WO2012038697A2 - Power supply - Google Patents

Power supply Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2012038697A2
WO2012038697A2 PCT/GB2011/001371 GB2011001371W WO2012038697A2 WO 2012038697 A2 WO2012038697 A2 WO 2012038697A2 GB 2011001371 W GB2011001371 W GB 2011001371W WO 2012038697 A2 WO2012038697 A2 WO 2012038697A2
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
battery
batteries
power supply
charging means
standby
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/GB2011/001371
Other languages
French (fr)
Other versions
WO2012038697A3 (en
Inventor
Paul David Overfield
Simon Mark Brown
Original Assignee
Translift Bendi Limited
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Translift Bendi Limited filed Critical Translift Bendi Limited
Publication of WO2012038697A2 publication Critical patent/WO2012038697A2/en
Publication of WO2012038697A3 publication Critical patent/WO2012038697A3/en

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J7/00—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
    • H02J7/0013—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries acting upon several batteries simultaneously or sequentially
    • H02J7/0024—Parallel/serial switching of connection of batteries to charge or load circuit
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
    • B60L3/00—Electric devices on electrically-propelled vehicles for safety purposes; Monitoring operating variables, e.g. speed, deceleration or energy consumption
    • B60L3/0092—Electric devices on electrically-propelled vehicles for safety purposes; Monitoring operating variables, e.g. speed, deceleration or energy consumption with use of redundant elements for safety purposes
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
    • B60L3/00—Electric devices on electrically-propelled vehicles for safety purposes; Monitoring operating variables, e.g. speed, deceleration or energy consumption
    • B60L3/04—Cutting off the power supply under fault conditions
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
    • B60L53/00—Methods of charging batteries, specially adapted for electric vehicles; Charging stations or on-board charging equipment therefor; Exchange of energy storage elements in electric vehicles
    • B60L53/10—Methods of charging batteries, specially adapted for electric vehicles; Charging stations or on-board charging equipment therefor; Exchange of energy storage elements in electric vehicles characterised by the energy transfer between the charging station and the vehicle
    • B60L53/14—Conductive energy transfer
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
    • B60L58/00—Methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells, specially adapted for electric vehicles
    • B60L58/10—Methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells, specially adapted for electric vehicles for monitoring or controlling batteries
    • B60L58/18—Methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells, specially adapted for electric vehicles for monitoring or controlling batteries of two or more battery modules
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
    • B60L58/00—Methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells, specially adapted for electric vehicles
    • B60L58/10—Methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells, specially adapted for electric vehicles for monitoring or controlling batteries
    • B60L58/18—Methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells, specially adapted for electric vehicles for monitoring or controlling batteries of two or more battery modules
    • B60L58/19—Switching between serial connection and parallel connection of battery modules
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
    • B60L58/00—Methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells, specially adapted for electric vehicles
    • B60L58/10—Methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells, specially adapted for electric vehicles for monitoring or controlling batteries
    • B60L58/18—Methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells, specially adapted for electric vehicles for monitoring or controlling batteries of two or more battery modules
    • B60L58/21—Methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells, specially adapted for electric vehicles for monitoring or controlling batteries of two or more battery modules having the same nominal voltage
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J9/00—Circuit arrangements for emergency or stand-by power supply, e.g. for emergency lighting
    • H02J9/04—Circuit arrangements for emergency or stand-by power supply, e.g. for emergency lighting in which the distribution system is disconnected from the normal source and connected to a standby source
    • H02J9/06—Circuit arrangements for emergency or stand-by power supply, e.g. for emergency lighting in which the distribution system is disconnected from the normal source and connected to a standby source with automatic change-over, e.g. UPS systems
    • H02J9/061—Circuit arrangements for emergency or stand-by power supply, e.g. for emergency lighting in which the distribution system is disconnected from the normal source and connected to a standby source with automatic change-over, e.g. UPS systems for DC powered loads
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
    • B60L2200/00—Type of vehicles
    • B60L2200/40—Working vehicles
    • B60L2200/42—Fork lift trucks
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02B—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
    • Y02B70/00—Technologies for an efficient end-user side electric power management and consumption
    • Y02B70/30—Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02T—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
    • Y02T10/00—Road transport of goods or passengers
    • Y02T10/60—Other road transportation technologies with climate change mitigation effect
    • Y02T10/70—Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02T—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
    • Y02T10/00—Road transport of goods or passengers
    • Y02T10/60—Other road transportation technologies with climate change mitigation effect
    • Y02T10/7072—Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02T—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
    • Y02T10/00—Road transport of goods or passengers
    • Y02T10/80—Technologies aiming to reduce greenhouse gasses emissions common to all road transportation technologies
    • Y02T10/92—Energy efficient charging or discharging systems for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors specially adapted for vehicles
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02T—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
    • Y02T90/00—Enabling technologies or technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
    • Y02T90/10—Technologies relating to charging of electric vehicles
    • Y02T90/14—Plug-in electric vehicles
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y04—INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS
    • Y04S—SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS
    • Y04S20/00—Management or operation of end-user stationary applications or the last stages of power distribution; Controlling, monitoring or operating thereof
    • Y04S20/20—End-user application control systems

