KR19980078343A - Battery changer for unmanned transport vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a battery exchange device for an unmanned transport vehicle. The disclosed battery exchange apparatus includes a yard equipped with a plurality of yards in which batteries are placed, a movable table movably installed on the yard according to the position of the yard, a slider installed on the movable table so as to be moved forward and backward; And a gripper installed at one end of the slider to chuck the battery.

Description

Battery changer for unmanned transport vehicles

The present invention relates to a battery exchange device for an automatic guided vehicle.

In general, an unmanned transport vehicle is a vehicle that carries an object while moving along a set route without a driver, and is operated using energy of the battery 1 mounted therein as shown in FIG. 1. The power supply terminal 1a provided in the battery 1 is in contact with the power supply connecting portion 10a installed in the vehicle 10 to supply energy to a driving system (not shown) inside the vehicle 10, and is full of energy. When consumed they are replaced for recharge. Reference numeral 1b denotes a charging terminal for charging the battery 1.

By the way, since the replacement of this battery 1 was performed by hand conventionally, even an unmanned transport vehicle was not able to construct a complete unmanned work system. That is, the conveying work of the object is performed unattended automatically, but the battery (1) replacement work is a cumbersome work because the operator must perform directly, there was a problem that takes a long time accordingly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a battery exchange device for an unmanned transport vehicle that can automatically replace a battery of an unmanned transport vehicle.

1 is a view schematically showing a structure in which a battery is mounted on an unmanned transport vehicle;

Figure 2 is a front view showing a battery exchange device for an unmanned transport vehicle according to the present invention,

3 is a side view of the battery exchange device for an unmanned transfer vehicle shown in FIG. 2;

4 is a view illustrating a battery extraction process;

5 is a view illustrating a battery chucking process.

Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

1 ... battery 10 ... unattended transport vehicle

100 ... basement 100a ... frame

110 ... First Place of Detention 120 ... Second Place of Detention

111 ... 1st charging terminal 121 ... 2nd charging terminal

150 ... base rail 200 ... mobile stand

210 Lifting motor 220 Drive chain

300 ... slider 310 ... sliding motor

320 ... sliding rail 330 ... rack

340 Pinion 350 Guide rail

400 ... gripper 401 ... chucking motor

Battery exchange apparatus for an unmanned transfer vehicle of the present invention for achieving the above object is, a stockpile is provided with a plurality of stockpiles where the battery is stacked, and is installed so as to be movable on the stockpile, the position of the stockpile by a predetermined moving means. And a slider provided on the movable table so as to be moved forward and backward by a predetermined reciprocating means on the movable table and provided with chucking means for chucking the battery at one end thereof.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 and 3 are a front view and a side view showing a battery exchange device for an unmanned transport vehicle according to the present invention.

As shown in the drawing, the battery replacing apparatus of the present invention is first provided with a loading stand 100 for loading the battery 1, the loading stand 100 is a frame (100a) forming a skeleton and a plurality of The first and second storage places 110 and 120 are installed on the frame 100a at different heights so that the battery 1 can be stored therein.

The first and second storage places 110 and 120 include seating plates 112 and 122 on which the battery 1 is mounted, guide members 113 and 123 for guiding the side surfaces of the battery 1. The power supply terminals 111 and 121 for charging the stacked batteries 1 are provided. The power supply terminals 111 and 121 come in contact with the charging terminal 1b shown in FIG. 1 to charge energy by supplying electricity from a power source (not shown) to the battery 1. And reference numerals 114, 115, 124, 125 are capable of sliding the side and bottom surfaces of the battery 1 when the battery 1 is introduced into or withdrawn from the first and second depots 110 and 120. The roller for supporting is shown.

