TW201921771A - Magazine type charging device - Google Patents

Abstract

A battery (10) having an inlet (20) formed by an inlet forming portion (12) protruding upward from an upper surface of the battery (10). On the other hand, a magazine type charging device (30) includes a charger tray (104), a backboard (102) extending along a battery (10) and having a judging projection (108), and a charger-side charging connector (112). When the battery is placed on the charger tray (104), the judging projection (108) enters into the inlet (20).

Description

   Cassette charging device   

The present invention relates to a cassette-type charging device. If a battery that needs to be charged is used up in a predetermined position if the battery is used up or the storage capacity is insufficient, the charging station will be shifted to be stored in a casing And the newly exposed charged battery can be removed from the case.

The battery is widely used because it is a clean drive source that does not emit exhaust gas, and has the advantages of being reusable as long as it is charged after discharge, and easy to charge with a commercial power source. For example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2016-534518, a battery that can be used as a drive source of an electric speed kerota vehicle is proposed (disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2016-534518 as "Portable Electric Power Storage" Device ").

The battery includes a cylindrical casing having a substantially square cross-section and open upper and lower ends, and a cover (top case) and a base (bottom case) at the upper and lower ends of the case, respectively. Moreover, a plurality of independent battery core groups are built into the cover. A handle is provided on the cover. The user can hold the handle and access the battery with respect to the compartment arranged below the seat surface of the electric Scooter vehicle.

The charging device for charging the battery is preferably capable of charging a plurality of batteries at the same time. The reason for this is that multiple batteries can be stored in advance and can be used when needed. As such a charging device, those disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-527689 are known. The charging device has a plurality of receiving containers which individually contain batteries (portable electric energy storage devices), and therefore, the batteries can be collected, charged, and distributed.

In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-182145 discloses a battery supply device for supplying a charged battery for an electric assisted bicycle. In this battery supply device, a room having a door for supplying and returning the battery is provided in a central portion of the front surface, and a battery supply port for supplying and returning the battery is provided in the room. Inside the cover constituting the battery supply device, an upper battery supply mechanism and a lower battery supply mechanism are provided. The two battery supply mechanisms have the same structure, have a turntable, and are provided with eight slots on the outer periphery of the turntable to hold batteries. Each slot is separated from the center of rotation of the turntable at an angle of 45 °. Each slot can be tilted and is engaged with a battery supply port for supplying or returning a battery in a tilted state. The battery supply port is provided above a charger and a battery power supply portion, that is, a relatively high position of the cover.

Batteries and the like that can be used as a driving source for electric two-wheeled vehicles are large in order to ensure a large capacity, and most of them have a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. When accommodating a large-sized battery of such a shape in a charging device, it is preferable to adopt a vertically standing posture. The reason is that the battery can be easily stored in the charging device by using the gravity by adopting the standing position.

In this case, the battery-side charging connector is provided on the bottom surface of the battery. Therefore, when the battery is housed in the charging device, the user cannot visually recognize the battery-side charging connector. Therefore, if the user stores the battery in the charging device in the wrong direction (posture), since the battery-side charging connector does not correspond to the position of the device-side charging connector, charging cannot be performed. In this case, there is a concern that the device-side charging connector, which is a male connector, may be damaged.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a cassette type charging device that can prevent damage to the charging connector on the device side even if the user inserts the battery in the wrong posture.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a cassette-type charging device is provided, which is used for accommodating a battery to be charged in a storage position, and the charged battery is moved to the storage position and can be taken out from the storage position; : A rotating table; a driving device that rotates the rotating table; a charging table that is set on the rotating table for battery placement; and a device-side charging connector that is set on the charging table and is engaged with the battery The battery-side connector; the charging station has: a charging tray formed with a connector hole through which the device-side charging connector is inserted; a sliding mechanism that displaces the charging tray in the front-rear direction; and a back plate that extends along the One side of the battery extends; and a lifting mechanism that displaces the device-side charging connector in the up-down direction; a judging protrusion is provided on the back plate, and the battery has: a handle portion separated from the upper surface of the battery, And is arranged at the approximate center of the top surface and extends in a straight line; the entrance forming portion is provided at one end of the handle portion and extends in a direction opposite to the handle portion It extends in an approximately orthogonal direction and has an entrance opening for the judging protrusion to enter; and a protruding portion protruding from the upper surface and connected to the other end portion of the handle portion, and the distance from the upper end to the upper surface is at least greater than the end distance below the entrance opening The distance from the upper surface to the upper surface is a closed portion.

In this cassette type charging device, the charging tray is slid under the action of a sliding mechanism, so that after the judging protrusion enters the entrance formed in the battery, the device-side charging connector can be raised. In other words, the device-side charging connector remains in the lowered position in a state where the determination protrusion has not entered the entrance. That is, only when the battery is placed on the charging tray in such a manner that the end face of the side where the entrance is formed faces the judging protrusion, the charging connector on the device side rises under the action of the lifting mechanism and engages the battery. Side connector. Then, the battery is charged by the engagement.

In short, when the user places the battery in the charging tray in a wrong posture, for example, the closing portion abuts on the protrusion for determination, so that the charging tray cannot be further slid toward the back plate side. Under this condition, the device-side charging connector does not rise. Therefore, the device-side charging connector can be prevented from abutting against the bottom surface of the battery and being damaged.

Furthermore, if the device-side charging connector rises after the judging protrusion enters the battery entrance of the battery in a normal posture, the battery is pushed from below. Therefore, since the reaction force of the insertion load acts on the determination protrusion, the battery is firmly fixed. That is, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of vibration of the battery. Therefore, the fear that the engagement between the device-side charging connector and the battery-side connector is released can be eliminated.

According to the present invention, when an entry port is provided on a battery and a judging protrusion is provided on a back plate constituting the cassette charging device, and the battery is accommodated in the cassette charging device, the judging protrusion enters the entry opening, and then, The device-side charging connector rises and engages with the battery-side connector. That is, the device-side charging connector does not rise when the determination protrusion does not enter the entry port because the battery is in the wrong posture. Therefore, the device-side charging connector can be prevented from abutting against the bottom surface of the battery and being damaged.

In addition, if the device-side charging connector is raised and engaged with the battery-side connector in a state where the determination protrusion enters the entry port, the battery is pushed from below, so the reaction force of the insertion load acts on the determination protrusion. Therefore, the battery is firmly held, so that the battery can be prevented from shaking.

The above-mentioned objects, features, and advantages can be made clearer based on the following description of the preferred embodiment examples performed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

