes a guide rail and a plurality of guide blocks which are engaged with the guide rails and which are relatively movable along the guide rails . The guide rail is formed in an annular shape, and is fixed to the upper surface of the slide member 87. The plurality of guide blocks are fixed to the bottom surface of the tiltable member 85 and are arranged in an annular shape with the center of curvature of the tiltable member 85 as the center. A belt is stuck on the outer peripheral surface of the pulley and the tiltable member 85 fixed to the output shaft of the motor so that when the motor rotates, the tiltable member 85 is guided by the guide rail and the guide block, do.

The horizontal drive mechanism 88 includes a motor, a pulley, a belt, and the like as a structure for moving the slide member 87. [ The horizontal drive mechanism 88 is configured to guide the slide member 87 in the left-right direction. The horizontal drive mechanism 88 includes a guide rail formed in a straight line shape, a plurality of guide rails And a guide block. The guide rail is disposed on the lower side of the slide member 87. The guide block is fixed to the lower surface of the slide member 87. One end of the belt is fixed to the left end side of the guide rail, and the other end of the belt is fixed to the right end side of the guide rail. When the motor rotates, the belt is guided by the guide rail and the guide block, and the slide member 87 moves linearly in the left-right direction.

(Configuration of detection mechanism, bus position detection operation, and battery position detection operation)

First, the present invention will be described as the first aspect of the present invention.

Fig. 20 is a top view showing the state at the time of detecting the position of the bus 2 by the detection mechanism 21 shown in Fig. Fig. 21 is a schematic view for explaining the position detecting method of the bus 2 by the detecting mechanism 21 shown in Fig. Fig. 22 is a top view showing the state when the position of the battery 3 is detected by the detecting mechanism 21 shown in Fig. 23 is a diagram for explaining a position detecting method of the battery 3 by the detecting mechanism 21 shown in Fig.

The detection mechanism 21 includes a light emitting portion for emitting laser light and a light receiving portion for receiving the laser light emitted from the light emitting portion and reflected from the side 2a of the bus 2 or the front surface of the battery mounting table 6, . As shown in Fig. 11, the detecting mechanism 21 is provided on the upper surface of the front end portion side of the battery mounting portion 22. [ The detection mechanism 21 is provided in the battery loading section 22 such that the light emitting section and the light receiving section are adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction or the light emitting section and the light receiving section are adjacent to each other in the vertical direction. In this embodiment, two detection mechanisms 21 are provided in the battery loading section 22 so as to correspond to a pair of (two) detection marks 8 formed on each of the four battery mounting tables 6 . Specifically, the detecting mechanism 21 is fixed to the upper surfaces of both ends of the battery loading portion 22 in the first direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the battery loading portion 22 and the battery latching portion 24. Further, two detection mechanisms 21 are fixed to the battery mounting portion 22 at intervals equal to the intervals of the pair of detection marks 8.

The detection mechanism 21 is turned on when the reflection object that reflects the laser light emitted from the light emitting portion is within a predetermined measurement range, and turns off when the reflection object that reflects the laser light is not within the measurement range. Further, in the detecting mechanism 21, when the detecting mechanism 21 is in the ON state, the distance between the detecting mechanism 21 and the reflected object can be detected.

The detection of the position of the bus 2 by the detecting mechanism 21 is performed, for example, as follows. That is, when the bus 2 in which the battery 3 is exchanged is stopped at a predetermined stop position, for example, the battery draw-inserting mechanism 17 detects the position where the detection plate 9 is disposed . 20, the front surface of the battery loading section 22 faces the side surface 2a of the bus 2, and the battery loading section 22 moves away from the bus 2 .

In this state, as indicated by the two-dot chain line in Fig. 20, when the detection mechanism 21, which is emitted from the light emitting portion of the detection mechanism 21 and receives the laser light reflected by the detection plate 9, is turned on , The battery loading section 22 advances toward the bus 2. As shown in Fig. Thereafter, as shown by the chain double-dashed line in Fig. 21 (A), the battery mounting portion 22 at a predetermined position in the up-down direction is moved upward as shown by the broken line in Fig. 21 (A) And the approximate position of the upper end of the detection plate 9 is detected by the detection mechanism 21. [ Thereafter, as shown by the solid line in Fig. 21 (A) and the broken line in Fig. 21 (B), the battery mounting portion 22 has a height for detecting the position of both ends of the detection plate 9 in the left- As shown in Fig.

Thereafter, as shown by the solid line in Fig. 21 (B) and the broken line in Fig. 21 (C), the battery loading section 22 is moved to one side in the left and right direction, And detects the approximate position of one end of the detection plate 9. Thereafter, the battery mounting portion 22 is moved to the other side in the lateral direction as indicated by the solid line in Fig. 21 (C) and the dashed line in Fig. 21 (D) The position of both ends of the detection plate 9 is detected.

Thereafter, the battery loading section 22 is moved from the position where one end of the detecting plate 9 is detected by the detecting mechanism 21 in the lateral direction to the position of the battery loading section 22 in the left- 21 (D) and the dashed line in Fig. 21 (E), and then the detection mechanism 21 detects the position of the detection object The upper end of the plate 9 is detected. 21 (E), the detection mechanism 21 detects the position of the detection plate 9 from the position where the other end of the detection plate 9 is detected in the left-right direction, As shown by the solid line in Fig. 21 (E), after the detection plate 21 is moved to the position spaced a predetermined distance away from the other side of the detection plate 9 As shown in FIG.

By moving the battery loading section 22 as described above, the detection mechanism 21 detects the position of the detection plate 9 in the front-rear direction, the left-right direction, and the vertical direction. The detection mechanism 21 detects the position of the bus 2 by detecting the position of the detection plate 9 in the front-back direction, the left-right direction, and the vertical direction. By moving the battery loading section 22 as described above, it is also possible to detect the inclination of the detecting plate 9 with respect to the lateral direction when viewed from the front-rear direction by the detecting mechanism 21. [ That is, by moving the battery loading section 22 as described above, it is also possible to detect the inclination of the bus 2 with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the front-rear direction by the detecting mechanism 21. [

The battery loading section 22 is moved vertically and laterally and the position of the upper end plate 9 of the detecting plate 9 is detected by the detecting mechanism 21 . The detection mechanism 21 detects the positions of both ends in the front-rear direction, the left-right direction, and the right-and-left direction to detect the position of the detection plate 9 in the forward and backward directions, the left- The position of the bus 2 is detected. It is also possible to detect the inclination or the like of the detection plate 9 with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the front-rear direction by moving the battery loading section 22 in the up-down direction and the left-right direction . That is, by moving the battery loading section 22 in the up-and-down direction and the left-right direction, it is possible to detect the inclination of the bus 2 with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the front-rear direction by the detecting mechanism 21. [

After the position of the bus 2 is detected by the detecting mechanism 21, for example, the position of the battery 3 is detected by the detecting mechanism 21 as follows. First, as shown in Fig. 22 (A), each of the pair of detection marks 8 of the battery mounting table 6 on which the battery 3 to be replaced is mounted, and two detection mechanisms 21 So that the battery loading section 22 is moved in the left-right direction.

Thereafter, until the detection mechanism 21, which is emitted from the light emitting portion of the detection mechanism 21 and receives the laser light reflected by the detection mark 8, is turned on, (6). Thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 22B, 22C and 23A and 23B, the laser light from the light emitting portion of the detection mechanism 21 is guided to the detection mark 8, the battery loading section 22 is moved in the left-right direction. More specifically, the battery loading section 22 is moved in the left-right direction so that the laser beams from the respective light-emitting sections of the two detection mechanisms 21 cross the respective two detection marks 8 in the left-right direction .

When the battery loading section 22 is moved in the left and right direction so that the laser light from the light emitting section of the detecting mechanism 21 traverses the detecting mark 8 in the left and right direction, It is possible to detect the width of the portion where the laser light 8 is detected (that is, the portion that reflects the laser light (the broken line portion of FIG. 23C). Since the detection mark 8 of this embodiment is formed in a substantially triangular shape with its width changing in the vertical direction, by detecting the width of the detected portion 8a of the detection mark 8, It is possible to detect the height of the battery mounting table 8 on which the detection mark 8 is formed by detecting the height of the detection mark 8. [ The height of the battery mounting table 6 is detected by detecting the width of the detected portion 8a of the detection mark 8 in the detecting mechanism 21 and the height of the battery mounting table 6 So that the height of the battery 3 positioned and placed on the battery mount 6 is detected.

The battery mounting portion 22 is moved so that the laser light from the light emitting portion of the detecting mechanism 21 traverses the detecting mark 8 in the left and right direction so that the detecting mark 21 It is possible to detect the center position of the detected portion 8a of the detection mark 8 in the lateral direction. In this embodiment, for example, the position of the battery mount 6 in the left-right direction is detected based on the center position, and the position of the battery mount 6 in the left-right direction is detected, The position of the battery 3 positioned in the left-right direction is detected.

It is also possible to detect the center position of the detected portion 8a of the detection mark 8 in the left and right direction and the distance of the detection mechanism 21 by the detection mechanism 21. In this embodiment, The position of the battery loading table 6 in the longitudinal direction is detected based on the distance between the center position and the detecting mechanism 21 and the position of the battery loading table 6 in the longitudinal direction is detected, The position of the battery 3 positioned in the longitudinal direction of the battery 3 is detected.

The height of the battery mounting table 6 detected by one of the two detecting mechanisms 21 and the height of the battery mounting table 6 detected by the other detecting mechanism 21 , And the inclination of the battery mounting table 6 with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the front-rear direction is detected. Further, inclination of the battery mount 6 with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the front-rear direction is detected, whereby the inclination of the battery 3 with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the front-rear direction is detected.

The distance between the detection mechanism 21 and the detection mark 8 detected by one of the two detection mechanisms 21 and the distance between the detection mark 21 detected by the other detection mechanism 21 21 and the detection mark 8, the inclination of the battery mounting table 6 with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the upper and lower directions is detected. Further, the inclination of the battery mount 6 with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the upper-lower direction is detected, whereby the inclination of the battery 3 with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the upper and lower directions is detected.

The position of the battery 3 in the front and rear left and right directions, the height of the battery 3, the inclination of the battery 3 with respect to the left and right direction when viewed from the front and rear direction, The lower protrusion 12 of the battery 3 and the groove 32a of the roller 32 of the battery loading part 22 substantially coincide in the left and right direction and the lower surface of the battery 3, The slopes of the battery 3 and the battery draw-out inserting mechanism 17 substantially coincide with each other in the left-right direction when viewed from the front-rear direction, When the battery 3 is replaced by the robot 5 so that the inclination of the battery 3 with respect to the left and right directions when viewed and the inclination of the battery draw-inserting mechanism 17 substantially coincide with each other, , The height, and the inclination in the left-right direction .

Specifically, the horizontally moving mechanism 20 adjusts the position of the battery draw-inserting mechanism 17 in the left-right direction, the height of the battery draw-inserting mechanism 17 is adjusted by the lifting mechanism 18, The mechanism 19 adjusts the inclination of the battery draw-inserting mechanism 17 with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from above and below. Further, by changing the driving amount of the first lifting mechanism (59) and the driving amount of the second lifting mechanism (60) by driving one of the first lifting mechanism (59) or the second lifting mechanism (60) The inclination of the battery draw-in insertion mechanism 17 with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the front-rear direction is adjusted.

(Configuration of detection mechanism, bus position detection operation, and battery position detection operation)

Here, the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

Fig. 20 is a top view showing the state at the time of detecting the position of the bus 2 by the detection mechanism 21 shown in Fig. Fig. 22 is a top view showing the state when the position of the battery 3 is detected by the detecting mechanism 21 shown in Fig. 23 is a diagram for explaining a method of detecting the position of the battery 3 by the detecting mechanism 21 shown in Fig.

The detecting mechanism 21 includes a light emitting portion that emits laser light and a laser light that is emitted from the light emitting portion and reflected from a side surface 2a of the bus 2 or a reflection surface of the battery mounting table 6, And a light receiving portion for receiving the light. As shown in Fig. 11, the detecting mechanism 21 is provided on the upper surface of the front end portion side of the battery mounting portion 22. [ The detection mechanism 21 is provided in the battery loading section 22 such that the light emitting section and the light receiving section are adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction or the light emitting section and the light receiving section are adjacent to each other in the vertical direction. In this embodiment, two detection mechanisms 21 are provided in the battery loading section 22 so as to correspond to a pair of (two) detection marks 8 formed on each of the four battery mounting tables 6 . Specifically, the detecting mechanism 21 is fixed to the upper surfaces of both ends of the battery loading portion 22 in the second direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the battery loading portion 22 and the battery latching portion 24. Further, two detection mechanisms 21 are fixed to the battery mounting portion 22 at intervals equal to the intervals of the pair of detection marks 8.

As shown in Fig. 20, the detecting mechanism 21 is electrically connected to the control unit 91 of the robot 5 via a predetermined wiring. The detection mechanism 21 is turned on when the reflection object that reflects the laser light emitted from the light emitting portion is within a predetermined measurement range, and turns off when the reflection object that reflects the laser light is not within the measurement range. Further, in this embodiment, the distance between the detection mechanism 21 and the reflected object can be detected by using the on-state detecting mechanism 21.

In the following description, when two pairs of detection marks 8 are distinguished from each other, one detection mark 8 is used as the detection mark 8A and the other detection mark 8 is used. Is referred to as a detection mark 8B. When two detection mechanisms 21 are distinguished from each other, one detection mechanism 21 for detecting the detection mark 8A is referred to as a detection mechanism 21A and a detection mark 8B is detected And the other detection mechanism 21 for the purpose of detection is referred to as a detection mechanism 21B.

