Unit and method for determining residual electrical energy use capacity of energy

Abstract

The invention relates to a unit (15) or a method for determining a remaining use capacity (18) of at least one energy supply (17) connected to at least one consumer (16) used on a road construction machine (1), or to a road construction machine (1) having at least one unit (15) for determining a remaining use capacity (18). The unit (15) is adapted to indicate a remaining usage capacity (18) determined on the basis of a current state of charge (19) of the energy supply (17) as a remaining usage duration (18a), a remaining usage range (18b) and / or a remaining usage area (18c) of the at least one consumer (16).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a unit or a method for determining the remaining usable capacity of at least one energy supply source connected to at least one electrical consumer used on a road construction machine, and to a road construction machine or a paving vehicle having at least one unit for determining the remaining usable capacity. Background Art

[0002] Methods or devices for determining the state of charge of an energy supply source that supplies energy to an electrical consumer are known in the prior art. The state of charge is usually determined as the state of charge (SOC) and output to a receiver in the form of a percentage. The disadvantage of the prior art is that the receiver cannot recognize with sufficient accuracy whether the electrical consumer can fully perform a predetermined work item in the state of charge of the energy supply source. Summary of the invention

[0003] Based on the known prior art, the technical problem to be solved is to specify a unit or method for determining the remaining usage capacity of at least one energy supply source connected to at least one electrical consumer used on a road construction machine, a road construction machine or a paving vehicle having at least one unit for determining the remaining usage capacity, the unit enabling the remaining usage capacity to be determined and indicated simply and effectively.

[0004] According to the invention, this object is achieved by a unit for determining the remaining usage capacity of at least one energy supply source connected to at least one electrical consumer on a road construction machine, a road construction machine having at least one unit for determining the remaining usage capacity, a road paving vehicle or a method for determining the remaining usage capacity of at least one energy supply source connected to at least one electrical consumer on a road construction machine.

[0005] One aspect of the invention relates to a unit for determining the remaining usage capacity of at least one energy supply source connected to at least one electrical consumer used on a road construction machine. The unit is suitable for indicating the remaining usage capacity determined based on the current charge state of the energy supply source as a remaining usage duration, a remaining usage range and / or a remaining usage area of ​​at least one consumer. This enables a simple and efficient determination and indication of the remaining usage capacity of the energy supply source. Optionally, a user-friendly indication of the remaining usage capacity can be achieved. Preferably, the acceptance of the unit by an operator of the unit can be increased.

[0006] The road construction machine can be, for example, a road paver, a feeder for a road paver, a road roller or a milling machine. The energy supply source can be, for example, a battery, preferably a rechargeable battery.

[0007] In principle, the consumers can be any consumers required for the use of the road construction machine. For example, on a road paver, the consumers can be an electric heating device, an electrically operated electro-hydraulic unit, an electric longitudinal conveying device, an electric transverse conveying device and / or an electric chassis drive of the road paver. On a feeder, the consumers can be, for example, an electric conveying device for the paving material, an electric heating device and / or an electric chassis drive of the feeder. On a roller, the consumers can be, for example, an electric roller drive and / or an electric chassis drive of the roller. On a milling machine, the consumers can be, for example, an electric longitudinal conveying device, an electric milling drive and / or an electric chassis drive of the milling machine.

[0008] The energy supply source can be connected to only one consumer or to multiple consumers for supplying energy. Alternatively, the consumer can be connected to only one energy supply source or to multiple energy supply sources for supplying energy. In addition to being suitable for indicating the remaining usage capacity, the unit can also be suitable for indicating the current charge state of the energy supply source. The charge state of the energy supply source can be indicated, for example, as a percentage, such as the state of charge (SOC) or in a bar graph. The remaining usage time can be determined and indicated in hours and / or minutes and / or seconds. The remaining usage range can be determined and indicated in kilometers and / or meters and / or centimeters. The remaining usage area can be determined and indicated in square meters. When determining the remaining usage area, for example, the target working width of the paving layer to be produced or removed can be taken into account.