10‧‧‧ Battery

10a‧‧‧1st battery

10b‧‧‧ 2nd battery

10c‧‧‧3rd battery

10d‧‧‧4th battery

12‧‧‧ arch

14‧‧‧ tongue-shaped protrusion

16‧‧‧ holding handle

18‧‧‧ Gap

20‧‧‧ entrance

22‧‧‧Battery-side charge and discharge connector

24‧‧‧ plate terminal enters the recess

26‧‧‧ Rod enters the recess

30‧‧‧ Cassette Charging Device

32a, 32b‧‧‧Unit box

34‧‧‧shell

36a, 36b‧‧‧ Containment location

38a, 38b‧‧‧Open and close baffle

50a ~ 50c‧‧‧ floor

52a, 52b‧‧‧Charger

54a, 54b‧‧‧Rotary stage

56a, 56b‧‧‧drive motor

60‧‧‧Control device

90‧‧‧Charging Department

92‧‧‧Rotating disk

100‧‧‧ charging station

102‧‧‧Back

104‧‧‧Charging tray

105‧‧‧through insertion hole

106‧‧‧ Proximity Sensor

108‧‧‧ judging protrusion

110‧‧‧ connector hole

112‧‧‧Device side charging connector

114‧‧‧ plate terminal

116‧‧‧ snap lever

120‧‧‧ Guided

122‧‧‧ Guide hole

200‧‧‧ support plate

300‧‧‧ sliding mechanism

302‧‧‧ Reversible Roller

304‧‧‧mobile board

305‧‧‧Hook hanging board

306‧‧‧Impact absorption spring

308‧‧‧Spring fixing part

310‧‧‧Tray for tray discharge

312‧‧‧foot

314‧‧‧oval plate

400‧‧‧ lock mechanism

402‧‧‧ rack guide

404‧‧‧ rack slider

405‧‧‧shift board

406‧‧‧Claw member

408‧‧‧cam member

410‧‧‧Card Lock

412, 424‧‧‧Cam

414, 440, 444‧‧‧‧rotation shaft

416, 452‧‧‧Restoration spring

418‧‧‧Spring hook

420‧‧‧cam guide rail

430‧‧‧ connecting rod member

432‧‧‧ hook-shaped member

434‧‧‧support plate

436‧‧‧Shaft

442, 446‧‧‧ uplift

450‧‧‧ Hook

500‧‧‧Lifting mechanism

502‧‧‧Motor for lifting

504‧‧‧worm

506‧‧‧worm gear

508‧‧‧ rack side gear

510‧‧‧ connecting rod

512‧‧‧Transmission shaft

514‧‧‧1st axis

516, 524‧‧‧‧long hole

518‧‧‧arm member

520‧‧‧ 2nd axis

522‧‧‧bearing department

525‧‧‧3rd axis

526‧‧‧Guide

600‧‧‧Phase holding cylinder

602‧‧‧ forward and backward lever

604‧‧‧ engaging recess

606‧‧‧1st cam follower

608‧‧‧2nd cam follower

610‧‧‧3rd cam follower

612‧‧‧Interlock switch

613‧‧‧Disc shaped body

614‧‧‧ toroid

615‧‧‧ sliding groove

616‧‧‧ timing belt

620‧‧‧Latch groove

622‧‧‧bearing

624‧‧‧bearing

630‧‧‧ pulley

700‧‧‧Baffle body

702‧‧‧Motor for opening and closing baffle

704‧‧‧Part 1

706‧‧‧ Part 2

708‧‧‧Part 3

710‧‧‧Driving Force Transmission Department

712‧‧‧bearing retainer for baffle

714‧‧‧Bearing bearing

716‧‧‧Part 4

718‧‧‧Part 5

720‧‧‧Part 6

722‧‧‧Big Pulley

724‧‧‧small pulley

726‧‧‧Opening and closing belt

728‧‧‧torque limiter

800‧‧‧ Power Transmission Cable

801‧‧‧through hole

802‧‧‧Hollow

804‧‧‧Girdle

A‧‧‧arrow

A1‧‧‧Front

A2‧‧‧ rear

EB‧‧‧ Electric Two-wheeler

H1, H2‧‧‧ distance

L1‧‧‧Left imaginary line

L2‧‧‧Right imaginary line

ST‧‧‧Charging Station

FIG. 1A is a schematic overall perspective view of the battery viewed from one direction, and FIG. 1B is a schematic overall perspective view of the battery viewed from another direction.

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the battery shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B.

FIG. 3 is a schematic overall perspective view of a cassette charging device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic front view of the first unit cassette and the second unit cassette with the casing omitted.

Fig. 5 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the first unit cassette.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a main part showing a state where a charging tray is positioned substantially forward in a charging section constituting the first unit cassette.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a main part showing a state where the charging tray of FIG. 6 is located at the rear and the device-side charging connector is inserted into the connector hole.

FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view showing a battery arrangement position on the turntable constituting the lower stage of the first unit cassette.

FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view showing a sliding mechanism, a locking mechanism, and a raising and lowering mechanism arranged below the lower-stage turntable.

FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of the locking mechanism shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view of a main part showing a state where the moving plate is displaced from the state shown in FIG. 10 and the link member is slightly rotated.

FIG. 12 is a schematic perspective view of a main part showing a state where the link member is further rotated from the state shown in FIG. 11 to release the moving plate.

FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of the lifting mechanism shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 14 is a schematic side view of a main part showing a state where the device-side charging connector is lowered by the lifting mechanism of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a schematic side view of the main part showing the state of the device-side charging connector after being raised by the lifting mechanism of FIG. 13.

FIG. 16 is a schematic overall perspective view as viewed from below the turntable on the lower side.

FIG. 17 is a schematic plan view of a main part showing a state where the lower stage side table is supported by the first cam follower to the third cam follower.

FIG. 18 is a schematic plan view of a main part showing a state where the lower stage side turntable is supported by the first cam follower, the second cam follower, and the bearing block.

FIG. 19 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of a first opening and closing shutter serving as an opening and closing shutter. FIG.

Fig. 20 is a schematic plan view of a main part when the shutter body is in an opened state.

21 is a schematic plan view of a charging station provided with the cassette charging device shown in FIG. 3.

Fig. 22 is a schematic flowchart showing the posture of the forward claw member and the positional relationship between the claw member and the cam member.

FIG. 23 is a schematic plan view showing a state where the claw member is advanced and the lock mechanism restricts the charging tray.

Fig. 24 shows the flow of the index rotation of the lower stage and the state of charge of the battery.

FIG. 25 is a schematic plan view showing a state in which a rack slider constituting a sliding mechanism is moved backward, and an operation of releasing a charging tray by a locking mechanism is completed.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the cassette type charging device of the present invention will be listed and described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, the battery 10 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B will be described. The battery 10 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is used, for example, as a driving force supply source for an electric motorcycle EB (see FIG. 21). On the upper surface of the battery 10, arched portions 12 (second handle portions) that are bent in an arcuate shape by being bent at both ends in the longitudinal direction and connected to the upper surface are provided so as to face each other. And a tongue-like protruding portion 14 (projecting portion) which is curved in an arc shape at the upper edge portion. The distance H2 between the upper end of the tongue-like protruding portion 14 and the bottom surface of the battery 10 is set to be larger than the distance H1 between the lower end of the arched portion 12 and the bottom surface of the battery 10. Moreover, the protruding height of the tongue-like protruding portion 14 is substantially equal to the protruding height of the arch portion 12.

From the upper end of the arched portion 12 to the upper end of the tongue-like protruding portion 14, a grip 16 (first handle portion) is spanned. That is, the holding handle 16 extends in a direction substantially orthogonal to the extending direction of the arch portion 12. Here, since both upper ends of the arched portion 12 and the tongue-like protruding portion 14 protrude from the upper surface of the battery 10, the grip 16 is separated from the upper surface of the battery 10. Therefore, a holding gap 18 is formed between the holding handle 16 and the upper surface of the battery 10. The user can insert a hand (finger) into the gripping gap 18 to grip the gripping handle 16.

The entrance 20 is opened between the arched portion 12 and the upper surface of the battery 10. That is, the arched portion 12 is also an entry port forming portion for forming the entry port 20. The determination protrusion 108 (refer to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7) described later enters the above-mentioned entrance opening 20. The inlet 20 is connected to the holding gap 18. In contrast, no opening is formed in the tongue-like protruding portion 14. That is, a closed portion is formed between the tongue-like protruding portion 14 and the upper surface of the battery 10.

As shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 2, a battery-side charge-discharge connector 22 as a battery-side connector is provided on the bottom surface of the battery 10 on the side where the arched portion 12 (entrance opening 20) is provided. The battery-side charge / discharge connector 22 is engaged with a later-described device-side charge connector 112 (see FIG. 7), and the lower charger 52a or the upper charger 52b (see FIG. 4) and the battery 10 are connected via two connections. The devices 22, 112 are electrically connected and charged. The battery-side charge / discharge connector 22 includes a plurality of plate-shaped terminal entry recesses 24 and two rod-entry recesses 26 sandwiched between the plate-shaped terminal entry recesses 24 (see FIG. 2).

When the battery 10 configured as described above is viewed in plan, its shape is substantially square or rectangular (see FIG. 8 in particular). In this case, compared with the case where the top view shape of the battery 10 is other shapes, the space on the lower-stage turntable 54a can be effectively used.