The detection of the position of the bus 2 by the detecting mechanism 21 is performed, for example, as follows. That is, when the bus 2 in which the battery 3 is exchanged is stopped at a predetermined stop position, for example, the battery draw-inserting mechanism 17 is located at a position where the detection plate 9 is disposed . 20, the front surface of the battery loading section 22 is opposed to the side surface 2a of the bus 2, and the battery loading section 22 is moved from the bus 2 And is retreating in the direction of going away. In this state, as indicated by the two-dot chain line in Fig. 20, when the detection mechanism 21, which is emitted from the light emitting portion of the detection mechanism 21 and receives the laser light reflected by the detection plate 9, is turned on , The battery loading section 22 is advanced toward the bus 2. As shown in Fig.

When the battery mounting portion 22 is moved in the vertical direction and the lateral direction and the detection mechanism 21 detects the positions of the upper end portion and both the left and right end portions of the detection plate 9, The position of the detecting plate 9 is calculated in the left, right, up and down directions, and the position of the detecting plate 9 is calculated to detect the position of the bus 2. [ It is also possible to calculate the inclination or the like of the detection plate 9 with respect to the left and right direction when the control section 91 is viewed from the front-rear direction by moving the battery loading section 22 in the vertical direction and the lateral direction. That is, it is also possible to detect the inclination of the bus 2 with respect to the lateral direction when viewed from the front-rear direction by moving the battery loading section 22 in the vertical direction and the lateral direction.

After the position of the bus 2 is detected by the detecting mechanism 21, for example, the position of the battery 3 is detected by the detecting mechanism 21 as follows. First, as shown in Fig. 22 (A), each of the pair of detection marks 8 of the battery mounting table 6 on which the battery 3 to be replaced is mounted, and two detection mechanisms 21 So that the battery loading section 22 is moved in the left-right direction.

Thereafter, until the detection mechanism 21, which is emitted from the light emitting portion of the detection mechanism 21 and receives the laser light reflected by the detection mark 8, is turned on, (6). Thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 22B, 22C and 23A and 23B, the laser light from the light emitting portion of the detection mechanism 21 is guided to the detection mark 8, the battery loading section 22 is moved in the left-right direction. More specifically, the laser light from the light emitting portion of the detection mechanism 21A crosses the detection mark 8A in the left-right direction and the laser light from the light emitting portion of the detection mechanism 21B crosses the detection mark The battery loading portion 22 is moved in the left-right direction so as to traverse the battery loading portion 8B.

23) of the detection mark 8 from the detection mechanism 21 when the laser light emitted from the detection mechanism 21 traverses the detection mark 8 in the left-right direction (More specifically, when the laser beam emitted from the detection mechanism 21A traverses the detection mark 8A in the left-right direction), the detection section 8A The portion of the laser beam 8A for reflecting the laser beam from the detecting mechanism 21A is referred to as a first detected portion 8a and the laser beam emitted from the detecting mechanism 21B is reflected by the detecting mark 8B The portion of the detection mark 8B which reflects the laser beam from the detection mechanism 21B is referred to as the second detected portion 8b) The battery loading section 22 is moved in the left-right direction so that the laser beam of the laser beam is traversed in the left- Both ends of the detected portions 8a and 8b in the left and right directions are detected by the detection mechanism 21.

The control section 91 can calculate the widths of the detected portions 8a and 8b in the left and right directions from the positions of both ends in the left and right directions of the detected portions 8a and 8b detected by the detection mechanism 21. [ have. Since the detection mark 8 of this embodiment is formed in a substantially triangular shape in which the width in the left and right direction is gradually narrowed toward the upper side, the control section 91 detects the detected portions 8a, The height of the detected portions 8a and 8b can be calculated based on the widths of the detection marks 8a and 8b and the height of the detection marks 8 can be calculated by calculating the height of the detected portions 8a and 8b . That is, the control section 91 can calculate the height of the battery mount 6 on which the detection mark 8 is formed, based on the width of the detected portions 8a and 8b in the left and right directions. In this embodiment, the height of the battery mounting table 6 is calculated, so that the height of the battery 3 mounted on the battery mounting table 6 is detected.

The control unit 91 determines the center position C1 of the detected portions 8a and 8b in the left and right direction from the positions of both ends in the left and right direction of the detected portions 8a and 8b detected by the detection mechanism 21 , C2) can be calculated. The control unit 91 can calculate the position of the battery mount 6 on which the detection mark 8 is formed in the lateral direction based on the center positions C1 and C2. In this embodiment, the position of the battery mount 6 in the left-right direction is calculated, so that the position in the lateral direction of the battery 3 positioned and placed on the battery mount 6 is detected.

Further, the control unit 91 can calculate the distance between the center position (C1, C2) and the detection mechanism (21). The control section 91 calculates the position in the longitudinal direction of the battery mounting table 6 on which the detection mark 8 is formed based on the distance between the center positions C1 and C2 and the detection mechanism 21 . In the present embodiment, the position of the battery loading table 6 in the front-rear direction is calculated, so that the position of the battery 3 positioned in the battery loading table 6 and mounted is detected in the front-rear direction.

The height of the detection mark 8B calculated based on the height of the detection mark 8A calculated on the basis of the width of the first detected portion 8a and the width of the second detected portion 8b The control section 91 can calculate the inclination of the battery mounting table 6 with respect to the left and right direction when viewed from the front and rear direction. That is, based on the width of the first to-be-detected portion 8a and the width of the second to-be-detected portion 8b, the control unit 91 controls the operation of the battery loading table 6 The slope can be calculated. In this embodiment, the inclination of the battery mount 6 with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the front-rear direction is calculated, whereby the inclination of the battery 3 with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the front-rear direction is detected.

The distance between the center position C1 in the left and right direction of the first detected portion 8a and the distance between the detecting mechanism 21A and the center position C2 in the left and right direction of the second detected portion 8b, 21B, the control section 91 can calculate the inclination of the battery mounting table 6 with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the up-and-down direction. In this embodiment, inclination of the battery mount 6 with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the up-and-down direction is detected, whereby the inclination of the battery 3 with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the up and down direction is detected.

The position of the battery 3 in the front and rear left and right directions, the height of the battery 3, the inclination of the battery 3 with respect to the left and right direction when viewed from the front and rear direction, The lower protrusion 12 of the battery 3 and the groove 32a of the roller 32 of the battery loading part 22 substantially coincide in the left and right direction and the lower surface of the battery 3, The slopes of the battery 3 and the battery draw-out inserting mechanism 17 substantially coincide with each other in the left-right direction when viewed from the front-rear direction, When the battery 3 is replaced by the robot 5 so that the inclination of the battery 3 with respect to the left and right directions when viewed and the inclination of the battery draw-inserting mechanism 17 substantially coincide with each other, , The height, and the inclination in the left-right direction .

Specifically, the horizontally moving mechanism 20 adjusts the position of the battery draw-inserting mechanism 17 in the left-right direction, the height of the battery draw-inserting mechanism 17 is adjusted by the lifting mechanism 18, The mechanism 19 adjusts the inclination of the battery draw-inserting mechanism 17 with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from above and below. Further, by changing the driving amount of the first lifting mechanism (59) and the driving amount of the second lifting mechanism (60) by driving one of the first lifting mechanism (59) or the second lifting mechanism (60) The inclination of the battery draw-in insertion mechanism 17 with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the front-rear direction is adjusted.

(Configuration of control unit of battery exchange system)

Here, the third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

34 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of the control unit 91 of the battery exchange system 1 shown in Fig.

The control unit 91 of the battery exchange system 1 includes a first control unit 92 for controlling the first robot 5A, a second control unit 93 for controlling the second robot 5B, And a common control section 94 to which the second control section 92 and the second control section 93 are electrically connected. The first control unit 92 and the second control unit 93 are connected to the common control unit 94 in parallel. The common control unit 94 is electrically connected to the upper control unit 95 that sends a control command to the control unit 91. [ That is, the first control unit 92 and the second control unit 93 are electrically connected to the upper control unit 95 via the common control unit 94.

(Outline of Battery Replacement Operation by Battery Replacement Robot)

Here, the present invention will be described as the present invention relating to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention.

24 is a flowchart showing a rough flow of the replacement operation of the battery 3 of the battery exchange robot 5 shown in Fig. Fig. 25 is a view for explaining the pulling-out operation of the battery 3 from the bus 2 by the battery-exchange robot 5 shown in Fig. Fig. 26 is a view for explaining the inserting operation of the battery 3 to the bus 2 by the battery-exchange robot 5 shown in Fig.

In the battery exchange system 1, when the bus 2 to which the battery 3 is exchanged is stopped at a predetermined stop position, first, the position of the bus 2 is detected by the above procedure (step S1). Thereafter, the battery 3 to be replaced among the four batteries 3 is pulled out from the bus 2 (step S2). Specifically, in step S2, the position of the battery 3 to be replaced (more specifically, the position of the detection mark 8 formed on the battery mounting table 6 on which the battery 3 to be replaced is mounted) The battery 3 is pulled out from the bus 2 by the robot 5 (step S22). Thereafter, the battery 3 that is pulled out is detected by the above described procedure (step S21) (Step S23).

The battery loading section 22 and the battery latching section 24 (see FIG. 25 (A)) in the home position are moved in the direction approaching the bus 2 in steps S1 and S2. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 25 (B), when the battery loading section 22 moves to a position where the battery 3 can be transferred from the battery loading table 6 to the battery loading section 22 The battery latching portion 24 moves to a position where the engaging claw portion 41 can be engaged with the handle portion 11 of the battery 3. [

In this embodiment, the position of the battery 3 is detected by the procedure described above before the battery loading section 22 and the battery latching section 24 in the home position move to the position shown in FIG. 25 (B). That is, until the detection mechanism 21, which is emitted from the light emitting portion of the detection mechanism 21 and receives the laser light reflected by the detection mark 8, is turned on, the battery mounting portion 22 is placed on the battery mounting table 6), and the position of the battery 3 is detected when the battery loading portion 22 is moved in the left-right direction (i.e., the robot 5 is moved in the left-right direction). In the subsequent operation, on the basis of the result of the position detection of the battery 3, the movement amounts of the battery loading section 22 and the battery latching section 24 are adjusted.

Further, in step S2, the engaging claw portion 41 is lowered in the state shown in Fig. 25 (B), and engages with the pull tab 11. 25 (C), the battery latching portion 24 moves in a direction away from the bus 2 to move the battery 3 from the battery mounting table 6 to the battery loading portion 22. Then, Is started to be transferred. 25 (D), when the battery 3 is completely mounted on the battery loading section 22, the battery loading section 22 and the battery jam The portion 24 moves in the direction away from the bus 2 and the drawing of the battery 3 from the bus 2 is completed as shown in Figure 25E. When the withdrawal of the battery 3 from the bus 2 is completed, the robot 5 rotates by 180 degrees to receive the battery 3 in the buffer station.

Thereafter, the operation of inserting the battery 3 into the portion of the bus 2 where the battery 3 is pulled out is performed (step S3). Specifically, in step S3, the charged battery 3 is taken out from the buffer station by the robot 5 (step S31). Thereafter, the extracted battery 3 is inserted into the bus 2 S32).

In step S3, when the charged battery 3 is taken out from the buffer station, the robot 5 rotates by 180 degrees to move the battery 3 from the bus 2, as shown in Fig. 26 (A) Lt; / RTI > Thereafter, as shown in Fig. 26 (B), the battery loading section 22 and the battery latching section 24 move in the direction close to the bus 2 while being synchronized. 26 (C), when the battery loading section 22 is moved from the battery loading section 22 to a position where the battery 3 can be transferred from the battery loading section 6 to the battery loading section 6, 24 are moved in the direction of approaching the bus 2 to insert the battery 3 into the bus 2. [ When the battery 3 is inserted into the bus 2, the engaging pawl portion 41 is lifted up as shown in Fig. 26 (D), and as shown in Fig. 26 (E) 22 and the battery latching portion 24 move away from the bus 2 (specifically moving to the home position) and the insertion of the battery 3 into the bus 2 is completed.

The operations in steps S2 and S3 are repeated until replacement of the battery 3 that is to be replaced on the bus 2 that has been stopped is completed (until "YES" in step S4). Normally, it is repeated until all batteries 3 of the stopped bus 2 are exchanged. When the exchange of the battery 3 requiring exchange is completed, the robot 5 returns to the origin position (step S5), and the replacement operation of the battery 3 by the robot 5 is completed.

(Teaching method of battery exchange robot)

Here, the present invention will be described as the present invention relating to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention.

27 shows the locus of the operation of the battery loading section 22 and the battery latching section 24 at the time of pulling out the battery 3 from the bus 2 by the battery exchange robot 5 shown in Fig. Fig. 28 shows the operation locus of the battery loading section 22 and the battery latching section 24 at the time of inserting the battery 3 into the bus 2 by the battery exchange robot 5 shown in Fig. FIG. 29 is an operation locus of the battery loading section 22 and the battery latching section 24 at the time of pulling out the battery 3 from the bus 2 by the battery exchange robot 5 shown in Fig. Is a diagram for explaining the locus in the case where the vehicle passes through the position P20.

The battery exchange system 1 uses the bus 2 that is stationary at a predetermined reference position to appropriately change the battery 3 of the bus 2 by appropriately operating the robot 5, (5) is performed. The teaching of the robot 5 includes a bus detecting position for detecting the position of the bus 2, a battery detecting position for detecting the position of each of the four batteries 3, The drawing-inserting position for drawing and inserting is taught to the robot 5 by a manual operation by an operator.

In the teaching of the bus detection position, the position (state) at which the detection plate 21 can detect the detection plate 9 is taught to the robot 5. In the teaching of the battery detecting position, the position (state) at which the pair of detecting marks 8 can be detected by the two detecting mechanisms 21 is taught to the robot 5. [ Further, in the teaching of the battery detecting position, four positions at which each of the pair of detecting marks 8 provided with four sets are detectable are taught to the robot 5. [ Further, in this embodiment, the bus detection position is taught only to the first robot 5A. Further, the battery detection position is taught to both the first robot 5A and the second robot 5B.