[0009] It is conceivable that the determined remaining usable area, in particular if it is indicated on the paver, refers to the paving area that can still be carried out depending on the charge state of the energy supply source. In one embodiment, the determined remaining usable area can be indicated on the roller, so that in particular the roller operator can be shown the paving area that has yet to be compacted of the new paving layer laid ahead of him in the paving direction based on the charge state of the energy supply source installed in the roller.

[0010] The unit of the remaining usage capacity can be set and / or changed manually (e.g. via a user interface) and / or automatically set and / or changed by the unit. For example, an operator of a road construction machine can individually determine in which unit the remaining usage duration, remaining usage range and / or remaining usage area is indicated. For example, the operator can be a driver of a road construction machine and / or a screed operator of a road construction machine.

[0011] Preferably, the unit is adapted to indicate the target usage capacity required for the planned work measure as a target usage duration, a target usage range and / or a target usage area by means of the consumer. Depending on the work measure planned by means of the consumer, a certain target usage capacity may be required to successfully or completely perform the work measure. For example, it can be planned as part of the work measure, i.e., it is still necessary to use the consumer to pave or compact a certain distance, a certain period of time and / or a certain area to perform the desired work measure. The advantage of this embodiment is that the operator can easily see which target usage capacity is needed to perform the work measure at any time. Optionally, it can be convenient for the operator to decide whether the planned work measure can be performed with the remaining usage capacity. In the best case, the reliability of the operator's correct assessment will increase. Optionally, the scheduling and / or resource planning related to the work measure can be improved or facilitated. The target usage duration can be determined and indicated in hours and / or minutes and / or seconds. The target usage range can be determined and indicated in kilometers and / or meters and / or centimeters. The target usage area can be determined and indicated in square meters. In particular, the target usage area can be determined based on a target working width and a target working length of the paving layer to be produced or removed (in particular to be milled away). The units of the target usage capacity can be determined and / or changed manually (e.g. via a user interface) and / or automatically. For example, an operator of the unit can individually select a unit indicating a target usage duration, a target usage range and / or a target usage area. This can improve the user-friendliness of the unit and optionally improve operator acceptance.

[0012] Preferably, the determination of the remaining usable capacity is based on the current operating conditions of the electrical consumer, in particular the current energy demand and / or the average energy demand of the electrical consumer. With the aid of this embodiment, the accuracy of the determination of the remaining usable capacity can be improved. The average value of the energy demand within a fixed or variable time period can be recorded and calculated. The time period can be, for example, at least about three minutes, preferably at least about five minutes. The time period can be at most about 20 minutes, preferably at most about 10 minutes. In particular, by determining the current energy demand, possible defects of the electrical consumer can be determined, which may affect or reduce the remaining usable capacity. The current operating condition of the electrical consumer may be affected by the current operating temperature of the consumer of the road construction machine, the set rotation speed of the compacting unit, the set heating temperature of the heating device or the set conveying speed of the conveying device. The unit can be adapted to determine the current operating temperature of the consumer using a thermometer, such as an infrared thermometer or a surface thermometer. For example, if the consumer is not currently operating, it cannot affect the current charging state of the energy supply source and therefore cannot affect the remaining usable capacity to be determined. On the other hand, if the consumer is currently operating, it may use some energy from the energy supply source depending on its current operating conditions, so that the current state of charge of the energy supply source may change, in particular decrease. This enables the consumer to influence the determined remaining usable capacity via its current operating conditions. With the aid of this embodiment, the accuracy of the determination of the remaining usable capacity can be increased.

[0013] Preferably, the determination of the remaining usable capacity is based on the current operating conditions of the energy supply source, in particular based on the current operating temperature and / or uniform or fluctuating load of the energy supply source. Temperature or load fluctuations of the energy supply source may result in the energy stored in the energy supply source not being optimally utilized. With this embodiment, the accuracy of determining the remaining usable capacity can be improved. The current operating temperature of the energy supply source can be measured, for example, using a thermometer (e.g., an infrared thermometer or a surface thermometer). The load of the energy supply source may be affected by current and / or voltage peaks. If the current and / or voltage peaks do not exceed and / or are below a threshold value defined for the consumer, the load may be uniform.