Next, a cassette type charging device will be described. FIG. 3 is a schematic overall perspective view of the cassette charging device 30. The cassette charging device 30 includes two unit cassettes, namely a first unit cassette 32a and a second unit cassette 32b, which are arranged (stacked) in the up-down direction, and the first unit cassettes 32a The second unit cassette 32 b is housed in a single case 34. The first unit cassette 32a and the second unit cassette 32b can respectively accommodate four batteries 10, and are used in the first storage position 36a for storing the battery 10 in the first unit cassette 32a, and for storing the battery 10 A first opening-closing shutter 38a and a second opening-closing shutter 38b are provided at the second storage position 36b of the second unit cassette 32b as opening-closing shutters, respectively. As can be seen from FIG. 3, the first storage position 36 a and the second storage position 36 b are offset from each other in a plan view. Although the first storage position 36a and the second storage position 36b are also positions for taking out the battery 10, the contents will be described later.

A signal receiver (communication means) (not shown) is mounted on the casing 34. The signal receiver receives a signal sent by a smart phone or a radio frequency key held by a user, or an electric two-wheeled vehicle EB (see FIG. 21). The control device 60 (refer to FIG. 4) provided in the casing 34 recognizes that the signal receiver has received the signal and performs subsequent control. As will be described later, the control device 60 constitutes a mounting detection means for detecting a situation where the battery 10 has been placed on the charging stand 100 and a removal detection means for detecting a situation where the battery 10 has been taken out of the charging stand 100.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a cassette charging device 30 in which the casing 34 is not shown. A lower-side charger 52a for charging the battery 10 mounted on the first unit case 32a and a lower-side charger 50a are provided near the bottom plate 50a constituting the first unit case 32a so as to approach each other. A driving device for rotating the lower stage turntable 54a is a lower stage driving motor 56a. On the other hand, an upper-layer-side drive motor 56b is provided in the middle bottom plate 50b constituting the second unit cassette 32b, and constitutes a driving device for rotating the upper-stage turntable 54b. The first unit cassette 32a and the second unit cassette 32b are separated by a middle-side bottom plate 50b.

As can be seen from FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the first unit cassette 32 a and the second unit cassette 32 b are stacked up and down, and the lower-stage turntable 54 a and the upper-stage turntable 54 b are offset from each other. The lower-stage charger 52a, the lower-stage driving motor 56a, and the upper-stage driving motor 56b are disposed in a space generated by the offset arrangement. Therefore, the occupancy area of each cassette charging device 30 becomes smaller.

The lower-stage driving motor 56a is disposed on the side of the lower-stage rotating table 54a, and the upper-stage driving motor 56b is disposed on the side of the upper-stage rotating table 54b. Therefore, the height positions of the lower-stage turntable 54a and the upper-stage turntable 54b are not limited by the heights of the lower-stage drive motor 56a and the upper-stage drive motor 56b. In other words, the lower-stage turntable 54a and the upper-stage turntable 54b can be arranged at a height at which the battery 10 can be easily inserted and removed.

An upper bottom plate 50c is provided above the second unit case 32b, and the upper bottom plate 50c is provided with an upper side charger 52b for charging the battery 10 mounted in the second unit case 32b and the control device 60 described above.

Next, the first unit cassette 32a will be described in detail. Fig. 5 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the first unit cassette 32a. In the first unit cassette 32a, the charging section 90 on which the battery 10 is placed is integrally rotated by the indexing rotation on the lower bottom plate 50a along with the lower-side turntable 54a. The first opening / closing shutter 38a covers a part of the charging section 90 in a first storage position 36a (see FIG. 3) so as to be exposed. In other words, the charging portion 90 located at the first storage position 36 a can be exposed to the outside of the case 34 when the first opening and closing shutter 38 a is opened.

The charging section 90 will be described. 6 and 7 are schematic perspective views of the main parts of the charging section 90 constituting the first unit cassette 32a. The charging section 90 includes a rotary plate 92 that rotates integrally with the lower-stage rotary table 54 a, and four charging tables 100 provided on the rotary plate 92. The charging stations 100 are separated from each other by a back plate 102, and each charging station 100 is provided with a charging tray 104. A part of the charging stand 100 is inserted through a through-insertion hole 105 formed in the rotating plate 92 and rotates integrally with the lower-side rotating table 54 a and the rotating plate 92 (see FIG. 5).

A proximity sensor 106 is provided on the back plate 102, and a substantially U-shaped determination protrusion 108 is formed to protrude above the proximity sensor 106. A part of the back plate 102 protrudes from the lower surface of the rotary disk 92 and is connected to the lower-stage rotary table 54 a. That is, the back plate 102 is supported by the lower stage turntable 54a in the state which stood up. Therefore, the back plate 102 also rotates integrally with the lower-stage rotary table 54 a and the rotary disk 92.

The inner end surface of the back plate 102 is disposed at a position offset from the end surface of the other back plate 102. Therefore, the four back plates 102 are combined with each other to form a quadrangular columnar hollow portion 802 at the center of the combination.

As shown in FIG. 8, one battery 10 can be placed on one charging stand 100. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8, the four batteries 10 are slightly shifted from the fully opposed positions in a plan view. Here, in order to clearly distinguish the batteries 10, the four batteries 10 in FIG. 8 are shown as the first battery 10a, the second battery 10b, the third battery 10c, and the fourth battery 10d. The third battery 10c is opposed to each other, and the second battery 10b is opposed to the fourth battery 10d.

In addition, when the left virtual line L1 connecting the corners of the first battery 10a and the third battery 10c facing each other and the right virtual line L2 connecting the corners of the right are drawn, The left virtual line L1 intersects the second battery 10b. Similarly, the right virtual line L2 crosses the fourth battery 10d.

In addition, the positions of the upper ends of the second battery 10b and the third battery 10c adjacent to each other in the lateral direction are different, and the positions of the left ends of the first battery 10a and the second battery 10b adjacent to each other in the vertical direction are different. Here, the above “left”, “right”, and “up” indicate directions when the user looks down at the charging portion 90, and does not mean right, left, and top of the battery 10.

In this way, the opposite batteries 10 and the adjacent batteries 10 are placed on the charging stand 100 in the casing 34 so as to be offset from each other. Therefore, compared with the case where the four batteries 10 are arranged at the apex positions of the squares so that they are completely opposite to each other, the space on the lower stage turntable 54a can be effectively used.

Furthermore, it can be seen from FIG. 8 that adjacent batteries 10, that is, first battery 10a and second battery 10b, second battery 10b and third battery 10c, third battery 10c and fourth battery 10d, and In the fourth battery 10d and the first battery 10a, the extending directions of the grips 16 are substantially orthogonal to each other.

The charging tray 104 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is slidable in the direction of arrow A, that is, front to back (A1 direction, A2 direction) in front view. Furthermore, the direction of the arrow A in the subsequent drawings is consistent with the direction of the arrow A in FIGS. 6 and 7. Below, there is also a sliding direction of the charging tray 104, and the side (A1 direction side) away from the device-side charging connector 112 is marked as "front", and the approaching side (A2 direction side) is marked as "front" Rear ". In the following description, the "front end" indicates the end portion on the A1 side, and the "rear end" indicates the end portion on the A2 side.

When the battery 10 is not placed in the first storage position 36a, the charging tray 104 is located at the forefront. In addition, FIG. 6 shows a state in which the charging tray 104 is slightly biased forward. The charging tray 104 is slid toward the rear side (A2 side) after the battery 10 is placed. When the position of the connector hole 110 corresponds to the position of the device-side charging connector 112 when sliding toward the rear, as shown in FIG. 7, the device-side charging connector 112 rises and passes through the connector hole 110.

Here, at the charging station 100 other than the first storage position 36a, the charging tray 104 is located at the rear (A2 side), the device-side charging connector 112 is inserted into its connector hole 110, and the battery 10 is placed . Therefore, the charging tray 104 other than the first storage position 36a does not slide forward.

The charging stand 100 includes a support plate 200 that faces the charging tray 104 through the insertion hole 105. That is, the support tray 200 is disposed below the charging tray 104. The support plate 200 is positioned and fixed to the upper surface of the lower-stage turntable 54a (see FIG. 5).