In addition, the loading stand 100 is provided with a moving table 200 which is guided and lifted by the frame 100a. The movable table 200 is supported by the drive chain 220 rotated by the elevating motor 210, the first pile 110 from the base rail 150 installed on the base surface of the loading rack 100 To the height. Here, the base rail 150 is installed at the same height as the height of the battery 1 mounted in the unmanned transport vehicle 10 (see FIG. 1), and the battery 1 is installed from the unmanned transport vehicle 10 (see FIG. 1). Used to pull out or push into. To this end, a plurality of rollers 151 and 152 supporting the side and bottom of the battery 1 are also installed in the base rail 150. And the lifting position of the movable table 200 is the proximity sensor 140 installed on the side of the frame (100a), the position sensor is installed on one side of the movable table 200 is located around the proximity sensor 140 It is measured by the molten plate 205. Reference numeral 201 denotes a plurality of moving rollers rotatably installed on the movable table 200, and is in close contact with the frame 100a to rotate when the movable table 200 is moved up and down. Therefore, when the lifting motor 210 rotates the drive chain 220, the movable table 200 coupled to the drive chain 220 is lifted, and the moving rollers 201 are moved to the frame 100a. As it rotates in close contact, smooth lifting operation is achieved.

On the other hand, the movable table 200 is provided with a slider 300 which is slid by the sliding motor 310 and moves forward and backward, and on the slider 300 as chucking means for chucking the battery 1, for chucking. The gripper 400 which is chucked with the battery 1 by being rotated by the motor 401 and the chucking motor 401 is provided.

First, the driving structure of the slider 300 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4. 4 illustrates the driving relationship of the slider 300, and the shape of the movable table 200 is omitted. As shown in the figure, a pair of sliding rails 320 are provided on the movable table 200, and a rotating roller 301 is provided on the rear surface of the slider 300 to be inserted into the sliding rails 320 and rotated. have. In addition, a rack 320 is provided at the rear center portion of the slider 300 so as to be engaged with the pinion 340 which is rotationally driven by the sliding motor 310. Accordingly, when the pinion 340 is rotated by the sliding motor 310, the slider 300 is moved forward or backward by the driving of the rack 320 and the pinion 340. In addition, guide rails 350 are installed at both sides of the slider 300 in the movable table 200. The guide rails 350 are provided with a plurality of side support rollers 351 and a bottom support roller 352, so that the battery 1 is supported by the side support rollers 351 when the battery 1 is replaced. The roller 351 is transported while sliding. On the other hand, the state shown in Figure 4, the movable table 200 is lowered and stopped at the height of the base rail 150, wherein the guide rail 350 and the base rail 150 to the same height It is aligned. Accordingly, when the battery 1 is removed from the unmanned transportation vehicle 10 (see FIG. 1) or vice versa, the battery 1 may be transported in association with the base rail 150 and the guide rail 350. It becomes possible.

Next, the gripper 400 installed on the slider 300 to chuck the battery 1 will be described. The gripper 400 is configured to be rotated by being coaxially coupled to the chucking motor 401 provided on the slider 300. Such a gripper 400 is to chuck the battery 1 to remove or push the battery 1 out of the unmanned transport vehicle 10 (see FIG. 1) or the first and second stockpiles 110 and 120. 5 shows the chucking structure. As shown, the battery 1 is formed with a long hole (1c) for chucking with the gripper 400, the inside of the long hole (1c) the empty space portion (1d) so that the gripper 400 can rotate ) Is provided. Therefore, when the slider 300 is advanced, the gripper 400 is inserted into the long hole 1c, and then, when the gripper 400 is rotated by 90 degrees by driving the chucking motor 401, as shown in FIG. 5. The battery 1 is chucked. When the slider 300 is retracted in this state, the battery 1 is caught by the gripper 400, and when the battery 300 is advanced, the battery 1 is pushed by the gripper 400.

On the other hand, the series of operations of the above-described battery exchange device is sequentially performed by a predetermined controller (not shown). This series of operations is described as follows.