In the teaching of the pull-out insertion position, the waiting position (state) P1 shown in Figs. 25A and 26E and the vehicle mounting position (state) shown in Figs. 25B and 26D The second battery successive position (state) P2 as the battery successive position shown in Fig. 26 (C), the first battery successive position (state) P3 as the battery successive position shown in Fig. (State) P4 shown in Figs. 25A and 25B, a robot mounting position (state) P5 shown in Figs. 25D and 26B, The receiving position (state) P6 is taught to the robot 5. [

The standby position P1 is a standby position P1 in which the battery loading section 22 and the battery latch section 24 stand apart from the bus 2 (more specifically, at the home position) (3) is mounted. The vehicle mounting position P2 is such that the engaging claw portion 41 of the battery engaging portion 24 that is close to the bus 2 is engageable with the battery 3 mounted on the battery mounting table 6 Is a position where the battery 3 can be transferred between the battery loading section 22 that is close to the bus 2 and the battery loading table 6 where the battery 3 is mounted.

The first battery succession position P3 is a position when the battery 3 is mounted on both the battery mounting table 6 and the battery loading section 22. [ More specifically, the first battery successive position P3 is a position at which the battery 3 starts to be transferred from the battery mounting table 6 to the battery loading section 22 The position when the battery 3 is fully transferred to the loading table 6). The position when the battery 3 is loaded on one of the rollers 31 and the roller 32 among the plurality of rollers 31 and the rollers 32 provided on the upper surface of the battery loading section 22 And the first battery successive position P3. In addition, at the first battery successive position P3, the battery loading section 22 is projected toward the bus 2 side of the holding member 26. [

The second battery succession position P4 is a position when the battery 3 is mounted on both the battery mounting table 6 and the battery mounting section 22 as in the case of the first battery succession position P3. More specifically, the second battery succession position P4 is a position at which the battery 3 starts to be transferred from the battery loading section 22 to the battery loading table 6 The position when the battery 3 is completely transferred to the battery loading section 22). In the present embodiment, the position when the battery 3 is loaded on the battery mounting table 6 by the arrangement pitch of the plurality of rollers 31 is the second battery successive position P4. At the second battery succession position P4, the battery loading section 22 is projected toward the bus 2 side of the holding member 26. [

The robot mounting position P5 is a position where the battery 3 is completely mounted on the battery loading portion 22 close to the bus 2 and the engaging claw portion 41 is engaged with the battery 3 . The robot receiving position P6 is a position where the battery loading portion 22 on which the battery 3 is mounted and the battery latching portion 24 engaged with the battery 3 are moved away from the bus 2, As shown in Fig.

In the teaching of the pull-out insertion position, for each of the four batteries 3 mounted on the bus 2, the waiting position P1, the vehicle mounting position P2, the first battery successive position P3, The battery succession position P4, the robot mounting position P5, and the robot receiving position P6 are taught to the robot 5.

In addition, the drawing insertion position is taught to both the first robot 5A and the second robot 5B. At this time, the teaching of the first robot 5A of the vehicle mounting position P2 with respect to any one battery 3 accommodated in the first battery accommodating portion 4A and the teaching of the first robot 5A with respect to the second battery accommodating portion 4B Of the battery 3 to the second robot 5B at the vehicle loading position P2 with respect to any one of the batteries 3 accommodated in the battery 3 And the teaching of the first robot 5A of the battery 3 and the teaching of the second robot 5B of the first battery successive position P3 to the battery 3 are performed at the same time, The teaching of the first robot 5A of the second battery successive position P4 and the teaching of the second robot 5B of the second battery successive position P4 to the battery 3 are performed at the same time, The teaching of the first robot 5A of the robot mounting position P5 with respect to the battery 3 and the teaching of the second robot 5B of the robot mounting position P5 with respect to the battery 3 are performed simultaneously . Likewise, the vehicle mount position P2, the first battery successive position P3, the second battery successive position P4, and the position of the robot 3 for the remaining three batteries 3 accommodated in the first battery accommodating portion 4A, Teaching for each first robot 5A at the loading position P5 and vehicle mounting position P2 for each of the remaining three batteries 3 accommodated in the second battery accommodating portion 4B, The second robot 5B of the successive position P3, the second battery successive position P4 and the robot mounting position P5 are simultaneously instructed.

When the battery 3 is pulled out from the bus 2, the robot 5 moves the standby position P1, the vehicle mounting position P2, the first battery successive position P3, the robot mounting position P5, And moves the receiving position P6 in this order so as to pull out the battery 3 from the bus 2. [ At the time of inserting the battery 3 into the bus 2, the robot 5 is moved to the robot receiving position P6, the robot mounting position P5, the second battery successive position P4, P2 and the standby position P1 in this order so as to insert the battery 3 into the bus 2. [ When the battery 3 is pulled out from the bus 2, since the position of the battery 3 is detected, the robot 5 actually moves from the standby position P1 to the battery detection position P20, To the vehicle mount position P2.

Since the weight per battery 3 is several hundred kg, the height of the battery loading table 6 or the height of the battery loading table 6 during the movement of the battery 3 between the battery loading table 6 and the battery loading section 22 The inclination, and the height or slope of the battery loading section 22 are varied. In this embodiment, in order to suppress a difference in height between the battery mounting table 6 and the battery mounting section 22 due to variations in the height or tilt of the battery mounting table 6 and the battery mounting section 22, The lifting mechanism 18 moves the battery 3 from the first battery successive position P3 to the robot mounting position P5 when the battery 3 is pulled out from the battery draw- And when the battery 3 is inserted into the bus 2, when the robot 5 moves from the robot mounting position P5 to the second battery successive position P4, The mechanism 17 is lowered.

27, when the battery 3 is pulled out from the bus 2 on the basis of the teaching result of the robot 5, any one point of the battery loading section 22 is moved in the direction of arrow V1 , The vehicle mount position P2, the first battery succession position P3, the robot mount position P5 and the robot accommodation position P6 in this order, while drawing the locus along the V2, V3, Move. 27, any one point of the battery latching portion 24 can be moved along the locus along arrows V4, V5, V6, and V7 as shown in Fig. 27 The standby position P1, the vehicle mounting position P2, the first battery successive position P3, the robot mounting position P5, and the robot receiving position P6 are moved in this order.

28, an arbitrary point of the battery loading section 22 is moved in the directions indicated by arrows V11 and V11 as shown in Fig. 28. In this case, when the battery 3 is inserted into the bus 2 based on the teaching results of the robot 5, The robot receiving position P6, the robot mounting position P5, the second battery successive position P4, the vehicle mount position P2 and the standby position P1 are moved in this order while drawing the locus along the directions V12, do. 28, an arbitrary point of the battery latching portion 24 is moved along the locus along arrows V14, V15, V16, and V17 as shown in Fig. The robot receiving position P6, the robot mounting position P5, the second battery successive position P4, the vehicle mounting position P2, and the standby position P1 are moved in this order.

When the battery 3 is pulled out from the bus 2, the position of the battery 3 is detected. When the battery loading portion 22 and the battery latching portion 24 pass the battery detecting position P20, the battery loading portion 22 is moved to the arbitrary position of the battery loading portion 22 when the battery 3 is pulled out from the bus 2. [ The locus of one point is a locus along arrows V21, V22, V23 and V24 as shown in Fig. 29 (B), and the locus of an arbitrary point of the battery latching portion 24 is V25, V26, V27, V28, and V29, as shown in Fig.

The bus detection position teaching data which is the teaching data of the bus detection position, the battery detection position teaching data which is the teaching data of the battery detection position, and the extraction insertion position teaching data which is the teaching data of the extraction insertion position are stored in the control section 91.

(Calibration of battery detection position and calibration of bus detection position)

Here, first, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

When the teaching of the robot 5 is finished, the detection position where the detection mark 8 is actually detected by the detection mechanism 21 when the bus 2 is stopped at the predetermined reference position, The battery detection position is corrected so as to accurately grasp the position of the pair of detection marks 8 when the bus 2 is stopped at the predetermined reference position. The calibration of the battery detection position is performed by detecting the pair of detection marks 8 by using the two detection mechanisms 21 with the taught battery detection position as the reference position. This battery detection position is calibrated for each pair of detection marks 8 provided in four sets. The correction of the battery detection position is performed for each of the first robot 5A and the second robot 5B.

When the bus 2 is stopped at a predetermined reference position, the detection mechanism 21 corrects the deviation between the detection position where the detection plate 9 is actually detected and the detected bus detection position, The bus detection position is calibrated in order to accurately grasp the position of the detection plate 9 when the bus 2 is stopped at the reference position. The bus detection position is calibrated by detecting the detection plate 9 using the detected mechanism 21 with the taught bus detection position as a reference position. As described above, since the bus detection position is taught only to the first robot 5A, this bus detection position is calibrated only for the first robot 5A.

The calibration data of the battery detection position and the calibration data of the bus detection position for the first robot 5A are stored in the first control section 92. [ The calibration data of the battery detection position for the second robot 5B is stored in the second control unit 93. [

(Calibration of battery detection position and calibration of bus detection position)

Next, the present embodiment related to the first to third aspects of the invention will be described.

36 to 39 are diagrams for explaining various values calculated at the time of calibration of the battery detection position in the battery exchange robot 5 shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Fig.

When the teaching of the robot 5 is finished, the detection position where the detection mark 8 is actually detected by the detection mechanism 21 when the bus 2 is stopped at the predetermined reference position, The battery detection position is corrected so as to accurately grasp the position of the pair of detection marks 8 when the bus 2 is stopped at the predetermined reference position. The calibration of the battery detection position is performed by detecting the pair of detection marks 8 by using the two detection mechanisms 21 with the taught battery detection position as the reference position. This battery detection position is calibrated for each pair of detection marks 8 provided in four sets.

In the calibration of the battery detection position, based on the detection result of the detection mark 8 by the detection mechanism 21, the control unit 91 calculates various values as described below, And stored as battery detection position calibration data which is calibration data. In the calibration of the battery detecting position, the first direction and the front-rear direction, which are the moving directions of the battery loading portion 22 and the battery latching portion 24, are slightly coincident with each other, but almost coincide with each other. In calibration of the battery detection position, the second direction and the lateral direction, which are orthogonal to the first direction and the up-and-down direction, are slightly coincident with each other, but almost coincide with each other.

The control section 91 detects the width W1 of the detected portion 8a in the left and right direction (see Fig. 36) from the positions of the both ends in the lateral direction of the detected portion 8a detected by the detection mechanism 21, Of the detected portion 8b in the left and right directions from the positions of the both ends in the left and right direction of the detected portion 8b detected by the detecting mechanism 21 The width W2 (see FIG. 36) is calculated and stored as calibration data of the width W2.

The control unit 91 determines whether or not the center position C1 of the detected portion 8a in the left-right direction (the position of the center of the detected portion 8a in the left- 36), calculates the distance L1 between the center position C1 in the first direction and the detecting mechanism 21A (see FIG. 38), stores the distance L1 as calibration data, The center position C2 of the detected portion 8b in the left and right direction (see Fig. 36) is calculated from the position of both ends in the left and right direction of the detected portion 8b detected by the mechanism 21, (See Fig. 38) between the center position C2 in the direction and the detection mechanism 21B (see Fig. 38), and stores the distance L2 as calibration data.

37) corresponding to the distance between the predetermined origin O of the robot 5 and the center position C1 in the left-right direction, the origin O and the center O1 of the robot 5, The distance X2 (see Fig. 37) corresponding to the distance in the lateral direction of the position C2 is calculated. For example, the distance X1 is set such that the distance in the left-right direction between the origin O and the center position C1 is half the distance X0 in the second direction between the detecting mechanism 21A and the detecting mechanism 21B (X0 / 2), and the distance X2 is a distance obtained by subtracting half of the distance X0 from the distance between the origin O and the center position C2 in the left-right direction. Further, the control unit 91 calculates DELTA X, which is the difference between the distance X1 and the distance X2. Further, when the battery mounting table 6 is not tilted with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the front-rear direction and the battery mounting table 6 is not tilted with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the top and bottom directions, 0.

In addition, the battery pack holder 6 is not tilted with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the front-rear direction, and the battery loading table 6 is not tilted with respect to the left- The distance X3 between the center position C1 and the center position C2 in the second direction (see FIG. 38) is calculated by subtracting DELTA X from the distance between the center position C1 and the center position C2 in the left- ). The control section 91 calculates the relative inclination angle? 1 of the battery mounting table 6 with respect to the battery loading section 22 as viewed from the up and down direction based on the following equation (1).

? ¹ = tan ^-1 (| L1-L2 | / X3) 占 Sign ... Equation (1)

In Equation (1), Sign is a value determined by the inclination direction of the battery mounting table 6 with respect to the battery mounting portion 22 when viewed from the top and bottom, and is +1 or -1. In addition, when viewed from the front-rear direction, the battery mounting table 6 is not tilted with respect to the left-right direction, and in the left-right direction when the battery mounting table 6 is not tilted with respect to the left- The distance between the center position C1 and the center position C2 is equal to the distance X0 described above.

Assuming that the inclination angle of the battery loading portion 22 with respect to the front and back direction when viewed from the top and bottom is? 2 in the case where the robot 5 is located at the detected battery detecting position, the control portion 91 determines whether or not the inclination angle? The inclination angle [theta] 2 is added to calculate the inclination angle [theta] 1 + [theta] 2 of the battery mounting table 6 with respect to the left and right direction when viewed from the up and down direction. 38, the middle point C3 of the shortest distance between the center position C1 and the center position C2 and the rotational center O1 of the tiltable member 85 are connected to each other when viewed from the top and bottom directions, The origin O2 of the battery mounting portion 22 is arranged on one line and the line connecting the center point C3 and the turning center O1 is inclined at an inclination angle? 2 with respect to the front- It is.

The distance between the center point C3 and the turning center O1 is L4 and the distance between the origin O2 and the turning center O1 is L5 and the origin O2 in the first direction and the distance If the distance of the tip is L6, the following equation (2) holds, as shown in Fig.