As shown in detail in FIG. 9, the device-side charging connector 112 is arranged on the support plate 200 so as to be liftable. The device-side charging connector 112 includes a plate-shaped terminal 114 that enters or leaves the plate-shaped terminal entry recessed portion 24, and two engaging rods 116 that sandwich the plate-shaped terminal 114 in between. The engaging lever 116 is moved in and out with respect to the lever-entering recess 26.

The device-side charging connector 112 includes two guided portions 120 (refer to FIG. 13) provided outside the engaging lever 116. A guide hole 122 is formed in the guided portion 120 in a vertical direction. A guide rod 526 described later is slidably inserted into the guide hole 122.

The support plate 200 is provided with a sliding mechanism 300 that allows the charging tray 104 to slide forward and backward; a locking mechanism 400 that positions and fixes the charging tray 104 that slides to the rear; and a lifting mechanism 500 that enables the device side The charging connector 112 is raised and lowered.

The sliding mechanism 300 includes a plurality of reversible rollers 302 for sliding the charging tray 104, a moving plate 304 connected to the lower surface of the charging tray 104, and two hooks provided on the lower surface of the charging tray 104. Board 305. The reversible roller 302 is disposed at a position sandwiching a plurality of impact absorbing springs 306 which are erected on the support plate 200.

The slide mechanism 300 further includes a spring fixing portion 308 erected on the support plate 200. Between the spring fixing portion 308 and the hook plate 305, a tray discharge spring 310 (elastic member) is stretched. That is, the tray discharge spring 310 is separated from the front end of the device-side charging connector 112 and is hooked to the spring fixing portion 308 that is positioned and fixed. On the other hand, near the rear end of the device-side charging connector 112, it is hooked on a hooking plate 305 that is displaced together with the charging tray 104.

As shown in FIG. 10, below the moving plate 304, two leg portions 312 having a cylindrical shape are provided in a hanging manner. Elliptic plates 314 having a substantially elliptical shape are straddled between the legs 312.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the locking mechanism 400 includes a rack slider 404 that can be displaced along a set of rack guides 402 provided on the support plate 200, and a claw member 406 that is supported by A shift plate 405 attached to the rack slider 404 is integrally displaced with the rack slider 404 and the shift plate 405; a cam member 408; and a snap lock 410.

One of the rack guide rails 402 extends in the direction of arrow A, and the rack slider 404, the shift plate 405, and the claw member 406 are displaced (backward or forward) in a manner approaching or leaving relative to the device-side charging connector 112. . In addition, FIG. 9 shows a state where the rack slider 404, the shift plate 405, and the claw member 406 are closest to the device-side charging connector 112, that is, a state where they are positioned at the rearmost. At this time, the charging tray 104 is also retracted to the back plate 102 side (A2 direction side) (see FIG. 7). The device-side charging connector 112 is located at the bottom dead center.

The claw member 406 includes a first cam portion 412 protruding substantially orthogonally to the direction of the arrow A. An insertion hole (not shown) is formed at one corner of the rear end of the claw member 406, and a first rotation shaft 414 is fitted into the insertion hole. The claw member 406 is connected to the shift plate 405 via a first rotation shaft 414 and is rotatable around the first rotation shaft 414. In addition, one end of the first restoring spring 416 is hooked on the other corner portion of the claw member 406 facing the one corner portion.

A flat plate-shaped spring hooking portion 418 is provided on one rack guide rail 402 so as to protrude in a direction orthogonal to its longitudinal direction. The other end of the first restoration spring 416 is hooked on the spring hooking portion 418. That is, the first restoring spring 416 energizes the claw member 406 toward the spring hook portion 418 side (the A1 side as the front side).

A set of cam guide rails 420 extending along a direction substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal direction (arrow A direction) of the rack guide rail 402 is supported at the rear end of the rack guide rail 402 near the device-side charging connector 112. The cam member 408 is sandwiched between the cam rail 420 so that its upper end portion can slide.

The cam member 408 moves along with the rack slider 404 moving toward or away from the device-side charging connector 112, while being guided by the cam guide rail 420, and moves approximately in the direction of displacement with the rack slider 404. Orthogonal direction shift. This content will be described later.

The cam member 408 includes a second cam portion 424 that cooperates with the first cam portion 412 of the claw member 406. The second cam portion 424 faces the first cam portion 412.

The latch 410 includes a link member 430, a hook member 432, and a support plate 434 that rotatably supports the link member 430 and the hook member 432.

One end of the cam member 408 is connected to the rear end of the link member 430 via a connecting shaft 436. The front end of the link member 430 is rotatably connected to the support plate 434 via a second rotation shaft 440 (see FIG. 12 in particular). Therefore, when the cam member 408 is displaced along the cam guide 420, the link member 430 changes its posture as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.

The link member 430 has a first raised portion 442 protruding toward the hook-shaped member 432 at a portion between the connecting shaft 436 and the second rotation shaft 440.

The hook member 432 is rotatably supported by a support plate 434 via a third rotation shaft 444 provided at a substantially central portion thereof.

The hook member 432 is provided with a second raised portion 446 protruding toward the first raised portion 442 of the link member 430. The first raised portion 442 and the second raised portion 446 can pass over each other when the link member 430 and the hook member 432 rotate (see FIGS. 10 to 12).

A hook-shaped portion 450 is formed at the front end of the hook-shaped member 432 so that a portion facing the link member 430 is cut in a U-shape. The foot portion 312 of the moving plate 304 is restricted by the hook portion 450 when the link member 430 and the hook member 432 are in a predetermined positional relationship. As described below, by this restriction, the charging tray 104 is positioned and fixed at the rear. On the other hand, when the rack slider 404 is displaced (retreated) toward the device-side charging connector 112 and the claw member 406 pushes the cam member 408, the hook member 432 rotates as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. By this rotation, the leg portion 312 of the moving plate 304 is released from the hook portion 450.

A second restoring spring 452 is stretched between the hook-shaped member 432 and the link member 430. One end of the second restoring spring 452 is stopped at the rear end of the hook member 432, and the other end of the second restoring spring 452 is stopped at the middle of the connecting member 430 between the connecting shaft 436 and the first raised portion 442. The second restoring spring 452 pulls and energizes the rear end of the hook member 432 toward the link member 430.

As shown in FIG. 13, an elevating mechanism 500 for elevating the device-side charging connector 112 includes an elevating motor 502, a worm 504, a worm gear 506, a rack-side gear 508 having spur teeth, and a link rack slider 404. Link portion 510 with the device-side charging connector 112. The worm 504 is provided on a rotation shaft of the elevating motor 502 and meshes with the worm gear 506 described above. The worm gear 506 and the rack-side gear 508 are connected via a transmission shaft 512, and the rack-side gear 508 meshes with a tooth portion (not shown) provided on the lower surface of the rack slider 404.

The link portion 510 includes a first shaft 514 provided at the rear end of the rack slider 404 and extending in a direction substantially orthogonal to the direction of the arrow A; and a set of arm members 518 formed at the upper end for the first The one shaft 514 passes through the long hole 516 and extends below the device-side charging connector 112. The arm member 518 extends so as to be inclined from the A2 side toward the A1 side, and then is bent to extend so as to be inclined from the A1 side toward the A2 side. The second shaft 520 is inserted through a bending point between a group of arm members 518.

The rear end of the arm member 518 is connected to a bearing portion 522 provided near the guided portion 120. That is, the bearing portion 522 is formed with an elongated hole 524 extending in the direction of the arrow A. A third shaft 525 is connected to the rear end of the arm member 518, and the third shaft 525 is inserted into the long hole 524.

When the lifting motor 502 is energized, the worm 504, the worm gear 506, the transmission shaft 512, and the rack-side gear 508 are rotated. Therefore, the rack slider 404 is displaced in the direction of A1 in FIG. 11. As described below, following this displacement, the arm member 518 rotates as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15. 14 shows a state where the device-side charging connector 112 is located at the bottom dead center, and FIG. 15 shows a state where it is located at the top dead center.