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to power supplies, and in particular power ssupplies for mechanical handling equipment (MHE) such as fork lift trucks.
  • MHE mechanical handling equipment
  • the proposed invention provides means for an electric truck to be available for short periods of use at any time during the 24 hour cycle without detriment to the battery or operation. It is based on the assumption that for every hour of use, twice as much standby (charging) time is available, i.e. the maximum possible usage is 8 hrs in 24hrs, whether continuous or not.
  • a power supply comprises a battery pack having a pair of batteries, one of the batteries being connected to power electrical equipment while the other battery is on standby, means for switching between the batteries when the charge in the battery connected to power the equipment falls below a predetermined level and/or the battery on standby is fully charged, means for uniquely identifying each of the batteries and charging means, said charging means including means for distinguishing the individual batteries, the charging means being adapted to apply a charge cycle to the battery on standby, the charging means further including means to record the position in the charge cycle of the battery on standby, whereby if the battery pack is disconnected from the charging means, upon reconnection the charging means will resume charging of the battery on standby at the point in the charge cycle at which it was when the charging means was last disconnected.
  • battery packs of Ah rating equal to the original single battery are fitted (i.e. instead of a single 800Ah battery, two 400 Ah batteries).
  • Each battery has an ID system fitted for example an electronic tag (chip).
  • a charger is utilised which can recognise the individual batteries.
  • the charging theory is that one battery is treated as duty and one as standby. When connected to the charger, the charger charges the standby battery only, whilst the duty battery is kept ready for use.
  • the truck may be disconnected from the charger for use.
  • the duty battery is being discharged whilst the standby battery is not used at all.
  • the charger recognised the battery previously on charge (the standby battery) and continues to charge it. This cycle continues until the standby battery is fully charged at which time the duty battery and the standby battery change roles.
  • an electronic device present in the truck such as a contactor controlled by a relay within the charger, or possibly a control panel and field effect transducer (F.E.T.)
  • the truck is only used one third of anytime period of use, i.e. every-time the truck is used it needs to go back on charge for twice the time of use. This is based on a 3 hour capacity for a 6 hour charge.
  • a single battery is replaced by two smaller batteries, the battery packs may be divided further, so 4 ,8 or even 16 individual batteries may be used.
  • the charger is preferably capable of charging half of the total number of charged batteries, i.e. if 4 batteries are available 2 must be able to be charged
  • the charging means utilises a High Frequency charge cycle which will provide a more constant charging pattern throughout the charge cycle.
  • the charge contacts are positioned overhead.
  • the truck is driven into a charging station, the driver then leaves the truck and presses a button on the outside of the charging station.
  • a coil is operated by the charger control system which moves charge contacts into engagement with corresponding contacts on the truck. The initial movement of the contacts may disengage the duty battery and further movement engages the charger contact to the contacts of the battery on standby.
  • FIG. 1 illustrated a power supply for a fork lift truck in accordance with the present invention.
  • a fork lift truck 10 has a pair of front wheels 12 and a pair of rear wheels 14.
  • the rear wheels 14 are driven by an electric motor 16.
  • a pair of batteries 18,20 are provided on the lift truck 10 to provide power for the electric motor 16, each battery 18,20 having an electronic tag by which the two batteries 18,20 may be distinguished from one another.
  • Switch means 24 is provided by which one battery the duty battery 20 may be connected to the electric motor 16 via control means 26, while the other battery the standby battery is isolated from the electric motor.
  • the switch means may be actuated to switch the batteries 18,20 when battery 20 becomes discharged or battery 18 becomes fully charged, battery 20 then becoming the standby battery and battery 18 the duty battery.
  • a battery charger 30 has means 32 for identifying the batteries 18,20. Means 32 also controls switch means by which the secondary battery 18 may be connected to the charger. Means 32 also includes memory by which the charger 30 may remember the point in the charging cycle at which the standby battery is disconnected from the charger and when the standby battery is reconnected, recommence the charging cycle at that point.
  • the charger 30 has a series of contacts 34 which may engage corresponding contacts 36 on the truck 10 to selectively connect the secondary battery 18,20 to the charger30.
  • the means 32 for identifying the batteries 18,20, switching to the standby battery and memorising the point in the charging cycle may be part of a charging circuit of the truck 10.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Power Engineering (AREA)
  • Transportation (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Sustainable Development (AREA)
  • Sustainable Energy (AREA)
  • Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Emergency Management (AREA)
  • Charge And Discharge Circuits For Batteries Or The Like (AREA)