L4 = L5 + L6 + (L1 + L2) / 2 Equation (2)

If the distance between the center of gravity C3 and the center of rotation O1 in the left-right direction is X4, the following equation (3) holds.

X4 = L4 x sin? 2 ... Equation (3)

The control unit 91 calculates the amount of change X5 (see Fig. 39) of the detection mark 8 in the left-right direction due to the influence of the inclination angle 1 on the basis of the following equation (4) X5 are stored as calibration data.

X5 = L4 x sin (? 1 +? 2) -X4 ... Equation (4)

The control section 91 calculates the distance L7 between the battery mounting section 22 and the detection mark 8 in the first direction based on the following equation (5) .

L7 = L5 + (L1 + L2) / 2 ... Equation (5)

The control section 91 calculates the distance L8 between the battery latching section 24 and the detection mark 8 in the first direction based on the following equation (6), and corrects the distance L8 And stores it as data.

L8 = L5 + (L1 + L2) / 2 ... Equation (6)

In this manner, in the calibration of the battery detection position, the control unit 91 controls the width W1, the width W2, the distance L1, the distance L2, the tilt angle? 1 +? 2, The distance L7 and the distance L8, and stores them as battery detection position correction data.

When the bus 2 is stopped at a predetermined reference position, the detection mechanism 21 corrects the deviation between the detection position where the detection plate 9 is actually detected and the detected bus detection position, The bus detection position is calibrated in order to accurately grasp the position of the detection plate 9 when the bus 2 is stopped at the reference position. The bus detection position is calibrated by detecting the detection plate 9 using the detected mechanism 21 with the taught bus detection position as a reference position. The bus detection position calibration data, which is calibration data of the bus detection position, is stored in the control unit 91. [

(Storage of teaching data and calibration data)

Here, the present mode relating to the first invention to the second invention will be described.

30 is a front view of the battery accommodating portion 4 shown in Fig. 31 is a block diagram for explaining some of the data stored in the storage unit 92 and the second storage unit 93 of the control unit 91 of the battery exchange robot 5 shown in Fig.

As described above, four batteries 3 can be mounted on the bus 2 of this embodiment, and four pairs of detection marks 8 are provided in the battery accommodating portion 4 . 30, each of the four batteries 3 is connected to a battery 3A, a battery 3B, a battery 3C and a battery 3D ). 30, the detection marks 8 formed on the battery mounting table 6 on which the batteries 3A are mounted can be distinguished from each other. A detection mark 8 formed on the battery mounting table 6 on which the battery 3B is mounted is referred to as a detection mark 8B and a battery mounting table 6 on which the battery 3C is mounted And the detection mark 8 formed on the battery mounting table 6 on which the battery 3D is mounted are used as the detection mark 8D.

The control unit 91 for controlling the robot 5 includes a storage unit 92 and a second storage unit 93. [ The storage unit 92 is, for example, a flash memory, and the second storage unit 93 is, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory). 31, the teaching data of the robot 5, the calibration data of the battery detection position, and the calibration data of the bus detection position are stored in the storage section 92. [

That is, the storage unit 92 stores the fetch insertion position teaching data A, which is teaching data of the fetch insertion position of the battery 3A, and the fetch insertion position teaching data B, which is teaching data of the fetch insertion position of the battery 3B, The pull-out insertion position teaching data C which is teaching data of the pull-out insertion position of the battery 3C and the pull-out insertion position teaching data D which is teaching data of the pull-out insertion position of the battery 3D are stored as teaching data Battery detection position teaching data A which is teaching data of a battery detection position at which a pair of detection marks 8A can be detected, a battery detection position A which enables detection of a pair of detection marks 8B, Battery detection position teaching data B which is teaching data of a battery detection position where detection of a pair of detection marks 8C becomes possible, The mark 8D The output is possible as teaching data of the battery where the battery is detected detection position teaching data (D) that is stored as a teaching data. Further, the storage unit 92 stores bus detection position teaching data which is teaching data of the bus detection position.

The storage section 92 stores battery detection position calibration data A as calibration data of the battery detection positions at which the pair of detection marks 8A can be detected, The battery detection position calibration data B as calibration data of the battery detection position at which detection is possible, the battery detection position calibration data C as the calibration data of the battery detection position at which detection of the pair of detection marks 8C becomes possible And the battery detection position calibration data D which are calibration data of the battery detection positions at which the pair of detection marks 8D can be detected are stored and the bus detection position calibration data Is stored.

In the storage unit 92, the drawing-out insertion position teaching data A and the battery detection position correction data A are stored as replacement data of the battery 3A, and the drawing insertion position teaching data B and the battery detection position correction data A The data B is stored as replacement data of the battery 3B and the drawing insertion position teaching data C and the battery detection position calibration data C are stored as replacement data of the battery 3C, The teaching data D and the battery detection position correction data D are stored as replacement data of the battery 3D. That is, the memory unit 92 stores the retrieval insertion position teaching data of a certain battery 3 and the battery detection position related to the detection mark 8 formed on the battery mounting table 6 on which the battery 3 is mounted And the calibration data is stored as exchange data of the battery 3. [

Thereby, when the battery 3 to be replaced is designated by an external device (not shown) to which the robot 5 is electrically connected at the time of replacing the battery 3, as described later, in the control unit 91, The teaching data of the drawn insertion position of the designated battery 3 and the calibration data of the battery detection position related to the detection mark 8 formed on the battery mounting table 6 on which the battery 3 is mounted are read.

(Control method of battery exchange system)

Here, this embodiment related to the third invention will be described.

35 is a sequence diagram for explaining an example of a control method of the battery exchange system 1 shown in Fig.

In the battery exchange system 1, when the bus 2 in which the battery 3 is replaced stops at a predetermined stop position, the control unit 91 (more specifically, the common control unit 94) From the upper control unit 95, and the position of the bus 2 is detected by the first robot 5A as described above. At this time, the first control unit 92 reads the teaching data of the bus detection position, the first robot 5A operates on the basis of the teaching data, and the actual position of the stopped bus 2 is detected. The first control unit 92 corrects the teaching data of the battery detecting position with respect to the first robot 5A based on the detected positional data of the bus 2 and the calibration data of the bus detecting position.

The position data of the bus 2 detected by the first control section 92 and the calibration data of the bus detection position stored in the first control section 92 are transmitted to the second control section 93 via the common control section 94 ). The second control unit 93 corrects the teaching data of the battery detecting position of the second robot 5B based on the received positional data of the bus 2 and the calibration data of the bus detecting position.

35, the control unit 91 (more specifically, the common control unit 94) controls the exchange of the battery 3 with respect to the first robot 5A and the exchange instruction of the battery 3 with respect to the second robot 5A 5B of the battery 3 from the upper control unit 95 individually. In the example shown in Fig. 35, the common control section 94 first receives the exchange instruction of the battery 3 to the second robot 5B, Exchange command is received.

The common control unit 94 sends an exchange instruction of the battery 3 to the second control unit 93 when receiving the exchange instruction of the battery 3 to the second robot 5B. The second control unit 93 performs a reception response of the exchange instruction to the common control unit 94 and the common control unit 94 that receives the reception response transmits the reception response of the battery 3 to the second robot 5B And performs a reception response of the exchange command to the host controller 95. [

When the second control unit 93 receives the replacement instruction of the battery 3, the battery loading unit 22 of the second robot 5B moves toward the bus 2 to change the position of the battery 3 to be exchanged Detection is performed by the second robot 5B. At this time, the teaching data of the corrected battery detecting position is read by the second control unit 93, and the second robot 5B operates on the basis of the data, and the position of the battery 3 to be exchanged is detected. When the position of the battery 3 to be replaced is detected, the teaching data taught to the second robot 5B is corrected based on the detected position data of the battery 3 and the calibration data of the battery detecting position.

Thereafter, based on the corrected teaching data, the second robot 5B moves to the correction position of the vehicle mounting position P2. When the second robot 5B moves to the correction position of the vehicle loading position P2, the engaging claw portion 41 engages with the battery 3 to pull the battery 3 from the bus 2. [ It is ready to be pulled out. In this retractable state, the second robot 5B stands by. That is, the second control unit 93 temporarily stops the second robot 5B in the retractable state. Further, the second control unit 93 informs the common control unit 94 that the second robot 5B is waiting in the retractable state. That is, the second control unit 93 sends a standby signal to the common control unit 94 to notify that the second robot 5B is waiting for the drawing operation.

The common control section 94 sends an exchange instruction of the battery 3 to the first control section 92 when receiving the exchange instruction of the battery 3 to the first robot 5A. The first control unit 92 performs a reception response of the exchange instruction to the common control unit 94 and the common control unit 94 that has received the reception response transmits the reception response of the battery 3 to the first robot 5A And performs a reception response of the exchange command to the host controller 95. [

When the first control unit 92 receives the replacement instruction of the battery 3, the battery loading unit 22 of the first robot 5A moves toward the bus 2 to change the position of the battery 3 to be replaced Detection is performed by the first robot 5A. At this time, teaching data of the corrected battery detection position is read by the first control unit 92, and the first robot 5A operates on the basis of the data, and the position of the battery 3 to be exchanged is detected. When the position of the battery 3 to be replaced is detected, the teaching data taught to the first robot 5A is corrected based on the detected position data of the battery 3 and the calibration data of the battery detection position.

Thereafter, based on the corrected teaching data, the first robot 5A moves to the correction position of the vehicle mounting position P2. When the first robot 5A moves to the correction position of the vehicle loading position P2, the engaging claw portion 41 engages with the battery 3 to pull the battery 3 from the bus 2 It is ready to be pulled out. In this extractable state, the first robot 5A waits. That is, the first control unit 92 temporarily stops the first robot 5A in the retractable state. Further, the first control unit 92 informs the common control unit 94 that the first robot 5A is waiting in the withdrawable state. That is, the first control unit 92 sends a wait signal to the common control unit 94 to notify that the first robot 5A is waiting for the pull-out operation.

The common control unit 94 receives the standby signal from the second control unit 93 and the waiting signal from the first control unit 92 and sets the first robot 5A and the second robot 5B in the pull- The controller 3 sends a control command to start the pulling operation to the first control unit 92 and the second control unit 93 to start the pulling operation of the battery 3 by the battery latching unit 24 of the first robot 5A, And the pulling operation of the battery 3 by the battery latching portion 24 of the second robot 5B are started almost simultaneously. That is, the control unit 91 causes the first robot 5A to control the operation of the battery 3 by the timing of the control command sent from the common control unit 94 to the first control unit 92 and the second control unit 93 The pulling operation and the pulling operation of the battery 3 by the second robot 5B are synchronized.

Thereafter, the first robot 5A moves in this order to the correction position of the first battery succession position P3, the correction position of the robot mounting position P5, and the robot accommodation position P6, The battery 3 is pulled out. Thereafter, the first robot 5A rotates by 180 degrees to accommodate the battery 3 in the buffer station and take out the charged battery 3 from the buffer station and rotate it 180 degrees (that is, , The battery 3 is replaced), and moves to the correction position of the robot mounting position P5. When the first robot 5A moves to the correction position of the robot mounting position P5, the insertion of the battery 3 into the bus 2 becomes possible. In this insertable state, the first robot 5A waits. That is, the first control unit 92 temporarily stops the first robot 5A in the insertable state. Further, the first control unit 92 informs the common control unit 94 that the first robot 5A is waiting in the insertable state. That is, the first control unit 92 sends a standby signal to the common control unit 94 to notify that the first robot 5A is waiting for the insertion operation.

Similarly, the second robot 5B moves in this order to the correction position of the first battery succession position P3, the correction position of the robot mounting position P5, and the robot accommodation position P6, 2 from the battery 3. Thereafter, the second robot 5B rotates by 180 degrees to accommodate the battery 3 in the buffer station, take out the charged battery 3 from the buffer station and rotate it 180 degrees (i.e., , The battery 3 is replaced), and moves to the correction position of the robot mounting position P5. When the second robot 5B moves to the correction position of the robot mounting position P5, the insertion state of the battery 3 into the bus 2 becomes possible. In this insertable state, the second robot 5B waits. That is, the second control unit 93 temporarily stops the second robot 5B in the insertable state. Further, the second control unit 93 informs the common control unit 94 that the second robot 5B is waiting in the insertable state. That is, the second control unit 93 sends a wait signal to the common control unit 94 to notify that the second robot 5B is waiting for insertion.

The common control unit 94 receives the standby signal from the first control unit 92 and the standby signal from the second control unit 93 and sets the first robot 5A and the second robot 5B in the insertable state The controller 3 sends a control command to start the insertion operation to the first control unit 92 and the second control unit 93 so that the battery 3 is stopped by the battery latching unit 24 of the first robot 5A, And the inserting operation of the battery 3 by the battery latching portion 24 of the second robot 5B are started almost simultaneously. That is, the control unit 91 causes the first robot 5A to control the operation of the battery 3 by the timing of the control command sent from the common control unit 94 to the first control unit 92 and the second control unit 93 The insertion operation and the insertion operation of the battery 3 by the second robot 5B are synchronized.

Thereafter, the first robot 5A and the second robot 5B move in this order to the correction position of the second battery succession position P4 and the correction position of the vehicle mounting position P2, The battery 3 is inserted. Thereafter, the first robot 5A and the second robot 5B move to the standby position P1. As described using the flowchart shown in Fig. 24, this operation is repeated until the replacement of the battery 3 requiring replacement on the bus 2 that is stopped is completed. Normally, it is repeated until all batteries 3 of the stopped bus 2 are exchanged.

In this embodiment, since the control command is sent from the common control unit 94 to the first control unit 92 and the second control unit 93 in a serial manner, the control command is transmitted to the second robot 5B by the battery latching unit 24 The pulling operation of the battery 3 is started slightly later than the pulling operation of the battery 3 by the battery latching portion 24 of the first robot 5A. The inserting operation of the battery 3 by the battery latching portion 24 of the second robot 5B is slightly smaller than the inserting operation of the battery 3 by the battery latching portion 24 of the first robot 5A Launched late.