The lifting mechanism 500 further includes a guide rod 526 that is inserted into the guide hole 122 of the guided portion 120 of the device-side charging connector 112. The guide rod 526 guides the device-side charging connector 112 that is raised or lowered.

The tray ejection spring 310 is extended when the charging tray 104 is not restricted by the latch 410, and the charging tray 104 is pulled toward the A1 side to be energized.

Next, the lower stage turntable 54a provided below the charging section 90 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 17, a lower-side bottom plate 50 a is provided with a phase-maintaining cylinder 600 (positioning mechanism) for maintaining the position of the lower-side turntable 54 a. The phase maintaining cylinder 600 includes a forward / backward lever 602 which enters an engaging recessed portion 604 formed on a side peripheral wall of the lower-stage rotary table 54a when advancing. Thereby, the rotation of the lower stage turntable 54a is prevented and maintained in this phase.

The lower bottom plate 50a is further provided with a first cam follower 606 which bears a heavy load, a second cam follower 608 which bears a light load, and a third cam follower for centering of the lower rotary table 54a. 610, and interlock switch 612. The lower stage turntable 54a is supported by the first cam follower 606, the second cam follower 608, and the third cam follower 610, and can be positioned slightly above the bottom plate 50a.

As shown in FIG. 16, the lower-stage turntable 54 a is constituted by a ring-shaped body 614 having a thickness slightly larger than that of the disk-shaped body 613, and is externally fitted to a side peripheral wall of the disk-shaped body 613. The first cam follower 606 and the second cam follower 608 are in sliding contact with the lower surface of the disc-shaped body 613. On the other hand, the third cam follower 610 slides in the sliding groove 615 formed in the inner peripheral wall of the annular body 614. A winding groove (not shown) for winding the timing belt 616 is formed on the outer peripheral wall of the annular body 614.

On the outer peripheral wall of the annular body 614, the above-mentioned engaging recessed portion 604 and the latch groove 620 are formed. The engaging recesses 604 and the latch grooves 620 are arranged at 90 ° intervals.

As shown in FIG. 18, the lower bottom plate 50 a may be provided with a bearing 622 instead of the third cam follower 610. In this case, a bearing seat 624 may be provided on the lower stage turntable 54a (disk-shaped body 613), and the bearing 622 and the bearing seat 624 may be used to center the lower stage turntable 54a. Therefore, there is an advantage that the number of parts is reduced. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide the third cam follower 610 in particular.

The timing belt 616 is mounted on a pulley 630 that is externally fitted to the rotation shaft of the lower-stage drive motor 56a to constitute a rotation force transmission system. Therefore, following the rotation axis of the lower-stage drive motor 56a, the pulley 630 rotates and the timing belt 616 orbits, and the lower-stage turntable 54a rotates. The interlock switch 612 detects the above-mentioned latch groove 620 of the lower stage turntable 54a that performs such a rotation operation.

As shown in FIG. 19, the first opening and closing shutter 38 a includes a shutter body 700. The shutter body 700 is rotated by a shutter opening / closing motor 702. Among them, the baffle body 700 has a first portion 704 that is fan-shaped and covers the upper surface side of the battery 10 (the arch portion 12, the tongue-like protruding portion 14 and the grip 16), and a second portion 706 that Covers the side of the battery 10; and a third portion 708, which is interposed between the first portion 704 and the second portion 706 and connected in a curved manner. Further, a ring-shaped driving force transmission portion 710 is provided as a connection portion at the center of the first portion 704, and a damper bearing holder 712 and a damper bearing 714 are provided in the driving force transmission portion 710. .

As shown in FIG. 20, the baffle body 700 further includes a fourth portion 716 and a fifth portion 718 which connect the center of the baffle bearing 714 and the outer periphery of the second portion 706 with different radii from each other in plan view, and are stored in Part 6 720 between those Part 4 716 and Part 5 718.

The baffle bearing 714 is provided at a position higher than the upper end (the arched portion 12, the tongue-like protruding portion 14, and the grip 16) of the battery 10 placed on the charging stand 100. This prevents interference between the battery 10 and the bezel bearing 714.

The shutter opening / closing motor 702 is provided on the side of the shutter bearing 714 and in an outer direction from the outer periphery of the lower stage turntable 54a (see FIG. 20). That is, the shutter opening / closing motor 702 is not arranged at a position overlapping with the lower or upper rotary table 54a. Therefore, the height of the cassette charging device 30 can be reduced, and downsizing can be achieved.

A large pulley 722 (or a large sprocket) is provided as a transmission mechanism in a direction other than the bezel bearing 714. An opening / closing belt 726 (or an opening / closing chain) is wound around the large pulley 722 and a small pulley 724 (or a small sprocket) provided on a rotation shaft of the shutter opening / closing motor 702. Furthermore, it is preferable to provide a torque limiter 728 on the large pulley 722.

A power transmission cable 800 (cable) is electrically connected to the device-side charging connector 112. The power transmission cable 800 is inserted through a through hole 801 (see FIGS. 5, 16, and 17) formed in the center of the lower stage turntable 54 a, and is placed above the center and placed on the charging station. A higher position of the upper end of the battery 10 of 100 is inserted into a rectangular hollow portion 802 (see FIGS. 6 and 7) formed by combining the back plates 102 with each other. In addition, the power transmission cables 800 are bundled with each other by the bundling belt 804, thereby preventing twisting from propagating to the lower charger 52a.

The second unit cassette 32b is configured based on the first unit cassette 32a. Therefore, the same reference numerals are given to the same constituent elements, and detailed descriptions thereof are omitted. Further, in the second unit cassette 32b, a member corresponding to the lower side bottom plate 50a of the first unit cassette 32a is the middle side chassis 50b.

The cassette charging device 30 according to this embodiment is basically constituted as described above. Secondly, the relationship between the function and the effect and the fixing method of the battery 10 will be described. In addition, although the case where two batteries 10 are replaced simultaneously is exemplified below, it is needless to say that the number of replacements may be only one.

The battery 10 can be used, for example, as a drive source for the electric two-wheeled vehicle EB shown in FIG. 21. The battery 10 used in the electric two-wheeled vehicle EB to reduce its discharge capacity is charged by the cassette charging device 30 described above.

The cassette charging device 30 is installed at a predetermined charging station ST installed outdoors. The user only needs to approach the cassette charging device 30 on the electric bicycle EB or on foot. At this point in time, both the first opening and closing shutter 38a and the second opening and closing shutter 38b are closed.

As described above, a signal transmitter is provided on the electric two-wheeled vehicle EB, or a smartphone or an RF key held by a user. The above-mentioned signal receiver provided in the casing 34 of the cassette charging device 30 receives a signal transmitted by the signal transmitter. It is recognized that the control device 60 that the signal receiver has received signals indirectly at a preset predetermined time period sends a command signal of "opening the shutter" to the above-mentioned shutter opening and closing motor 702 (see Fig. 19). The control device 60 maintains the open state of the shutters 38a and 38b when the signal receiver receives the signal from the signal transmitter for a predetermined time.

There are also cases where the electric two-wheeled vehicle EB and the like only pass through the charging station ST. At this time, even if the signal receiver receives a signal from the signal transmitter, the signal receiving period is short. In this case, the shutter body 700 is controlled so as not to rotate.

The shutter opening / closing motor 702 is energized according to a command signal of “opening the shutter”, and the small pulley 724 is rotated, and the opening / closing belt 726 is moved around. As a result, the large pulley 722 as a transmission mechanism rotates, and the shutter body 700 rotates around the driving force transmission portion 710 provided with the large pulley 722 (see FIGS. 19 and 20). Therefore, the first opening-closing shutter 38a and the second opening-closing shutter 38b are opened. Thereby, each of the charging sections 90 and the charging stand 100 located at the first storage position 36 a and the second storage position 36 b are exposed outside the casing 34.

Thus, according to this embodiment, since the shutter body 700 is automatically rotated, it is not necessary for the user to rotate the shutter body 700. Therefore, the charged battery 10 can be taken out only by approaching the cassette charging device 30, and the battery 10 that has run out or has insufficient storage capacity is placed in the cassette charging device 30.