Abstract

A power supply comprising a battery pack having a pair of batteries, one of the batteries being connected to power electrical equipment while the other battery is on standby, means for switching between the batteries when the charge in the battery connected to power the equipment falls below a predetermined level and/or the battery on standby is fully charged, means for uniquely identifying each of the batteries and charging means, said charging means including means for d istinguishing the individual batteries, the charging means being adapted to apply a charge cycle to the battery on standby, the charging means further including means to record the position in the charge cycle of the battery on standby, whereby if the battery pack is disconnected from the charging means, upon reconnection the charging means will resume charging of the battery on standby at the point in the charge cycle at which it was when the charging means was last disconnected.

Description

Power Supply
The present invention relates to power supplies, and in particular power ssupplies for mechanical handling equipment (MHE) such as fork lift trucks.
The need to charge DC battery packs can severely restrict the availability of MHE equipment. Most trucks require a continual charge of 8 hours at some point in the 24 hour cycle. In many applications a lift truck may only have light usage but will be required for short intervals at any time during the 24 hour cycle. This often precludes the use of an electric truck or may mean two trucks are required. For example instead of using one electric truck for light use continually in an operation, the fact that the electric truck will be on charge and as such unavailable for 8 hours a day means a second truck will be required. Furthermore, very often no suitable second truck or charging regime is in place. This leads to batteries been "opportunity charged". This means that the battery charge is interrupted and a load applied to the battery before it has had its full 8 hour charge cycle. This damages the batteries leading to reduced batter)' charge duration (which becomes an ever worsening situation) and shortened overall battery life.
The proposed invention provides means for an electric truck to be available for short periods of use at any time during the 24 hour cycle without detriment to the battery or operation. It is based on the assumption that for every hour of use, twice as much standby (charging) time is available, i.e. the maximum possible usage is 8 hrs in 24hrs, whether continuous or not.
According to one aspect of the present invention a power supply comprises a battery pack having a pair of batteries, one of the batteries being connected to power electrical equipment while the other battery is on standby, means for switching between the batteries when the charge in the battery connected to power the equipment falls below a predetermined level and/or the battery on standby is fully charged, means for uniquely identifying each of the batteries and charging means, said charging means including means for distinguishing the individual batteries, the charging means being adapted to apply a charge cycle to the battery on standby, the charging means further including means to record the position in the charge cycle of the battery on standby, whereby if the battery pack is disconnected from the charging means, upon reconnection the charging means will resume charging of the battery on standby at the point in the charge cycle at which it was when the charging means was last disconnected.
In this system instead of the usual single battery pack two, battery packs of Ah rating equal to the original single battery are fitted (i.e. instead of a single 800Ah battery, two 400 Ah batteries). Each battery has an ID system fitted for example an electronic tag (chip). A charger is utilised which can recognise the individual batteries.
The charging theory is that one battery is treated as duty and one as standby. When connected to the charger, the charger charges the standby battery only, whilst the duty battery is kept ready for use.
At any time during the charge the truck may be disconnected from the charger for use. During that usage the duty battery is being discharged whilst the standby battery is not used at all. When the truck is placed back on charge the charger recognised the battery previously on charge (the standby battery) and continues to charge it. This cycle continues until the standby battery is fully charged at which time the duty battery and the standby battery change roles. This is achieved via an electronic device present in the truck such as a contactor controlled by a relay within the charger, or possibly a control panel and field effect transducer (F.E.T.)
In a typical example of this system is that the truck is only used one third of anytime period of use, i.e. every-time the truck is used it needs to go back on charge for twice the time of use. This is based on a 3 hour capacity for a 6 hour charge. While in the above embodiment, a single battery is replaced by two smaller batteries, the battery packs may be divided further, so 4 ,8 or even 16 individual batteries may be used. In this version the charger is preferably capable of charging half of the total number of charged batteries, i.e. if 4 batteries are available 2 must be able to be charged
simultaneously. For this to be possible it will be necessary to have a control panel capable of switching current from the charger between multiple batteries, probably using a bank of F.E.T.s rather than a simple contactor which may be utilized in the dual battery system. Preferably the charging means utilises a High Frequency charge cycle which will provide a more constant charging pattern throughout the charge cycle.
In order for the charging regime to be followed it would be preferable to reduce as far as possible the actions required to put the equipment on charge. Even simply lifting a cover and plugging in the charger means is often avoided, particularly if it means taking the equipment indoors to the charger means. Once the charging regime is broken the whole system may fail. For this reason it is proposed than an integral part of the system is a charging station where the truck may be driven into a designated area to make connection with the charger means and simultaneously disconnecting to the truck from the duty battery, this may require one lever/button action from the operator or may be automatic as the truck is driven into the charging station. Charge contacts positioned on the over head guard or under the truck may be utilised.
In one version the charge contacts are positioned overhead. The truck is driven into a charging station, the driver then leaves the truck and presses a button on the outside of the charging station. A coil is operated by the charger control system which moves charge contacts into engagement with corresponding contacts on the truck. The initial movement of the contacts may disengage the duty battery and further movement engages the charger contact to the contacts of the battery on standby.
Figure 1 illustrated a power supply for a fork lift truck in accordance with the present invention. As shown on figure 1 a fork lift truck 10 has a pair of front wheels 12 and a pair of rear wheels 14. The rear wheels 14 are driven by an electric motor 16. A pair of batteries 18,20 are provided on the lift truck 10 to provide power for the electric motor 16, each battery 18,20 having an electronic tag by which the two batteries 18,20 may be distinguished from one another. Switch means 24 is provided by which one battery the duty battery 20 may be connected to the electric motor 16 via control means 26, while the other battery the standby battery is isolated from the electric motor. The switch means may be actuated to switch the batteries 18,20 when battery 20 becomes discharged or battery 18 becomes fully charged, battery 20 then becoming the standby battery and battery 18 the duty battery.
A battery charger 30 has means 32 for identifying the batteries 18,20. Means 32 also controls switch means by which the secondary battery 18 may be connected to the charger. Means 32 also includes memory by which the charger 30 may remember the point in the charging cycle at which the standby battery is disconnected from the charger and when the standby battery is reconnected, recommence the charging cycle at that point.
The charger 30 has a series of contacts 34 which may engage corresponding contacts 36 on the truck 10 to selectively connect the secondary battery 18,20 to the charger30.
Alternatively the means 32 for identifying the batteries 18,20, switching to the standby battery and memorising the point in the charging cycle may be part of a charging circuit of the truck 10.