(Control method of battery exchange robot)

Here, this embodiment related to the first invention and the second invention will be described.

Fig. 32 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a control method of the battery-exchange robot 5 shown in Fig.

In the battery exchange system 1, when the bus 2 in which the battery 3 is exchanged is stopped at a predetermined stop position and the control unit 91 receives the position detection command signal of the bus 2 from the external apparatus, The position of the bus 2 is detected in one step (step S61). In step S61, the bus detection position teaching data is read from the storage unit 92, and the robot 5 operates based on the teaching data to detect the actual position of the bus 2 that is stopping. The position of the bus 2 detected in step S61 is stored in the second storage unit 93 of the control unit 91 as bus stop position data.

Thereafter, the control unit 91 calculates a bus position deviation vehicle that is the difference between the reference stop position of the bus 2 and the position where the bus 2 at which the battery 3 is exchanged is actually stopped (step S62) . In step S62, the bus detection position correction data is read from the storage unit 92 and the bus stop position data is read from the second storage unit 93. [ By comparing these data, the bus position deviation amount is calculated. The bus position deviation amount calculated in step S62 is stored in the second storage section 93 as bus position deviation amount data.

Thereafter, in the control unit 91, the correction position of the detection mark 8 based on the position where the bus 2 is actually stopped is calculated (step S63). In step S63, the battery detection position teaching data is read from the storage unit 92 and the bus position deviation vehicle data is read from the second storage unit 93. [ Further, by adding the value of the bus position deviation vehicle data to the value of the battery detection position teaching data, the correction detection mark position (correction detection position), which is the correction position of the detection mark 8 based on the position where the bus 2 is actually stopped, Is calculated. The correction detection mark position calculated in step S63 is stored in the second storage unit 93 as correction position mark position data.

In step S63, the battery detection position teaching data A to the battery detection position teaching data D are read out from the storage unit 92 and stored in the four pairs of detection marks 8A to 8D, , The mark position for correction detection is calculated. As shown in Fig. 31, the correction detection mark positions calculated for the pair of detection marks 8A are stored in the second storage section 93 as the correction mark position data A, The correction detection mark position calculated for the pair of detection marks 8B is stored in the second storage section 93 as the correction mark position data B for detection, Is stored in the second storage unit 93 as the correction detection mark position data C and the correction detection mark positions calculated for the pair of detection marks 8D are , And is stored in the second storage unit 93 as the mark position data D for detection of correction.

Detection mark position data A is stored as replacement data of the battery 3A and the correction detection mark position data B is stored in the second storage section 93 for replacement of the battery 3B Detection mark position data C is stored as replacement data of the battery 3C and correction detection mark position data D is stored as replacement data of the battery 3D. That is, in the second storage unit 93, the correction mark position data calculated for the detection mark 8 formed on the battery mounting table 6 on which the battery 3 is mounted is stored in the battery 3, As data for exchange of data.

Thereafter, the control unit 91 receives a battery designation signal designating the battery 3 to be exchanged among the four batteries 3 mounted on the bus 2 from the external device. When the control section 91 receives the battery designation signal, the position of the detection mark 8 of the battery mounting table 6 on which the specified battery 3 is mounted is detected by the above procedure (step S64). As described above, in the second storage unit 93, the correction mark position data calculated for the detection mark 8 formed on the battery mounting table 6 on which the battery 3 is mounted is stored in the battery In step S64, the correction mark detection data for correction detection mark position data calculated for the detection mark 8 formed on the battery mounting table 6 on which the designated battery 3 is mounted, Is read out from the second storage unit 93. For example, when the battery 3A is designated, the correction detection mark position data A is read out from the second memory 93. When the battery 3B is designated, the correction detection mark position data A B are read from the second storage unit 93. [ In step S64, the robot 5 operates based on the read correction detection mark position data, and the actual position of the detection mark 8 of the battery mounting table 6 on which the designated battery 3 is mounted is .

Thereafter, in the control section 91, the amount of detection mark position deviation (the difference between the reference mark position of the detection mark 8 and the actual position of the detection mark 8 detected in step S64 (Step S65). In step S65, battery detection position calibration data is read from the storage section 92. [ The battery detection position calibration data relating to the detection mark 8 formed on the battery mounting table 6 on which the battery 3 is to be mounted is replaced with the battery 3 The calibration data of the battery detection position relating to the detection mark 8 formed on the battery mounting table 6 on which the designated battery 3 is mounted is stored in the storage unit 92 . For example, when the battery 3A is designated, the battery detection position correction data A is read from the storage unit 92, and when the battery 3B is designated, the battery detection position correction data B is stored Is read out from the memory unit 92. In step S65, the detection mark position deviation amount is calculated by comparing the position data of the detection mark 8 detected in step S64 with the read battery detection position correction data. The detection mark position deviation amount calculated in step S65 is stored in the second storage unit 93 as detection mark position deviation amount data.

Thereafter, the control unit 91 calculates the correction position of the drawn-out insertion position for drawing and inserting the specified battery 3 (step S66). In step S66, drawing fetch position teaching data is read from the storage unit 92. [ More specifically, in step S66, the drawing-insertion-position teaching data of the specified battery 3 is read out from the storage unit 92. [ For example, when the battery 3A is designated, the pull-out insertion position teaching data A is read from the storage unit 92, and when the battery 3B is designated, Is read out from the memory unit 92. In step S66, the detection mark position deviation amount data is read out from the second storage unit 93, and the value of the detection mark position deviation amount data is added to the value of the extraction insertion position teaching data, Is calculated. That is, in step S66, the drawing-insertion-position teaching data is corrected. Specifically, the correction position of the pull-out insertion position calculated in step S66 is the correction position of the vehicle-mounted position P2, the correction position of the first battery successive position P3, The correction position, and the correction position of the robot mounting position P5. The correction position of the pull-out insertion position calculated in step S66 is stored in the second storage unit 93 as the correction pull-out insertion position data.

Thereafter, the robot 5 moves to the correction position of the vehicle mounting position P2, and the engaging pawl portion 41 descends and engages with the grip portion 11 of the battery 3 (Step S67). In step S67, the correction position of the vehicle mount position P2 is read from the second storage unit 93. [ Thereafter, the robot 5 moves in this order to the correction position of the first battery succession position P3 and the correction position of the robot mounting position P5 (steps S68 and S69). In step S68, the correction position of the first battery succession position P3 is read from the second storage section 93. In step S69, the correction position of the robot mounting position P5 from the second storage section 93 is read do. Thereafter, the robot 5 moves to the robot accommodation position P6 (step S70).

Thereafter, the robot 5 rotates by 180 degrees to accommodate the battery 3 in the buffer station, take out the charged battery 3 from the buffer station and rotate it by 180 degrees (step S71) And moves to the correction position of the position P5 (step S72). In step S72, the correction position of the robot mounting position P5 is read from the second storage unit 93. [ Thereafter, the robot 5 moves in this order to the correction position of the second battery succession position P4 and the correction position of the vehicle mounting position P2 (steps S73 and S74). In step S73, the correction position of the second battery succession position P4 is read from the second storage section 93. In step S74, the correction position of the vehicle mount position P2 from the second storage section 93 is read do. Thereafter, the robot 5 moves to the standby position P1 (step S75).

As described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 24, the operations from step S64 to step S75 are repeated until replacement of the battery 3 requiring replacement on the bus 2 that is stopped is completed. Normally, it is repeated until all batteries 3 of the stopped bus 2 are exchanged.

In this embodiment, the correction detection mark position calculated in step S63 is used to detect the detection of each of the four pairs of detection marks 8 of the bus 2 on which the battery 3 is actually replaced by the detection mechanism 21 ), And the correction detection mark position data is detection position data. In the present embodiment, when teaching the robot 5, the battery detection position taught to the robot 5 is detected using a bus 2 that stops at the reference position, and a pair of detection marks 8 ) For teaching the robot 5 to detect each position of the robot.

The position at which the detection plate 9 is actually detected by the detection mechanism 21 when the bus 2 is stopped at the predetermined reference position) And the position of the bus 2 detected at step S61 (i.e., the position where the bus 2 to which the battery 3 is exchanged is actually stopped (the bus 2 where the battery 3 is exchanged The position at which the detection plate 21 is actually detected by the detection mechanism 21 when it is actually stopped) is the vehicle actual position. Further, in this embodiment, the bus position deviation is a vehicle position deviation that is a difference between the vehicle reference position and the vehicle actual position.

In the present embodiment, the position at which the detection mark 8 is actually detected by the detection mechanism 21 when the bus 2 is stopped at the predetermined reference position Is the detection mark reference position, and the battery detection position correction data is the detection mark reference position data. In this embodiment, the position of the detection mark 8 detected in step S64 is the actual position of the first detection mark, and the detection mark position deviation calculated in step S65 is the first detection mark position deviation . The pull-out insertion position data read in step S66 is the data of the first pull-out insertion position, and the correction position of the pull-out insertion position calculated in step S66 is the first correction position.

(Control method of battery exchange robot)

Next, this embodiment related to the fourth invention will be described.

Fig. 40 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the control method of the battery exchange robot 5 shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Figs. 41 to 44 are diagrams for explaining various values calculated at the time of replacing the battery 3 in the battery-exchange robot 5 shown in Fig.

In the battery exchange system 1, when the bus 2 in which the battery 3 is exchanged is stopped at a predetermined stop position and the control unit 91 receives the position detection command signal of the bus 2 from the external apparatus, The position of the bus 2 is detected in one step (step S61). In step S61, the bus detection position teaching data is read, and the robot 5 operates on the basis of the teaching data to detect the actual position of the bus 2 that is stopping. The position of the bus 2 detected in step S61 is stored in the control unit 91 as bus stop position data.

Thereafter, in the control unit 91, the amount of the bus position deviation (bus position deviation amount) which is the difference between the reference stop position of the bus 2 and the position where the bus 2 in which the battery 3 is exchanged is actually stopped, (Step S62). In step S62, the bus position correction data is read out and the bus stop position data is read out. By comparing these data, the bus position deviation amount is calculated. The bus position deviation amount calculated in step S62 is stored in the control unit 91 as bus position deviation amount data.

Thereafter, in the control unit 91, the correction position of the detection mark 8 based on the position where the bus 2 is actually stopped is calculated (step S63). In step S63, the battery detection position teaching data is read and the bus position deviation vehicle data is read. Further, by adding the value of the bus position deviation vehicle data to the value of the battery detection position teaching data, the correction detection mark position (correction detection position), which is the correction position of the detection mark 8 based on the position where the bus 2 is actually stopped, Is calculated. The correction detection mark position calculated in step S63 is stored in the control section 91 as correction position mark position data.

Thereafter, the control unit 91 receives a battery designation signal designating the battery 3 to be replaced among the four batteries 3 mounted on the bus 2 from the external device. When the control section 91 receives the battery designation signal, the position of the detection mark 8 of the battery mounting table 6 on which the specified battery 3 is mounted is detected by the above procedure (step S64). In step S64, the correction mark position data calculated for the detection mark 8 formed on the battery mounting table 6 on which the designated battery 3 is mounted is read. In step S64, the robot 5 operates based on the read correction detection mark position data, and the actual position of the detection mark 8 of the battery mounting table 6 on which the designated battery 3 is mounted is .

Thereafter, in the control section 91, the amount of detection mark position deviation (the difference between the reference position of the detection mark 8 and the actual position of the detection mark 8 detected in step S64 Vehicle) is calculated (step S65). The detection mark position deviation amount calculated in step S65 is a correction value for correcting the drawing insertion position teaching data for drawing and inserting the specified battery 3. In step S65, the battery detection position calibration data relating to the detection mark 8 formed on the battery mounting table 6 on which the specified battery 3 is mounted is read. In step S65, the detection mark position deviation amount is calculated by comparing the position data of the detection mark 8 detected in step S64 with the read battery detection position correction data.

Specifically, in step S65, the control section 91 calculates the actual distance between the battery mounting section 22 and the detection mark 8 in the first direction using the detection result in step S64 and equation (5) And calculates the difference L71-L7 between the distance L7 and the distance L71 calculated at the time of correcting the battery detecting position and outputs this difference to the battery loading portion 22 in the first direction (That is, the correction value of the distance between the battery loading section 22 and the battery 3 in the first direction) of the distance between the detection mark 8 and the detection mark 8.

In step S65, the control section 91 calculates the actual distance L81 (L81) between the battery latching section 24 and the detection mark 8 in the first direction using the detection result in step S64 and equation (6) And calculates the difference L81-L8 between the distance L8 and the distance L81 calculated at the time of calibration of the battery detection position and outputs this difference to the battery latching portion 24 in the first direction, (That is, the correction value of the distance between the battery latching portion 24 and the battery 3 in the first direction) of the distance between the detection mark 8 and the detection mark 8.

41) of the detected portion 8a and the width W21 of the detected portion 8b (see FIG. 41 (a)) from the detection result in Step S64 in Step S65, And the height differences? Z1 and? Z2 are calculated on the basis of the following equations (7) and (8), and then the height difference? ZM is calculated based on the following equation (9) .

? Z1 = ((W11-W1) / 2) / tan30? Equation (7)

? Z2 = ((W21-W2) / 2) / tan30? Equation (8)

? ZM = (? Z1 +? Z2) / 2 Equation (9)

The control unit 91 determines the height Z1 of the detection mark 8 calculated based on the detection result in step S64 and the height Z1 of the detection mark 8 Z2) (= Z1-Z2) of the battery 3 and calculates the sum DELTA ZM + DELTA ZB between DELTA ZM and DELTA ZB, and sets this sum as a correction value of the height of the battery 3. [

In step S65, the control unit 91 calculates the inclination angle 11 using the detection result in step S64 and the equation (1), and also detects the detection mark 8 in step S64 (? 11 +? 21) of the inclination angle? 21 and the inclination angle? 11 of the battery loading portion 22 with respect to the front-rear direction when viewed from the up and down direction. Further, the control unit 91 determines the difference (? 11 +? 21) - (? 1 +? 2)) between the tilt angle? 11 +? 21 and the tilt angle? (3).