As shown in FIG. 20, the baffle body 700 includes a fourth portion 716 and a fifth portion 718 that connect the center of the baffle bearing 714 and the outer circumference of the second portion 706 with different radiuses from each other in a plan view. Therefore, the length in the depth direction required when the shutter body 700 is turned from the closed state to the opened state becomes shorter. Therefore, the installation area of each cassette charging device 30 can be reduced.

During the opening of the shutter body 700, for example, an object such as a user's hand may abut the shutter body 700. At this time, a torque acts on the shutter body 700. When the large pulley 722 is provided with a torque limiter 728, the control device 60 detects the situation where a torque is applied via the torque limiter 728, and stops the opening operation of the shutter body 700. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which an excessive load is applied to the shutter body 700 or the shutter bearing 714, and it is possible to avoid a situation in which an object is caught by the shutter body 700. In addition, instead of stopping the opening operation, the shutter body 700 may be switched from the opening operation to the closing operation.

After the first opening-closing shutter 38a and the second opening-closing shutter 38b are opened, the user places the battery 10 to be charged with the entrance port 20 facing the back plate 102 (judging projection 108) and places it on the first The charging tray 104 of each of the charging stations 100 of the unit cassette 32a and the second unit cassette 32b is maintained in a state where it is slid to the front. That is, from the first storage position 36 a and the second storage position 36 b shown in FIG. 3, the battery 10 to be charged is inserted into the casing 34. Since the first storage position 36a and the second storage position 36b are shifted from each other, it is very easy to take out the charged battery 10 from each charging station 100 of the first unit cassette 32a and the second unit cassette 32b, The battery 10 to be charged is inserted toward each charging station 100.

It is assumed that when the battery 10 to be charged is placed on the charging tray 104, the user mistakenly releases the handle 16 by the hand. In this case, the impact absorbing spring 306 (see FIG. 9) and the first cam follower 606 (see FIGS. 17 and 18) receive the load of the dropped battery 10 and the tiltable roller 302 is tilted downward. Therefore, damage to the charging tray 104 or the locking mechanism 400, the sliding mechanism 300 of the roller body including the reversible roller 302, and the like can be avoided.

When the battery 10 to be charged is placed on the charging tray 104, the device-side charging connector 112 is lowered and is positioned below the lower-stage turntable 54a (see FIG. 6). Therefore, for example, even when the user places the battery 10 on the charging tray 104 with the tongue-like protruding portion 14 facing the back plate 102 (judging projection 108) by mistake, it is possible to effectively prevent the absence of battery side charging. The bottom surface of the discharge connector 22 is in contact with the device-side charging connector 112. Therefore, a situation where the device-side charging connector 112 is damaged due to the abutment can be avoided.

After the user places the battery 10 on the charging tray 104, the user pushes the charging tray 104 toward the back plate 102 side. In other words, the charging tray 104 is slid together with the battery 10 toward the back plate 102 side (the A2 direction side as the rear side). Since the hooking plate 305 is displaced rearwardly together with the charging tray 104 along with this sliding, the tray ejection spring 310 that was contracted before this is extended. When the user slides the charging tray 104 to the rear, the charging tray 104 is locked in this position by the latch 410. The operation of the latch 410 at this time is further described below.

In a state before the charging tray 104 slides rearward, the latch 410 is shown in FIG. 12, and the hook portion 450 of the hook member 432 is separated from the front end of the link member 430. At this time, the second raised portion 446 is located further forward than the first raised portion 442 and is separated from the first raised portion 442.

When the charging tray 104 is slid rearward, the rear leg portion 312 presses the inner wall on the rear end side of the hook portion 450. By this pressing, the hook-shaped member 432 rotates around the third rotation shaft 444, the hook-shaped portion 450 approaches the front end of the link member 430, and the second return spring 452 gradually expands.

When the amount of rotation of the hook-shaped member 432 increases, the second raised portion 446 is engaged with the first raised portion 442 and presses the first raised portion 442.

Finally, when the second raised portion 446 passes the first raised portion 442, the hook member 432 pulls the link member 430 closer via the second return spring 452. Thereby, the posture of the link member 430, that is, the direction in which the link member 430 is inclined with respect to the A direction is changed, and the cam member 408 is displaced to the claw member 406 side. Then, the rotation of the hook member 432 and the link member 430 is stopped.

In a state where the rotation of the hook-shaped member 432 is stopped, the opening of the hook-shaped portion 450 faces the link member 430. That is, the hook portion 450 is closed (see FIGS. 9 and 10). In this state, the second raised portion 446 is located further behind the first raised portion 442. That is, it is convenient to slide the charging tray 104 forward in this state. The action of the second raised portion 446 pressing the first raised portion 442 will force the hook-shaped member 432 and the link member 430 to perform an inappropriate operation. The tray 104 does not slide. Therefore, the leg portion 312 is restricted by the hook portion 450, and the charging tray 104 is locked near the device-side charging connector 112.

The judging protrusion 108 enters the entry opening 20 of the battery 10 that is slid to the back plate 102 side. In response to this entry, the proximity sensor 106 provided on the back plate 102 detects the presence of the battery 10. The control device 60 receiving the detection signal recognizes that "the battery 10 has moved to a regular charging position".

On the other hand, when the tongue-like protruding portion 14 faces the back plate 102 side due to the battery 10 being erroneously inserted, the tongue-like protruding portion 14 abuts on the determination protrusion 108. The reason is that, as shown in FIG. 1A, H2> H1, the upper end of the tongue-like protruding portion 14 is higher than the lower end of the arch portion 12 (the bottom edge of the entrance 20), and the tongue-like protruding portion 14 is Closed section. Therefore, the battery 10 is stopped, and the charging tray 104 cannot be further slid backward. In this case, the proximity sensor 106 will not detect the presence of the battery 10, and the control device 60 will not recognize it as "the battery 10 has moved to a regular charging position." The user can recognize the situation by visually confirming that the battery 10 is inserted in the wrong direction (posture). In this case, it is sufficient to take out the battery 10 and put it back in the normal posture.

When the control device 60 recognizes that “the battery 10 has moved to the normal charging position”, it energizes the lifting motor 502 (see FIGS. 9 and 13) based on a command signal. Along with this, the worm 504 is rotated, and the worm gear 506, the transmission shaft 512, and the rack-side gear 508 are driven to rotate. As a result, the rack slider 404 is displaced in a direction away from the device-side charging connector 112. . That is, the rack slider 404 advances in the A1 direction.

As the rack slider 404 advances, the first shaft 514 provided at the rear end of the rack slider 404 also integrally advances in the direction of A1. Therefore, the first shaft 514 is inserted through the upper end of the arm member 518 of the long hole 516 and is pulled forward (in the direction of A1). Thereby, the lower end of the arm member 518 rises. As a result, the arm member 518 rotates from the posture shown in FIG. 14 to the posture shown in FIG. 15. Since the guided portion 120 is restricted by the guide rod 526, the device-side charging connector 112 follows the rotation of the arm member 518 and rises vertically upward.

Here, the following description is made: Even if the rack slider 404 is advanced, the cam member 408 remains displaced to the position behind the claw member 406 side, and the unlocking of the charging tray 104 described later will not be performed. When the rack slider 404 advances, the displacement plate 405 and the claw member 406 advance integrally. At this time, as shown in FIG. 22, the front end of the first cam portion 412 of the forward claw member 406 interferes with the front end of the second cam portion 424 of the cam member 408.

If the rack slider 404 is to move forward, the first cam portion 412 will interfere with the front end of the second cam portion 424 of the cam member 408, and will be pushed by the second cam portion 424. The claw member 406 that has been pressed is rotated about the first rotation shaft 414 as the center, and the first cam portion 412 is moved backward. At the same time, the first return spring 416 is extended.