[0014] Preferably, the determination of the remaining usable capacity is based on a comparison of the current operating conditions of the electrical consumer with the target operating conditions of the electrical consumer and / or a comparison of the current operating conditions of the energy supply source with the target operating conditions of the energy supply source. The target operating conditions of the consumer and / or the target operating conditions of the energy supply source may be derived from the manufacture of the consumer or the energy supply source, such as a data table of the consumer or the energy supply source. The target operating conditions of the electrical consumer may be the target rotation speed of the compacting unit of the road construction machine, the target heating temperature of the heating device, or the target conveying speed of the conveying device. The target operating conditions of the energy supply source may be the target operating temperature of the energy supply source and / or the uniform load of the energy supply source. The target operating conditions of the consumer and / or the target operating conditions of the energy supply source may indicate the conditions for the ideal operation of the consumer or the energy supply source. The operation of the consumer is considered ideal only when the working results produced by the consumer are optimal. When the capacity of the energy supply source is at the highest level, it can work ideally. It may be desirable to perform the planned work measures when the consumer and / or the energy supply source are operating approximately ideally.

[0015] If the current operating conditions deviate at least temporarily from the target operating conditions of the electrical consumer and / or if the current working conditions deviate at least temporarily from the target working conditions of the energy supply source, the actual remaining usable capacity can be determined to be greater or less than the remaining usable capacity determined under the target operating conditions or target working conditions. According to a variant, it is conceivable that the actual remaining usable capacity that can be indicated to the operator is derived from the fact that the remaining usable capacity calculated based on the target conditions is updated by a correction value that can be determined based on the deviation detected from the target conditions. With the help of this embodiment, it can be ensured that the remaining usable capacity is determined for the state of actual operation of the consumer and / or the energy supply source. Ideally, the accuracy of determining the remaining usable capacity can be improved.

[0016] Preferably, the unit is configured to correct the determined remaining used capacity based on the result of the comparison so as to determine the corrected actual remaining used capacity. By means of this embodiment, the accuracy of the determination of the remaining used capacity can be improved or an erroneous determination of the remaining used capacity can be avoided.

[0017] Preferably, the unit has at least one adjustable display area, such as a display, which can be used to display the remaining usage capacity or the corrected remaining usage capacity. This allows the operator to easily view the remaining usage capacity. Ideally, the remaining usage capacity can be displayed in a clear and / or user-friendly manner. Optionally, a user interface for setting and / or changing the units of the remaining usage capacity and / or the target usage capacity can be integrated into the display area. For example, the display area can be a touch screen. The display area can be set manually by the operator and / or automatically by the unit as required. For example, the units and / or display area of ​​the remaining usage capacity and / or the target usage capacity can be adjusted for the brightness or contrast of the display area and / or the size of the indication on the display area and / or the color and / or font of the indication. The unit can selectively store one or more defined settings of the display area, such as operator-specific settings. This enables the operator to easily and quickly select the saved settings. This can improve the user-friendliness of the unit and, ideally, also improve the operator's acceptance. Optionally or additionally, the remaining usage capacity can be displayed by sound, such as by a speaker.

[0018] Preferably, the unit is configured to output a signal, particularly when the remaining use capacity or the corrected remaining use capacity is less than a predetermined percentage of the target use capacity. The percentage may be at least about 10%, preferably at least about 15%. The percentage may be at most about 50%, preferably at most about 30%. The signal may be visual, and / or audible, and / or tactile. When the remaining use capacity drops to a certain percentage below the target use capacity, this can indicate to the operator at a sufficiently early stage. The operator can then take appropriate measures as needed. For example, the measure may include planned work measures that are not executed or only partially executed. The measure may optionally include setting one or more other consumers (which are not necessary for the planned work measures but are connected to the energy supply source in terms of energy) to energy-saving mode or turning them off. Ideally, the user-friendliness of the unit can be improved, and the operator's acceptance can be optionally improved.