In step S65, the control unit 91 sets the detection mark 8 in the left-right direction by the influence of the tilt angle 11, using the detection result in step S64 and the equations (2) to (4) Quot; X51 " 42, assuming that the distance in the left-right direction between the first connection mechanism 61 and the second connection mechanism 62 is X6, the control section 91 determines whether or not the distance The inclination angle? 31 of the battery draw-out insertion mechanism 17 with respect to the mark 8 with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the front-rear direction is calculated based on the following expression (10).

? 3 = tan ^-1 (|? Z1 -? Z2 | / X6) Equation (10)

42, assuming that the distance between the first connecting mechanism 61 and the detecting mechanism 21 in the up-and-down direction is H1, the control section 91 determines that the battery 3, which is influenced by? Z1,? Z2, (11) based on the following equation (11). &Quot; (11) "

X7 = H1 x tan? 3 ... Equation (11)

The control unit 91 calculates the distance X8 between the midpoint C3 between the center position C1 and the center position C2 calculated based on the detection result in step S64 and the center point C2 in the left- (X8-X8) between the midpoint C3 of the center position C1 and the center position C2 at the time of teaching the robot 5 and the distance X9 in the left-right direction of the origin O, X9). The control unit 91 calculates the sum (X51 + X7 + X) of the amount of change X51, the correction value X7 and the difference DELTA X, and corrects the sum in the lateral direction of the battery 3 Value.

If the distance between the two detection mechanisms 21 in the second direction is X10, the control section 91 calculates? Ti (see FIG. 44) based on the following equation (12) And is used as the correction value of the inclination angle of the battery 3 with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the front-rear direction.

Ti = X10 x tan? 3 ... Equation (12)

In this manner, in step S65, the control unit 91 determines whether or not the position and the inclination (i.e., the position) of the battery loading table 6 of the bus 2 stopped at the reference position, which is calculated based on the detection result in the detecting mechanism 21 (Position and inclination calculated at the time of calibration of the battery detecting position) and the detection result of the battery mounting table 6 of the bus 2 on which the battery 3 is exchanged by the detecting mechanism 21 A correction value for correcting the drawing-insertion-position teaching data is calculated based on the position and the inclination (that is, the position and the inclination calculated in steps S64 and S65). The correction value thus calculated is the detection mark position deviation amount. The detection mark position deviation amount is stored in the control section 91 as detection mark position deviation amount data.

Thereafter, the control unit 91 calculates the correction position of the drawn-out insertion position for drawing and inserting the specified battery 3 (step S66). In step S66, the drawing insertion position teaching data of the specified battery 3 is read. In step S66, the detection mark position deviation vehicle data is read and the correction position of the drawing insertion position is calculated by adding the value of the detection mark position deviation vehicle data to the value of the drawing insertion position teaching data. That is, in step S66, the drawing-insertion-position teaching data is corrected. Specifically, the correction position of the pull-out insertion position calculated in step S66 is the correction position of the vehicle-mounted position P2, the correction position of the first battery successive position P3, The correction position, and the correction position of the robot mounting position P5. The correction position of the pull-out insertion position calculated in step S66 is stored in the control unit 91 as the correction pull-out insertion position data.

Thereafter, the robot 5 moves to the correction position of the vehicle mounting position P2, and the engaging pawl portion 41 descends and engages with the grip portion 11 of the battery 3 (Step S67). In step S67, the correction position of the vehicle mount position P2 is read. Thereafter, the robot 5 moves in this order to the correction position of the first battery succession position P3 and the correction position of the robot mounting position P5 (steps S68 and S69). In step S68, the correction position of the first battery succession position P3 is read, and in step S69, the correction position of the robot mounting position P5 is read. Thereafter, the robot 5 moves to the robot accommodation position P6 (step S70).

Thereafter, the robot 5 rotates by 180 degrees to receive the battery 3 from the buffer station and take out the charged battery 3 from the buffer station and rotate by 180 degrees (step S71) And moves to the correction position of the position P5 (step S72). In step S72, the correction position of the robot mounting position P5 is read. Thereafter, the robot 5 moves in this order to the correction position of the second battery succession position P4 and the correction position of the vehicle mounting position P2 (steps S73 and S74). In step S73, the correction position of the second battery succession position P4 is read, and in step S74, the correction position of the vehicle mounting position P2 is read. Thereafter, the robot 5 moves to the standby position P1 (step S75).

As described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 24, the operations from step S64 to step S75 are repeated until replacement of the battery 3 requiring replacement on the bus 2 that is stopped is completed. Normally, it is repeated until all batteries 3 of the stopped bus 2 are exchanged.

(Main effect of this mode according to the first invention)

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the vehicle mounting position P2 when the battery 3 is fully mounted on the battery mounting table 6 and the vehicle mounting position P2 when the battery 3 is mounted on the battery mounting table 22, The first battery successive position P3 and the second battery successive position P3 when the battery is mounted on both the battery mounting table 6 and the battery mounting portion 22 in addition to the robot mounting position P5 when the battery is fully mounted, The position P4 is taught. Therefore, even if the robot 5 does not have the docking arm of the battery exchange device described in Patent Document 1, the battery 5 is not provided between the battery mounting table 6 and the battery loading section 22, It is possible to appropriately operate the robot 5 so as to suppress the generation of a difference in level between the battery loading table 6 and the battery loading section 22 when the battery loading section 3 is transferred, It is possible to smoothly exchange the battery 3 between the stand 6 and the battery loading section 22. [ That is, according to the first aspect of the invention, it is possible to smoothly transfer the battery 3 between the battery mounting table 6 and the battery loading section 22 even if the configuration of the robot 5 is simple.

In the first aspect of the present invention, since the battery loading section 22 protrudes toward the bus 2 side from the holding member 26 at the first battery successive position P3, The battery loading section 22 is greatly deformed when the battery 3 is transferred to the loading section 22 and a large difference in height is likely to occur between the battery loading section 6 and the battery loading section 22. However, It is possible to suppress the generation of a large difference in height between the battery mounting table 6 and the battery mounting section 22 and to smoothly move the battery 3 between the battery mounting table 6 and the battery mounting section 22. [ It becomes possible to exchange.

The vehicle mounting position P2 is set such that the engaging pawl portion 41 of the battery engaging portion 24 that is close to the bus 2 is positioned on the battery mounting table 6 And the battery 3 is transferred between the battery loading section 22 in the vicinity of the bus 2 and the battery loading section 6 in which the battery 3 is mounted It is the position when it becomes possible. That is, in this embodiment according to the first invention, the position closer to the first battery successive position P3 is taught to the robot 5 as the vehicle mount position P2. Therefore, when the battery 3 is transferred from the battery mounting table 6 to the battery mounting section 22 in the present embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention, It is possible to effectively suppress generation of a large difference in height.

In the robot mounting position P5 in the first aspect of the present invention, the battery 3 is completely mounted on the battery loading portion 22 close to the bus 2, (3). That is, in this embodiment according to the first invention, the position closer to the second battery succession position P4 is taught to the robot 5 as the robot mounting position P5. Therefore, when the battery 3 is transferred from the battery loading section 22 to the battery loading section 6, the occurrence of a large difference in level between the battery loading section 3 and the battery loading section 22 is effectively suppressed Lt; / RTI >

In the present embodiment relating to the first invention, the first battery succession position P3 and the second battery successive position P4 are taught to the robot 5. This makes it possible to suppress the generation of a difference in height between the battery loading table 6 and the battery loading section 22 when the battery 3 is transferred from the battery loading table 6 to the battery loading section 22 It is possible to suppress the generation of a difference in height between the battery loading table 6 and the battery loading section 22 when the battery 3 is transferred from the battery loading section 22 to the battery loading table 6 . That is, in the first aspect of the present invention, when the battery 3 is exchanged between the battery mount 6 and the battery mount 22, As a result, it is possible to smoothly exchange the battery 3 between the battery mounting table 6 and the battery loading section 22. As a result,

(Main effect of this embodiment according to the second invention)

As described above, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the control unit 91 receives from the external device a battery designation signal designating the battery 3 to be exchanged among the four batteries 3 mounted on the bus 2 The correction mark position data calculated for the detection mark 8 formed on the battery mounting table 6 on which the specified battery 3 is mounted is read from the second memory unit 93. [ In the second aspect of the present invention, the robot 5 is operated on the basis of the read correction mark position data so that the mark 8 for detection of the battery mounting table 6 on which the designated battery 3 is mounted Is detected. In the present embodiment relating to the second invention, drawing-out position teaching data for drawing and inserting the designated battery 3 is read out from the storage section 92, and the actual position detection result of the detection mark 8 The pull-out insertion position teaching data is corrected.

That is, according to the second aspect of the present invention, on the basis of the detection result of the detection mark 8 formed on the battery mounting table 6 on which the battery 3 to be replaced is mounted, The insertion position teaching data is corrected and the robot 5 is operated based on the drawing fetch position teaching data after the correction. Therefore, according to the second aspect of the present invention, on the basis of the detection result of the detection mark 8 formed at a position closer to the battery 3, the fetching insertion position teaching data of the battery 3 to be exchanged is corrected with high precision It is possible to operate the robot 5 with high precision based on the drawing position teaching data corrected with high accuracy together with the road correction. Therefore, in the second aspect of the present invention, even if the robot 5 does not have the docking arm of the battery exchange device described in Patent Document 1, each of the four batteries 3 mounted on the bus 2 can be appropriately It becomes possible to exchange them. That is, according to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to appropriately replace each of the four batteries 3 mounted on the bus 2 even if the configuration of the robot 5 is simple.

In the second aspect of the present invention, after detection of the detection mark 8 formed on the battery mounting table 6 on which the battery 3 to be replaced is mounted, the battery 3 can be replaced It is possible to shorten the replacement time of the battery 3. In the second aspect of the present invention, when the control unit 91 receives a battery designation signal designating the battery 3 to be replaced from an external device, the control unit 91 controls the battery loading table 6 on which the specified battery 3 is mounted The correction detection mark position data calculated with respect to the detection mark 8 to be formed and the battery detection position with respect to the detection mark 8 formed on the battery mounting table 6 on which the designated battery 3 is mounted And the drawing insertion position teaching data for drawing and inserting the specified battery 3 are automatically read so that the data communication between the external device and the robot 5 is simplified when the battery 3 is exchanged .

In the second aspect of the present invention, when replacing the battery 3, the calibration data of the battery detection position regarding the detection mark 8 formed on the battery mounting table 6 on which the specified battery 3 is mounted And performs drawing and insertion of the specified battery 3 based on the actual position detection result of the detection mark 8 of the battery mounting table 6 on which the designated battery 3 is mounted and the read calibration data And corrects the drawing-out position teaching data. Therefore, according to the second aspect of the invention, it is possible to correct the drawing insertion position teaching data of the battery 3 to be exchanged with higher precision.

(Main effect of this embodiment according to the third invention)

When the battery 3 is pulled and inserted into the first battery accommodating portion 4A because the weight of the battery 3 according to the third aspect of the present invention is several hundred kg, The height or the inclination of the battery 4 varies so that the height or inclination of the battery 3 accommodated in the second battery accommodating portion 4B is varied and the battery 3 is pulled out from the second battery accommodating portion 4B, The height or the inclination of the first battery accommodating portion 4A varies and the height or the inclination of the battery 3 accommodated in the first battery accommodating portion 4A fluctuates. Therefore, when the first robot 5A pulls the battery 2 out of the first battery accommodating portion 4A and the second robot 5B receives the battery 3 from the second battery accommodating portion 4B, The height and the inclination of the first battery accommodating portion 4A or the battery 3 to be exchanged are not unexpectedly changed during the pulling insertion of the battery 3 by the first robot 5A Or the height or the inclination of the battery 3 to be exchanged changes unexpectedly during the pulling insertion of the battery 3 by the second robot 5B, The battery 3 can not be pulled out or inserted properly even if the first robot 5A or the second robot 5B is operated based on the teaching results.

In the third aspect of the present invention, when the battery 3 is pulled out from the bus 2, the pulling operation of the battery 3 by the first robot 5A and the pulling operation of the battery 3 by the second robot 5B 3 in the drawing operation. In the third aspect of the present invention, when the battery 3 is inserted into the bus 2, the inserting operation of the battery 3 by the first robot 5A and the inserting operation of the battery 3 by the second robot 5B And the insertion operation of the battery 3 is synchronized. That is, in this embodiment of the third invention, the pulling operation of the battery 3 by the first robot 5A and the pulling operation of the battery 3 by the second robot 5B are performed almost simultaneously, The insertion operation of the battery 3 by the first robot 5A and the insertion operation of the battery 3 by the second robot 5B are performed almost simultaneously.

Therefore, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the height of the first battery accommodating portion 4A or the battery 3 to be exchanged and the height of the first battery accommodating portion 4B when the battery 3 is pulled and inserted by the first robot 5A The height of the second battery accommodating portion 4B or the battery 3 to be exchanged and the inclination of the battery 3 to be exchanged when the battery 3 is pulled and inserted by the second robot 5B are prevented, It is possible to prevent unexpected fluctuation of the vehicle. That is, in the third aspect of the present invention, the height of the first battery receiving portion 4A or the battery 3 to be exchanged when the battery 3 is pulled and inserted by the first robot 5A, It is possible to teach the pullout insertion position to the first robot 5A that predicts the variation of the battery 3 in the second battery 5B, It is possible to teach the draw-inserting position to the second robot 5B which predicts the variation of the height or the inclination of the battery 4B or the battery 3 to be exchanged. As a result, in the third aspect of the present invention, when the first robot 5A or the second robot 5B is operated based on the teaching results, It is possible to appropriately replace the battery 3 of the bus 2 on which the part 4 is formed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the pulling operation of the battery 3 by the first robot 5A and the pulling operation of the battery 3 by the second robot 5B are performed almost simultaneously, The inserting operation of the battery 3 by the first robot 5A and the inserting operation of the battery 3 by the second robot 5B are performed substantially simultaneously so that the replacement time of the battery 3 can be shortened .