First, in order to replace the battery 1 mounted in the unmanned transport vehicle 10 (see FIG. 1), the unmanned transport vehicle 10 (see FIG. 1) is moved to an exchange position in front of the base rail 150 to stop. To be. In this exchange position, the battery 1 mounted in the unmanned transport vehicle 10 (see FIG. 1) is aligned to a position where it can be guided to the rollers 151 and 152 of the base rail 150. Next, the movable table 200 is lowered so that the guide rails 350 and the base rails 150 provided at both sides of the slider 300 are aligned at the same height as shown in FIG. 4. In this state, when the sliding motor 310 is driven in the forward direction, the slider 300 advances toward the unmanned transport vehicle 10 (see FIG. 1). As the slider 300 moves forward, the gripper 400 is inserted into the long hole 1c of the battery 1 mounted in the unmanned transportation vehicle 10 (see FIG. 1). Thereafter, the gripper 400 is rotated by 90 degrees by the chucking motor 401, thereby chucking the battery 1 as shown in FIG. 5. In this state, when the sliding motor 310 is driven in the reverse direction and the slider 300 moves backward, the battery 1 is pulled out of the unmanned transport vehicle 10 (see FIG. 1) while the roller of the base rail 150 is rotated. Take out 151, 152 is taken out to the guide rail 350 side. After the battery 1 is completely moved to the guide rail 351 and supported by the side support roller 351 and the lower support roller 352, the movement of the slider 300 is stopped. Subsequently, the movable table 200 is driven by the elevating motor 210 to transfer the taken out battery 1 in front of the first stocking station 110 or the second stocking station 120. For example, when the first place 110 is empty and the replacement battery is waiting in the second place 120, the movable stand 200 is first stopped before the first place 110. Thereafter, as described above, the slider 300 is advanced to push the battery 1 into the first place 110. At this time, the charging terminal 1b (refer to FIG. 1) formed on the rear surface of the battery 1 is in contact with the first power supply terminal 111 of the first place 110 and charging starts. After the battery 1 is completely pushed into the first place 110, the chucking motor 401 is driven to rotate the gripper 400 by 90 degrees in the opposite direction than when chucking. When the slider 300 is moved backward, the gripper 400 and the battery 1 are separated. Next, the movable table 200 moves to the second storage location 120 to mount the standby replacement battery in the unmanned transport vehicle 10 (see FIG. 1). As described above, the gripper 400 chucks the replacement battery and pulls it out, and the battery replacement process is completed by inserting the replacement battery into the unmanned transport vehicle 10 (refer to FIG. 1) through a process opposite to that of taking out the battery.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment has been illustrated as two places where the battery is stacked, but may be installed a plurality more within the allowable space of the mounting place 100.

As such, the battery replacing apparatus of the present invention enables to automatically perform the entire battery replacement process of the unmanned transport vehicle.

As described above, according to the battery replacing apparatus for an unmanned transport vehicle of the present invention, since the battery replacement and charging of the unmanned transport vehicle can be performed automatically, the battery replacement time is shortened, the work efficiency is improved, and the entire process is automated. There is an advantage to this.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to that described above and illustrated in the drawings and that many more modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (6)

A stock stand provided with a plurality of stock places in which batteries are placed, a movable table installed on the stock stand so as to be movable and moved along a position of the stock place by a predetermined moving means, and a predetermined reciprocating means on the mobile table. And a slider provided with a chucking means capable of chucking the battery at one end thereof so as to be movable forward and backward. 2. The battery for an unmanned transfer vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said moving means includes a driving chain coupled to both ends of said moving table and pivotally mounted on said loading stand, and a lifting motor for driving said driving chain. Exchange device. The driver according to claim 1, wherein the reciprocating means includes a rack formed on a bottom surface of the slider, a pinion installed on the movable table and engaged with the rack, and a sliding motor for rotating the pinion. Battery changer for transport vehicles. The method of claim 1, wherein a long hole is formed on one side of the battery and a predetermined space is provided inside the long hole, and the chucking means includes a chucking motor for generating power and a coaxial shaft of the chucking motor. And a gripper coupled to the battery by being installed and inserted into the slot and rotated in the space part. The battery replacing apparatus for an unmanned transport vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the depot is further provided with charging means for charging a battery stored therein. 6. The charging device according to claim 5, wherein the charging means includes a power supply and a power supply terminal provided in the stockyard and electrically connected to the power supply and connected to a charging terminal of the battery as the battery is loaded. Battery exchange device for unmanned transport vehicles.