By the above-mentioned rotation, interference between the first cam portion 412 and the second cam portion 424 can be avoided. As the first cam portion 412 is positioned further forward than the second cam portion 424 following the rack slider 404, the first return spring 416 is contracted, and the claw member 406 is pulled toward the front side to energize. As a result, the claw member 406 rotates in the opposite direction to the above, and returns to the original posture. Furthermore, the rotation of the claw member 406 in the opposite direction is restricted.

The guided portion 120 of the device-side charging connector 112 is guided by the guide rod 526 inserted into the guide hole 122 during the ascent. Thereby, the device-side charging connector 112 rises toward the connector hole 110 side. Fig. 23 shows a state where the rack slider 404, the displacement plate 405, and the claw member 406 have advanced to the maximum extent.

The device-side charging connector 112 ascended in the above manner passes through the connector hole 110 of the charging tray 104 and is engaged with the battery-side charging and discharging connector 22. That is, the plate-shaped terminal 114 enters the plate-shaped terminal into the recessed portion 24 (see FIG. 2), and the two engaging rods 116 enter the rod into the recessed portion 26.

The engagement of the device-side charging connector 112 with respect to the battery-side charging-discharging connector 22 and the entry of the protrusion 108 for determination with respect to the inlet 20 allow the battery 10 to be firmly supported on the charging stand 100. In particular, the determination protrusion 108 inserts a load reaction force into the load at the bottom side of the entrance port 20. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the battery 10 from being shifted or shaken, or dropped.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the battery 10 to be charged is inserted (received) into the casing 34 of the cassette charging device 30 from the first storage position 36a and the second storage position 36b, only the loading is performed by performing The simple operation of sliding the charging tray 104 with the battery 10 toward the back plate 102 side can determine whether the battery 10 is inserted in a normal posture. At the same time, breakage of the device-side charging connector 112 or the battery-side charging and discharging connector 22 can be prevented, and the battery 10 can be firmly held.

Alternatively, a warning sound may be issued when a fixed time has elapsed after the user inserts the battery 10 to be charged, but the device-side charging connector 112 does not rise. Thereby, the user can recognize whether the battery 10 to be charged is inserted in the wrong posture, or whether the device-side charging connector 112 has not risen for some reason.

After that, the control device 60 sends a command signal to the shutter opening / closing motor 702 to rotate the small pulley 724, and causes the opening / closing belt 726 to perform an orbiting operation to rotate the large pulley 722. As a result, the shutter main body 700 is rotated around the driving force transmission portion 710 (see Fig. 20), and the first opening and closing shutter 38a and the second opening and closing shutter 38b are closed. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the user from putting his hand into the casing 34 and the like.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the battery 10 or the charging stand 100 is protected by the case 34 and the first opening / closing shutter 38a and the second opening / closing shutter 38b. Therefore, even outdoors, the battery 10, the charging stand 100, and the like can be prevented from being exposed to rain or dust. That is, the cassette charging device 30 can be suitably used outdoors.

The control device 60 then energizes the lower drive motor 56a and the upper drive motor 56b. Thereby, the timing belt 616 performs an orbiting operation, and accordingly, the lower-stage rotary table 54a and the upper-stage rotary table 54b rotate. The rotation operation at this time is exemplified by the first unit cassette 32a, and its flow is shown in FIG. In addition, the "empty", "small", "medium", and "full" in Fig. 24 respectively indicate batteries that are difficult to discharge further and need to be charged. 10, charging batteries that begin to be charged and whose discharge capacity is gradually recovering. 10. A fully-charged battery 10 that has undergone a certain degree of discharge capacity recovery since the beginning of charging, and a fully-charged battery 10 that is fully discharged after the discharge capacity is restored. That is, "empty" does not mean that the battery 10 does not exist.

If the battery 10 ("empty") to be charged is inserted into the housing 34 from the first storage position 36a in the above manner, the lower-stage rotary table 54a is rotated by 90 ° in a clockwise direction (right direction). Thereby, since the charging section 90 including the rotating disk 92 is also rotated integrally, the fully-charged battery 10 is transferred to the first storage position 36a.

Furthermore, the phase determination of the lower rotary table 54a after the index rotation is performed by detecting the position of the latch groove 620 by the interlock switch 612 (see FIGS. 17 and 18). Then, after it is determined that the lower-stage turntable 54a is rotated by 90 ° in steps, the advancement and retraction lever 602 of the phase maintaining cylinder 600 advances and enters the engagement recess 604. By this entry (engagement), the rotation of the lower stage turntable 54a is prevented.

In the index rotation of the lower-stage rotary table 54a, the second cam follower 608 prevents the lower-stage rotary table 54a from shaking, and the position of the rotation center is maintained by the third cam follower 610.

Of course, the upper stage turntable 54b constituting the second unit cassette 32b also operates in the same manner as described above.

It is recognized that the control device 60 that has rotated 90 ° in increments of the lower rotary table 54a only charges the first storage position 36a and the second storage position 36b located at the first storage position 36a and the second storage position 36b according to the command signal. A lifting motor 502 (see FIGS. 9 and 13) provided on the support plate 200 of the table 100 is energized. That is, the remaining three lifting motors 502 are not energized simultaneously with the energization described above.

As the lifting motor 502 is energized, the worm 504 rotates in a direction opposite to that described above. As the worm gear 506, the transmission shaft 512, and the rack-side gear 508 rotate in accordance with the rotation, the rack slider 404 is displaced toward the device-side charging connector 112. That is, back in the direction of A2.

As the rack slider 404 moves backward, the first shaft 514 integrally moves backward in the direction of A2. With this, the upper end of the arm member 518 is pulled backward (A2 direction), and the lower end of the arm member 518 is lowered. That is, the arm member 518 rotates from the posture shown in FIG. 15 to the posture shown in FIG. 14. Following this rotation, the device-side charging connector 112 is lowered and detached from the battery-side charging-discharging connector 22, and is located below the lower-stage rotating table 54a through the connector hole 110 of the charging tray 104. On the way down, the device-side charging connector 112 is guided by the guide rod 526.

When the rack slider 404 retreats toward the device-side charging connector 112 as described above, the first cam portion 412 of the claw member 406 traveling integrally with the device-side charging connector 112 presses the second cam portion of the cam member 408. 424. The pressed cam member 408 is displaced along the cam guide 420 in a direction away from the rack guide 402.

Therefore, the link member 430 changes its posture and faces away from the hook member 432, and the second raised portion 446 passes over the first raised portion 442 and is positioned further forward (A1 direction side) than the first raised portion 442. Along with this, the link member 430 pulls the hook member 432 closer via the second return spring 452.

The hook-shaped member 432 rotates around the third rotation shaft 444, and the hook-shaped portion 450 is separated from the link member 430 (see FIG. 12). That is, the hook portion 450 is opened.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 10, the leg portion 312 is released from the restraint of the hook portion 450. With this release, the tray ejection spring 310 is contracted, and the charging tray 104 is energized by being pulled forward by the contracted tray ejection spring 310.

Therefore, the charging tray 104 and the hook plate 305 are integrally slid in the direction opposite to the device-side charging connector 112, that is, in the direction of A1 which is the front side. In FIG. 25, the states of the slide mechanism 300 and the lock mechanism 400 when the charging tray 104 is advanced are shown together with the support plate 200.

In this way, at the first storage position 36a, the charging tray 104 is returned to the forward position. At this time, the charged battery 10 also advances and leaves from the back plate 102 as a whole. Therefore, the entrance opening 20 of the battery 10 is detached from the determination protrusion 108 of the back plate 102.

In this embodiment, after the charged battery 10 has left the back plate 102 and is detected by the proximity sensor 106, a command signal is sent from the control device 60 to the shutter opening / closing motor 702. As a result, the small pulley 724 rotates and the opening / closing belt 726 orbits, and the large pulley 722 rotates, and the first opening / closing shutter 38a and the second opening / closing shutter 38b are opened. After that, the user removes the fully charged battery 10 that has been transferred to the first storage position 36a and the second storage position 36b from the case 34 and installs it on the electric two-wheeled vehicle EB.