Claims

Claims
1. A power supply comprising a battery pack having a pair of batteries, one of the batteries being connected to power electrical equipment while the other battery is on standby, means for switching between the batteries when the charge in the battery connected to power the equipment falls below a predetennined level and/or the battery on standby is fully charged, means for uniquely identifying each of the batteries and charging means, said charging means including means for distinguishing the individual batteries, the charging means being adapted to apply a charge cycle to the battery on standby, the charging means further including means to record the position in the charge cycle of the battery on standby, whereby if the battery pack is disconnected from the charging means, upon reconnection the charging means will resume charging of the battery on standby at the point in the charge cycle at which it was when the charging means was last disconnected.
2. A power supply according to claim 1 in which each battery has a unique electronic tag, the charging means having means to read the electronic tag on each battery.
3. A power supply according to claim 1 or 2 in which the means for switching between batteries comprises a contactor, the charging means having a relay by which the contactor is switched to connect one or the other battery to the charging means.
4. A power supply according to claim 3 in which the contactor connects the batter}' disconnected from the charging means to the electrical equipment.
5. A power supply according to claim 1 or 2 in which in which the switching means comprises a field effect transducer.
6. A power supply according to any one of the preceding claims in which the power supply comprises a plurality of pairs of batteries, one battery of each pair being connected to power electrical equipment while the other battery of each pair is on standby.
7. A power supply according to any one of the preceding claims in which each battery of each pair of batteries is of equal Ah rating.
8. A power supply according to any one of the preceding claims in which the charging means utilises a high frequency charge cycle.
9. A power supply according to any one of the preceding claims in which the electrical equipment is automatically connected to the charging means when the electrical equipment is located at a charging station.
10. A power supply according to any one of the preceding claims in which the electrical equipment is a battery operated vehicle.
1 1. A power supply substantially as described herein with reference to and as shown in figure 1.
PCT/GB2011/001371 2010-09-21 2011-09-20 Power supply WO2012038697A2 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GBGB1015907.7A GB201015907D0 (en) 2010-09-21 2010-09-21 Power supply
GB1015907.7 2010-09-21

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2012038697A2 true WO2012038697A2 (en) 2012-03-29
WO2012038697A3 WO2012038697A3 (en) 2012-10-11

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WO (1) WO2012038697A2 (en)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
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CN108958119A (en) * 2018-07-23 2018-12-07 欣旺达电动汽车电池有限公司 A kind of logic control scheme of battery management system auto sleep
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