(Main effect of this mode according to the fourth invention)

As described above, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the control unit 91 determines whether or not the laser light from the light emitting unit of each of the two detection mechanisms 21 is reflected by the two detection marks The battery loading section 22 is moved in the lateral direction so as to cross each of the battery loading sections 8 in the lateral direction so that the position of the battery loading section 6 in the front, rear, left and right directions, the height of the battery mounting table 6, The inclination of the battery mounting table 6 with respect to the left and right direction when viewed is calculated and the inclination of the battery mounting table 6 with respect to the left and right direction when viewed from the up and down direction. In other words, in this aspect of the fourth invention, the control unit 91 indirectly calculates the position and the inclination of the battery 3. Therefore, even if the stopping accuracy of the bus 2 is low, the position and the inclination of the battery 3 mounted on the bus 2 are properly detected, and the robot 5 and the battery (3) can be aligned. Therefore, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the battery 3 mounted on the bus 2 can be replaced appropriately.

Further, when the detection mechanism 21 is an image sensor, for example, an image processing apparatus or the like for processing an image photographed by the image sensor is required, so that the robot 5 becomes expensive. However, In this embodiment, since the detection mechanism 21 is a laser sensor, the cost of the robot 5 can be reduced.

In this aspect of the fourth invention, the detection mark 8 is formed in a substantially regular triangle shape in which the width in the left-right direction is gradually narrowed toward the image side. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is possible to calculate the position of the battery mounting table 6 in the up-down direction, the left-right direction, and the back-and-forth direction with relatively easy processing. In addition, it is possible to calculate the inclination of the battery mount 6 with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the front-rear direction and the inclination with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the up-down direction with relatively easy processing.

The two detection mechanisms 21 are provided on the battery mounting section 22 so that the laser beams are respectively passed through the two detection marks 8 formed on the battery mounting table 6 have. As a result, each of the two detection marks 21 can detect the two detection marks 8 at the same time. Therefore, in this embodiment, the position of the battery mounting table 6 in the up-down direction, the left-right direction and the back-and-forth direction, the inclination of the battery mounting table 6 with respect to the left- The inclination with respect to the left-right direction can be detected in a short time.

In this aspect of the invention according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the control unit 91 calculates, on the basis of the detection result of the battery mounting table 6 of the bus 2 stopped at the reference position, Based on the position and inclination calculated on the basis of the detection result of the detection mechanism 21 of the battery mounting table 6 of the bus 2 on which the battery 3 is exchanged, A correction value for correcting the teaching data is calculated, and in step S66, the drawing insertion position teaching data is corrected based on the correction value. Therefore, in the fourth aspect of the present invention, the battery (3) mounted on the bus (2) can be properly drawn and inserted by the robot (5).

(Other Embodiments)

Although the above-described embodiment is an example of a suitable form of the present invention, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made without changing the gist of the present invention.

First, another embodiment related to the first invention and the second invention will be described.

In the above-described embodiment, two battery succession positions of the first battery successive position P3 and the second battery successive position P4 are taught to the robot 5. In addition, for example, one battery succession position may be taught to the robot 5, or three or more battery succession positions may be taught to the robot 5.

In the above-described embodiment, the detection mark 8 is formed in a flat plate shape protruding from the front surface of the battery mount 6. In addition, for example, the detection mark 8 may be a concave portion that becomes concave from the front surface of the battery mount 6. For example, as shown in Fig. 32, a substantially regular triangular-shaped through-hole 6a passing through the front wall of the battery mounting table 6, and a through hole 6a penetrating the battery mounting table 6 The detection mark 8 may be formed by the reflection plate 110 fixed to the rear surface of the front wall. In this case, the through hole 6a can be formed in the front wall of the battery mounting table 6 by the blanking process by the press at the time of manufacturing the battery mounting table 6, The positional accuracy of the detection mark 8 can be enhanced as compared with the case where the detection mark 8 is fixed to the front surface of the battery mount 6.

In the above-described embodiment, the detecting mechanism 21 is a laser sensor, but the detecting mechanism 21 is not necessarily a laser sensor. For example, the detection mechanism 21 may be a camera. In this case, the distance between the battery 3 and the detection mechanism 21 may be detected using the depth of field of the detection mechanism 21 (that is, the camera). The detection mechanism 21 may be a combination of an ultrasonic sensor and a laser sensor or a camera. In this case, the position of the battery 3 in the longitudinal direction is detected by the ultrasonic sensor, and the position of the battery 3 in the up, down, left and right directions is detected by the laser sensor or the camera.

In the above-described embodiment, the detection mark 8 is formed in a substantially triangular shape in which the width thereof changes in the vertical direction. However, the detection mark 8 is formed in a substantially trapezoidal shape in which the width thereof changes in the vertical direction . Further, the detection mark 8 may be formed in a circular shape. When the detecting mark 8 is formed in a circular shape, the battery loading portion 22 is moved so that the detecting mechanism 21 crosses the detecting mark 8 in the left-right direction and the up-down direction, 8 can be detected by detecting the position of the battery 3 in the up, down, left, and right directions. In this case, for example, the position in the front-rear direction of the battery 3 may be detected from the center position of the detection mark 8 and the distance between the detection mechanism 21. [

In the above-described embodiment, the detecting mechanism 21 is provided in the battery loading section 22, but the detecting mechanism 21 may be provided in the battery latching section 24. In the above-described embodiment, the robot 5 is a robot for replacing the battery 3 mounted on the bus 2. However, the robot 5 is not limited to a vehicle other than the bus 2 such as a track or a private car. The battery 3 may be replaced by a robot.

Next, another embodiment of the third invention will be described.

Since the control command is serially sent from the common control unit 94 to the first control unit 92 and the second control unit 93 in the above-described manner, the battery control by the battery latching unit 24 of the second robot 5B The pulling operation of the battery 3 is started slightly later than the pulling operation of the battery 3 by the battery latching portion 24 of the first robot 5A and the pulling operation of the battery latching portion 24 of the second robot 5B Of the battery 3 is started slightly later than the inserting operation of the battery 3 by the battery latching portion 24 of the first robot 5A. In addition, if it is possible to send a control command in parallel to the first control unit 92 and the second control unit 93 from the common control unit 94, for example, it is possible to send a control command to the battery latching unit 24 of the first robot 5A The pulling operation of the battery 3 by the first robot 5A and the pulling operation of the battery 3 by the battery latching portion 24 of the second robot 5B may be simultaneously started and the battery latching portion 24 And the inserting operation of the battery 3 by the battery latching portion 24 of the second robot 5B may be simultaneously started.

The first control unit 92 and the second control unit 93 are electrically connected to the upper control unit 95 via the common control unit 94. [ In addition, for example, the first control unit 92 and the second control unit 93 may be directly connected to the upper control unit 95 electrically. In this case, for example, the first robot 92 controlled by the first control section 92 is controlled by the timing of the control command sent from the host control section 95 to the first control section 92 and the second control section 93 5A of the battery 3 and the drawing operation of the battery 3 of the second robot 5B controlled by the second control unit 93 may be synchronized. It is also possible to assign the master / slave to the first control unit 92 and the second control unit 93 (that is, to have the master / slave relationship) and to receive the control command from the first control unit 92 The second control unit 93 controls the second robot 5B to synchronize the drawing operation of the battery 3 of the first robot 5A and the drawing operation of the battery 3 of the second robot 5B .

In the above-described embodiment, the detecting mechanism 21 is a laser sensor, but the detecting mechanism 21 is not necessarily a laser sensor. For example, the detection mechanism 21 may be a camera. In this case, the distance between the battery 3 and the detection mechanism 21 may be detected using the depth of field of the detection mechanism 21 (that is, the camera). The detection mechanism 21 may be a combination of an ultrasonic sensor and a laser sensor or a camera. In this case, the position of the battery 3 in the longitudinal direction is detected by the ultrasonic sensor, and the position of the battery 3 in the up, down, left and right directions is detected by the laser sensor or the camera.

In the above-described embodiment, the detection mark 8 is formed in a substantially triangular shape in which the width thereof changes in the vertical direction. However, the detection mark 8 is formed in a substantially trapezoidal shape in which the width thereof changes in the vertical direction . Further, the detection mark 8 may be formed in a circular shape. When the detecting mark 8 is formed in a circular shape, the battery loading portion 22 is moved so that the detecting mechanism 21 crosses the detecting mark 8 in the left-right direction and the up-down direction, 8 can be detected by detecting the position of the battery 3 in the up, down, left, and right directions. In this case, for example, the position in the front-rear direction of the battery 3 may be detected from the center position of the detection mark 8 and the distance between the detection mechanism 21. [

In the above-described embodiment, the detecting mechanism 21 is provided in the battery loading section 22, but the detecting mechanism 21 may be provided in the battery latching section 24. In the above-described embodiment, the robot 5 is a robot for replacing the battery 3 mounted on the bus 2. However, the robot 5 is not limited to a vehicle other than the bus 2 such as a track or a private car. The battery 3 may be replaced by a robot.

Next, another embodiment of the fourth invention will be described.

In the above-described embodiment, the detection mark 8 is formed in a substantially regular triangle shape in which the width in the left-right direction is gradually narrowed toward the image side. In addition, for example, the detection mark 8 may be formed in a substantially regular triangle shape in which the width in the left-right direction gradually becomes narrower toward the lower side. The detection mark 8 may be formed in a triangular shape other than a regular triangle whose width in the left-right direction becomes gradually narrower toward the upper side or the lower side. Further, the detection mark 8 may be formed in a substantially trapezoidal shape in which the width in the left-right direction gradually becomes narrower toward the upper side or the lower side. The detection mark 8 may be formed in a shape other than a triangular shape or a trapezoidal shape as long as the width in the left and right direction is gradually narrowed toward the upper side or the lower side.

Further, the detection mark 8 may be formed in a circular shape. When the detecting mark 8 is formed in a circular shape, the battery loading portion 22 is moved so that the detecting mechanism 21 crosses the detecting mark 8 in the left-right direction and the up-down direction, 8 can be detected by detecting the position of the battery 3 in the up, down, left, and right directions. In this case, for example, the position in the front-rear direction of the battery 3 may be detected from the center position of the detection mark 8 and the distance between the detection mechanism 21. [

In the above-described embodiment, the detection mark 8 is formed in a flat plate shape protruding from the front surface of the battery mount 6. In addition, for example, the detection mark 8 may be a concave portion that becomes concave from the front surface of the battery mount 6. For example, as shown in Fig. 37, a substantially regular triangular-shaped through-hole 6a passing through the front wall of the battery mounting table 6 and a through hole 6a penetrating through the battery mounting table 6 The detection mark 8 may be formed by the reflection plate 110 fixed to the rear face of the front wall. In this case, the through hole 6a can be formed in the front wall of the battery mounting table 6 by the blanking process by the press at the time of manufacturing the battery mounting table 6, The positional accuracy of the detection mark 8 can be enhanced as compared with the case where the detection mark 8 is fixed to the front surface of the battery mount 6.

In the above-described embodiment, the detection mark 8 is formed on the battery mounting table 6, but the detection mark 8 may be formed on the battery 3. In the above-described embodiment, the detecting mechanism 21 is provided in the battery loading section 22, but the detecting mechanism 21 may be provided in the battery latching section 24.

In the above-described embodiment, two detecting mechanisms 21 are provided in the battery loading section 22, but one detecting mechanism 21 provided in the battery loading section 22 may be provided. In this case, by moving the battery loading section 22 so that one detecting mechanism 21 traverses the two detecting marks 8 in the left-right direction in order, the position of the battery 3 in the front- It is possible to detect the height of the battery 3, the inclination of the battery 3 with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the front-rear direction, and the inclination of the battery 3 with respect to the left-

In the above-described embodiment, two detection marks 8 are formed on the battery mount 6, but three or more detection marks 8 may be formed on the battery mount 6. In the above-described embodiment, the robot 5 is a robot for exchanging the battery 3 mounted on the bus 2. However, the robot 5 is a battery of a vehicle other than the bus 2 such as a track or a private car. The robot 3 may be replaced with a robot.