As shown in FIG. 8, the extending directions of the holding handles 16 of the adjacent batteries 10 are substantially orthogonal to each other. Therefore, the extending direction of the grip 16 when the user takes out the fully-charged battery 10 is the same as the extending direction of the grip 16 when the battery 10 to be charged is stored. Therefore, it is easy to remove the battery 10.

As described above, the first opening-closing shutter 38a and the second opening-closing shutter 38b are opened after the charging tray 104 and the battery 10 are moved to the first storage position 36a and the second storage position 36b. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the user from putting his hand into the casing 34 while the charging unit 90 is performing index rotation.

After the charged battery 10 is taken out, a command signal is sent from the control device 60 to the shutter opening and closing motor 702, and the first opening and closing shutter 38a and the second opening and closing shutter 38b are closed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the user from touching the shutter body 700 by hand while removing the battery 10. In addition, it is possible to prevent the user from putting his hand into the casing 34 after taking out, and the like.

The charged battery 10 is removed in the above manner, and the battery 10 is not present in the first storage position 36a and the second storage position 36b. In this state, power is supplied from the lower charger 52a and the upper charger 52b to the device-side charging connector 112 via the power transmission cable 800. Therefore, the remaining three (total 6) batteries 10 in the first unit case 32a and the second unit case 32b are charged, and the batteries 10 that need to be charged before being "empty" become "small". ". Similarly, the battery 10 originally "small" becomes "medium", and the battery 10 originally "medium" becomes "full". In the first storage position 36a and the second storage position 36b, the state in which the battery 10 is not present is maintained.

The second user stores the battery 10 to be charged into the casing 34 from the first storage position 36 a and the second storage position 36 b in the same manner as described above. In this case, as in the above, the lower-stage rotary table 54a and the upper-stage rotary table 54b are rotated by 90 ° in the clockwise direction (right direction). Therefore, the lower-stage rotary table 54a and the upper-stage rotary table 54b are rotated by 180 ° from the initial position.

After the fully-charged battery 10 ("full") that has reached the first storage position 36a and the second storage position 36b is taken out, in this state, that is, as described above, in the first storage position 36a and the second storage position 36b is charged in a state where the battery 10 is not present. As a result, "empty", "small", and "medium" become "small", "medium", and "full".

The third user stores the battery 10 to be charged into the casing 34 from the first storage position 36 a and the second storage position 36 b in the same manner as described above. In this case, the lower-stage rotary table 54a and the upper-stage rotary table 54b are rotated by 270 degrees in the counterclockwise direction (left direction). Therefore, the rotation of the lower-stage turntable 54a and the upper-stage turntable 54b from the initial position becomes -90 °.

After the fully-charged battery 10 ("full") that has reached the first storage position 36a and the second storage position 36b is taken out, in this state, that is, the first storage position 36a and the second storage position are the same as described above. In a state where the battery 10 is not present at 36b, the battery 10 is charged by the charging section 90 at a position other than the first storage position 36a and the second storage position 36b. As a result, "empty", "small", and "medium" become "small", "medium", and "full".

The fourth user stores the battery 10 to be charged into the case 34 from the first storage position 36 a and the second storage position 36 b in the same manner as described above. At this time, the lower-stage rotary table 54a and the upper-stage rotary table 54b are rotated by 90 ° in a clockwise direction (right direction). Therefore, the rotation of the lower stage 54a and the upper stage 54b from the initial position becomes 0 °.

After the fully-charged battery 10 ("full") that has reached the first storage position 36a and the second storage position 36b is taken out, in this state, that is, at the first storage position 36a and the second storage position in the same manner as described above. 36b is charged in a state where the battery 10 is not present. With this charging, "empty", "small" and "medium" become "small", "medium" and "full".

The fifth user then repeats the above-mentioned indexing rotation. As such, in this embodiment, the lower-stage rotary table 54a and the upper-stage rotary table 54b are not only rotated in any of the clockwise or counterclockwise directions, but are indexed in one direction to a predetermined indexing angle. , Rotate in the opposite direction to the predetermined indexing angle. Therefore, for the power transmission cable 800 (see FIGS. 6, 7, and 19), only twisting and twisting within a predetermined rotation angle are performed. That is, since twisting in the same direction is not continuously performed, damage to the power transmission cable 800 can be effectively avoided.

In addition, the power transmission cable 800 is inserted from a position higher than the upper end of the battery 10 placed on the charging stand 100, and is inserted into a rectangular hollow portion 802 formed by combining the back plates 102 with each other, and It is electrically connected to the device-side charging connector 112. Therefore, the length of the power transmission cable 800 from the twisted base point to the device-side charging connector 112 can be increased. In this case, compared with the case where the length from the twisting base point to the device-side charging connector 112 is smaller, the twisting degree of the power transmission cable 800 can be reduced. This can also effectively prevent damage to the power transmission cable 800.

In addition, charging can be continued while the lower-stage turntable 54a is rotating.

In addition, since the lower-stage rotary table 54a and the upper-stage rotary table 54b are indexed and rotated as described above, the user can easily take out the fully-charged battery 10.

When the second user replaces the battery 10 immediately after the first user replaces the battery 10, the signal receiver continues to receive signals from the signal transmitter. In such a case that the signal reception continues for a predetermined time, the shutter body 700 may also be maintained in the open state after the first user inserts the battery 10 to be charged. Thereby, the second user can quickly replace the battery 10 that needs to be charged with a fully charged battery 10.

Further, in the present embodiment, the plurality of batteries 10 are stored in the cassette-type lower rotary table 54a and the upper rotary table 54b (charging stand 100) while charging them. Therefore, the replacement request of the battery 10 that needs to be charged by a digital user can be responded to.

The present invention is not particularly limited to those described above, and various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

For example, the number of unit cassettes can be increased and stacked. Alternatively, the cassette type charging device may be configured with only one unit cassette.

The lower stage turntable 54a may be rotated by a plurality of gears (groups of gears). In this case, a gear is respectively provided on the rotation shaft of the motor and the lower rotation stage 54a, and the gear installed on the rotation shaft of the motor is directly or indirectly opposed to the rotation stage provided on the lower rotation stage with one or more other gears. The gear rotation of 54a can be enabled. The same applies to the upper stage turntable 54b.

The opening / closing shutter may be composed of a plurality of gears as described above, and the first opening / closing shutter 38a and the second opening / closing shutter 38b may be opened and closed by the gears.

In addition, the control device 60 constituting the detection method for taking out the battery 10 can also maintain the detection state of the user by removing the baffles 38a, 38b to Keep it open.

Claims (1)

    A cassette-type charging device (30) is connected to a storage position (36a, 36b) to store a battery (10) that needs to be charged, and the charged battery (10) is transferred to the storage position (36a, 36b). A person taking it out of the storage position (36a, 36b); characterized in that it includes: a rotating table (54a, 54b); a driving device that rotates the rotating table (54a, 54b); and a charging table (100) ), Which is provided on the rotating table (54a, 54b) and is used for placing the battery (10); and a device-side charging connector (112), which is provided on the charging table (100) and is engaged with The battery-side connector (22) of the battery (10); the charging station (100) includes: a charging tray (104) formed with a connector hole (110) through which the device-side charging connector (112) is inserted; ); A sliding mechanism (300) that displaces the charging tray (104) in the front-rear direction; a back plate (102) that extends along one side of the battery (10); and a lifting mechanism (500) that Displacing the device-side charging connector (112) in the up-down direction; and determining the protrusion (108) on the back plate (102), and the battery (10) : The handle portion (16) is separated from the upper surface of the battery (10), and is disposed at approximately the center of the top surface and extends linearly; the entrance formation portion (12) is provided at the above One end portion of the handle portion (16) extends in a direction substantially orthogonal to the extending direction of the handle portion (16), and has an access opening (20) for the above-mentioned determination protrusion (108) to enter; and a protruding portion (14) ), Which protrudes from the upper surface and is connected to the other end of the handle portion (16), the distance from the upper end to the upper surface is at least greater than the distance from the lower end of the inlet (20) to the upper surface, and from the upper surface Between the surfaces are closed portions.