1: Battery exchange system 2: Bus (vehicle)
2a: Side 3: Battery
4A: first battery accommodating portion 4B: second battery accommodating portion
5: Robot (battery exchange robot)
5A: a first robot (first battery exchange robot)
5B: Second robot (second battery exchange robot)
6: Battery mount stand 8: Mark for detection
8a: first detected portion (detected portion)
8b: second detected portion (detected portion)
17: Battery draw-inserting device 21: Detecting device
22: Battery mounting part 24: Battery latching part
26: holding member 91:
92: first control section 93: second control section
94: Common control part P2: Vehicle mounting position
P3: first battery succession position (battery succession position)
P4: Second battery succession position (battery succession position)
P5: Robot mounting position X: Forward and backward direction
Y: Horizontal direction Z: Vertical direction

Claims (23)

A battery loading portion on which the battery is mounted when the battery mounted on the vehicle is pulled out and / or when the battery is inserted into the vehicle; and a battery loading portion which is engaged with the battery when the battery is pulled out and / A method of teaching a battery exchange robot having a battery latch portion for moving the battery on a mounting portion and replacing the battery mounted on the vehicle,
A vehicle mount position when the battery is mounted on the battery mount of the vehicle and a battery succession position when the battery is mounted on both the battery mount and the battery mount, And teaching the robot mounting position when the battery is mounted on the mounting portion. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the battery exchange robot includes a holding member for holding the battery loading portion and the battery latching portion,
Wherein the battery loading part and the battery latching part are movable in a direction approaching the vehicle and a direction moving away from the vehicle,
Wherein the battery loading section moves in a direction approaching the vehicle at the battery successive position and protrudes from the holding member. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the battery loading position close to the vehicle is engageable with the battery mounted on the battery loading table, and the battery loading position close to the vehicle and the battery mounted And a position where the battery is able to be transferred between the battery mounts. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the robot mounting position is a position at which the battery is fully mounted on the battery loading portion close to the vehicle and the battery loading portion is engaged with the battery. Way. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
When the battery starts to be transferred from the battery loading part to the battery loading part or when the battery is completely loaded from the battery loading part to the first battery successive position And a second battery succession position when the battery starts to be transferred from the battery loading unit to the battery loading unit or when the battery is completely transferred from the battery loading unit to the battery loading unit. Wherein the battery is replaced by a battery. A battery exchange robot characterized by being taught by the teaching method of the battery exchange robot according to claim 1 or 2. 1. A battery replacement robot for replacing a plurality of batteries mounted on a vehicle,
A battery draw-inserting mechanism for inserting each of the plurality of batteries into the vehicle by pulling out each of the plurality of batteries from the vehicle, and a plurality of batteries A detection mechanism for detecting each of a plurality of detection marks formed on each of the loading tables, and a control section for controlling the battery exchange robot,
Wherein the control unit controls the battery exchange robot to perform a withdrawal and / or insertion of each of the plurality of batteries by the battery withdrawal insertion mechanism using the vehicle stopped at a predetermined reference position, Which is data of a detection position serving as a reference when the detection mechanism respectively detects detection of each of the plurality of detection marks of the vehicle in which the battery is actually exchanged, In addition to storing data,
One of the batteries to be replaced among the plurality of batteries is set as the first battery and the drawing position teaching data for drawing and / or inserting the first battery is set as the first drawing position teaching data , The detection mark formed on the battery mounting table on which the first battery is mounted, of the plurality of detection marks is a first detection mark, and the detection mark Assuming that the data is the first detection position data,
Wherein the control unit reads the first detection position data as exchange data of the first battery when the first battery is drawn and inserted into the vehicle in which the battery is actually exchanged, The battery exchange robot is operated on the basis of the data to detect the first detection mark and the first drawing extraction position teaching data is corrected based on the detection result of the first detection mark, And the battery exchange robot is operated based on the corrected first drawing insertion position teaching data. 8. The method of claim 7,
A vehicle reference position which is a position of the vehicle actually detected by the detection mechanism using the vehicle stopping at the reference position and a vehicle actual position which is a position of the vehicle in which the battery is actually exchanged, If the difference in position is the vehicle position deviation,
Based on the detection mark teaching position taught to the battery exchange robot using the vehicle stopped at the reference position and the vehicle position deviation to detect the position of each of the plurality of detection marks, And the position for detection is calculated. 9. The method according to claim 7 or 8,
Wherein the control unit stores detection mark reference position data that is data of a detection mark reference position that is a position of the detection mark actually detected by the detection mechanism using the vehicle stopped at the reference position,
When the data of the first detection mark reference position as the detection mark reference position, which is the position of the first detection mark detected by the detection mechanism, is set as the first detection mark reference position data,
Wherein the control unit reads the first detection mark reference position data as replacement data of the first battery when the first battery is drawn and inserted into the vehicle in which the battery is actually replaced, And the first fetch inserting position teaching data is corrected on the basis of the detection result of the use mark and the first detection mark reference position data. 10. The method of claim 9,
A difference between an actual position of the first detection mark, which is a position where the detection mechanism detects the first detection mark of the vehicle in which the battery is actually replaced, and the first detection mark reference position, With positional deviation,
Wherein the control unit calculates a first correction position corrected based on the first detection mark position deviation based on the first drawing insertion position as the drawing insertion position for drawing and / or inserting the first battery, And the first fetch insertion position teaching data is corrected. A battery draw-in insertion mechanism for pulling out each of a plurality of batteries mounted on the vehicle and / or inserting each of the plurality of batteries into the vehicle; and a plurality of batteries A control method for a battery exchange robot that includes a detection mechanism for detecting each of a plurality of detection marks formed on each of a plurality of loading platforms and replaces the battery mounted on the vehicle,
Wherein the vehicle is stopped at a predetermined reference position in order to perform drawing and / or insertion of each of the plurality of batteries by the battery draw-inserting mechanism, Which is data of a detection position as a reference when the detection mechanism detects the position teaching data and each of the plurality of detection marks of the vehicle in which the battery is actually exchanged,
One of the batteries to be replaced among the plurality of batteries is set as the first battery and the drawing position teaching data for drawing and / or inserting the first battery is set as the first drawing position teaching data , The detection mark formed on the battery mounting table on which the first battery is mounted, of the plurality of detection marks is a first detection mark, and the detection mark Assuming that the data is the first detection position data,
When the first battery is drawn and inserted into the vehicle in which the battery is actually exchanged, the first detection position data is read as replacement data of the first battery, and the first detection position data is used as a reference The battery replacement robot is operated to detect the first detection mark and the first drawing extraction position teaching data is corrected based on the detection result of the first detection mark, And the battery exchange robot is operated based on the one-plunge insertion position teaching data. 12. The method of claim 11,
Which is data of a detection mark reference position which is a position of the detection mark actually detected by the detection mechanism using the vehicle stopping at the reference position,
When the data of the first detection mark reference position serving as the detection mark reference position, which is the position of the first detection mark actually detected by the detection mechanism, is set as the first detection mark reference position data,
When the first battery is drawn and inserted into the vehicle in which the battery is actually replaced, the first detection mark reference position data is read as replacement data of the first battery, and the detection of the first detection mark And the first fetch insertion position teaching data is corrected based on the result and the first detection mark reference position data. 1. A battery exchange system for replacing a battery mounted on a vehicle,
A first battery exchange robot for exchanging the battery accommodated in a first battery accommodating portion provided on one side of the vehicle and a second battery exchange robot accommodated in a second battery accommodating portion provided on the other side of the vehicle, A second battery exchange robot for exchanging the battery, and a control unit for controlling the battery exchange system,
Wherein the control unit is configured to synchronize (synchronize) the operation of the first battery-exchange robot with the operation of the second battery-exchange robot when the battery is extracted from the vehicle and when the battery is inserted into the vehicle Features a battery replacement system. 14. The method of claim 13,
The control unit includes a first control unit for controlling the first battery exchange robot, a second control unit for controlling the second battery exchange robot, and a common control unit for connecting the first control unit and the second control unit in parallel And the operation of the first battery exchange robot and the operation of the second battery exchange robot are synchronized based on the timing of the control command sent from the common control unit to the first control unit and the second control unit Battery exchange system. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the first battery exchange robot and the second battery exchange robot comprise a battery loading portion on which the battery is mounted when the battery is pulled out from the vehicle and when the battery is inserted into the vehicle, And a battery latch portion which engages with the battery when the battery is inserted into the vehicle and moves the battery on the battery loading portion,
Wherein the battery loading part and the battery latching part are movable in a direction approaching the vehicle and a direction moving away from the vehicle,
When the battery is pulled out from the vehicle, the first control unit is configured to enable the battery to be transferred between the battery loading unit close to the vehicle and the vehicle, The second battery exchange robot temporarily stops the first battery exchange robot in a retractable state in which the battery latch portion is engaged with the battery mounted on the vehicle and the second control portion temporarily stops the second battery exchange robot in the retractable state , The common control unit sends the control command to the first control unit and the second control unit when it is confirmed that the first battery exchange robot and the second battery exchange robot are temporarily stopped in the withdrawable state, The pulling operation of the battery by the battery latching portion of the first battery exchange robot and Wherein the second battery exchange robot starts the pulling operation of the battery by the battery latching portion of the second battery exchange robot. 16. The method according to claim 14 or 15,
Wherein the first battery exchange robot and the second battery exchange robot comprise a battery loading portion on which the battery is mounted when the battery is pulled out from the vehicle and when the battery is inserted into the vehicle, And a battery latch portion which engages with the battery when the battery is inserted into the vehicle and moves the battery on the battery loading portion,
Wherein the battery loading part and the battery latching part are movable in a direction approaching the vehicle and a direction moving away from the vehicle,
When the battery is inserted into the vehicle, the first control unit is capable of transferring the battery between the battery loading unit close to the vehicle and the vehicle, and is mounted on the battery loading unit The second battery exchange robot temporarily stops the first battery exchange robot in an insertable state in which the battery latch is engaged with the battery, and the second control unit temporarily stops the second battery exchange robot in the insertable state, When the control unit confirms that the first battery exchange robot and the second battery exchange robot are temporarily stopped in the insertable state, the control unit sends the control command to the first control unit and the second control unit, The insertion operation of the battery by the battery latching portion of the exchange robot, Battery exchange system, comprising a step of starting the insertion operation of the battery by the battery locking unit for exchanging robots. A first battery exchange robot for exchanging a battery accommodated in a first battery accommodating portion provided on one side of a vehicle and a second battery exchange robot for exchanging the battery accommodated in the second battery accommodating portion provided on the other side of the vehicle A method for controlling a battery exchange system having a second battery exchange robot for exchanging the battery mounted on the vehicle,
Wherein the battery exchange system synchronizes the operation of the first battery exchange robot and the operation of the second battery exchange robot when the battery is drawn out from the vehicle and when the battery is inserted into the vehicle Control method. A battery replacement robot for replacing a battery mounted on a vehicle,
When the direction in which the vehicle and the battery exchange robot are opposed to each other is set as the forward and backward directions and the direction orthogonal to the forward and backward directions and the up and down direction is set as the left and right direction,
A plurality of detection marks which are installed in the vehicle and which are formed in a state in which the battery is mounted on the battery mount or on the battery at a predetermined interval in the left and right direction and a detection mechanism for detecting the plurality of detection marks And a control unit of the battery exchange robot to which the detection mechanism is electrically connected,
Wherein the detection mechanism is a laser sensor having a light emitting portion for emitting laser light and a light receiving portion for receiving the laser light reflected by the reflection member for reflecting the laser light emitted from the light emitting portion,
The control unit moves the detection mechanism in the left-right direction so that the laser beam emitted from the detection mechanism traverses each of the plurality of detection marks in the left-right direction, and detects the detection result of the detection mark by the detection mechanism Wherein the position and inclination of the battery loading table or the battery are calculated based on the position and the inclination of the battery loading table or the battery. 19. The method of claim 18,
The detection mechanism is capable of measuring the distance between the detection mechanism and the reflected object,
The detection mark is formed so that the width in the left-right direction becomes gradually narrower toward the upper side or the lower side,
When a portion of the detection mark which reflects the laser light from the detection mechanism is a detected portion when the laser light emitted from the detection mechanism traverses the detection mark in the left and right direction,
Wherein the control unit calculates the height of the battery mount or the battery based on the width in the left and right direction of the portion to be detected and calculates the height of the battery mount base or the battery in the left- Or calculates the position of the battery and calculates the position of the battery mount or the battery in the forward and backward directions based on the center position in the left and right direction of the detected portion and the distance in the forward and backward directions of the detection mechanism. Battery replacement robot. 20. The method according to claim 18 or 19,
Wherein two detection marks are formed on the battery mount or the battery,
The battery exchange robot is provided with two detection mechanisms so as to cross each of the two detection marks in the left and right direction,
The detection mechanism is capable of measuring the distance between the detection mechanism and the reflected object,
The detection mark is formed so that the width in the left-right direction becomes gradually narrower toward the upper side or the lower side,
When a laser beam emitted from one of the detection mechanisms traverses one of the detection marks in the left and right direction, a portion of the one detection mark, which reflects laser light from one of the detection mechanisms, When the laser beam emitted from the other detection mechanism traverses the other detection mark in the left-right direction, the laser beam from the other detection mechanism of the other detection mark When a portion that reflects light is referred to as a second to-be-detected portion,
Wherein the control unit controls the inclination of the battery loading table or the battery with respect to the left and right direction when viewed from the front and rear direction based on the width of the first detected portion and the width of the second detected portion in the left- The distance between the center position in the right and left direction of the first to-be-detected portion and the front-to-rear direction of one of the detection mechanisms and the center position in the left-right direction of the second detected portion, And calculates a tilt of the battery mount or the battery with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the top-bottom direction. 20. The method according to claim 18 or 19,
And a battery draw-in insertion mechanism for pulling out the battery from the vehicle and / or inserting the battery into the vehicle,
Wherein the control unit includes a position and a slope calculated on the basis of the detection result of the battery mounting base or the battery of the vehicle stopped at a predetermined reference position in the detection mechanism, Or stopping at the reference position in order to perform drawing and / or insertion of the battery by the battery draw-inserting mechanism based on the position and the inclination calculated on the basis of the detection result of the detection mechanism in the loading table or the battery. Wherein the correction value calculating means calculates a correction value for correcting teaching data of the drawn-out insertion position taught to the battery exchange robot using the vehicle. 1. A battery exchange system having a battery exchange robot for exchanging a battery mounted on a vehicle,
When the direction in which the vehicle and the battery exchange robot are opposed to each other is set as the forward and backward directions and the direction orthogonal to the forward and backward directions and the up and down direction is set as the left and right direction,
A battery mounting table installed on the vehicle and on which the battery is mounted,
A plurality of detection marks formed on the battery mount or the battery with a predetermined gap leftward and rightward, a detection mechanism for detecting a plurality of detection marks, And a control unit of the battery exchange robot,
Wherein the detection mechanism is a laser sensor having a light emitting portion for emitting laser light and a light receiving portion for receiving the laser light reflected by the reflection member for reflecting the laser light emitted from the light emitting portion,
The control unit moves the detection mechanism in the left-right direction so that the laser beam emitted from the detection mechanism traverses each of the plurality of detection marks in the left-right direction, and detects the detection result of the detection mark by the detection mechanism Wherein the position and inclination of the battery loading table or the battery are calculated based on the position and slope of the battery loading table or the battery. 23. The method of claim 22,
Wherein the detection mark is formed in a triangular shape or a trapezoidal shape in which the width in the left-right direction is gradually narrowed toward the upper side or the lower side.

Images