[0019] It is conceivable to configure the unit as a transmitter in order to transmit, at least intermittently or continuously, a signal indicating the remaining usable capacity to a remote receiver, for example to a station configured for a charging process of an energy supply source and / or an exchange of an energy supply source, said station being provided in particular in the form of a mobile device on a construction site. Thus, the unit can form together with the receiver a transceiver (transmitter-receiver) arrangement which ideally ensures uninterrupted operation of the road construction machine, in particular of the consumers.

[0020] The invention also relates to a road construction machine having at least one unit according to the invention for determining the remaining usable capacity. The advantages are the same as for the unit for determining the remaining usable capacity described above. The unit can be mobile or permanently mounted on the road construction machine. This means that the unit can be optimally integrated into the road construction machine or can be used flexibly. The unit can be arranged at a driver control station and / or at an external control station of the road construction machine. For example, the driver may be at the driver control station and / or the screed operator at the external control station and can therefore easily access the unit.

[0021] Preferably, the unit is configured to transmit the remaining usable capacity or the corrected remaining usable capacity to at least one remote receiver. For this purpose, the unit can be wirelessly connected to the receiver. The receiver can be, for example, a remote computing unit and / or a data storage unit, which can store and / or evaluate the remaining usable capacity over a certain period of time. For example, the remaining usable capacity of the energy supply source can be transmitted to the receiver in order to optimize processes related to the road construction machine. This has the advantage that, for example, one or more planned work measures related to the road construction machine can be controlled in an economically or strategically advantageous manner.

[0022] It is conceivable that, depending on the remaining usage capacity sent, the consumer can at least temporarily switch to an energy-saving mode in order to ideally ensure uninterrupted operation. To this end, the unit can be configured as a transceiver in order to receive a request signal from the computing unit in response to a signal sent to the computing unit indicating the remaining usage capacity, which can cause the unit to at least temporarily switch the consumer to an energy-saving mode.

[0023] Preferably, the road construction machine is a road paver, a feeder for a road paver, a roller or a milling machine. The road paver can be configured to install a paving layer. A feeder can be provided to supply paving material to the road paver. This enables the paver or feeder to easily and efficiently determine and indicate the remaining usage capacity of the energy. The milling machine can be configured to remove (in particular mill) the old paving layer. The roller can be configured to compact the new paving layer produced by the road paver to a predetermined degree of compaction. To this end, the roller can in particular perform repeated rolling movements on the new paving layer or at least on a portion of its area until a predetermined degree of compaction is reached. Therefore, in particular for a roller, it may be desirable to specify the target usage capacity and / or the remaining usage capacity as a target usage area or a remaining usage area.

[0024] Preferably, the determination of the remaining usable capacity is based on the current external temperature of the road construction machine and / or the current driving speed of the road construction machine. The current outdoor temperature may indicate the temperature of the ambient air surrounding the road construction machine. For example, the current outdoor temperature may be determined using a thermometer on or near the road construction machine. It would be useful if the unit is connected to a weather station mounted on the road construction machine, in particular on a roof structure, in order to receive current weather conditions, in particular the current outdoor temperature, from the weather station. The current outdoor temperature may affect the current operating temperature of the energy supply source and thereby affect the determination of the remaining usable capacity. The current driving speed of the road construction machine may affect the current operating conditions of the electrical consumers, in particular the energy demand of the electrical consumers, and thereby affect the determination of the remaining usable capacity. With the aid of this embodiment, the accuracy of the determination of the remaining usable capacity may be improved.

[0025] Preferably, the energy supply source is a battery, and / or the consumer is an electric heating device, and / or the consumer is an electric electro-hydraulic unit, and / or the consumer is an electric longitudinal conveying device, and / or the consumer is an electric transverse conveying device and / or an electric chassis drive of the road construction machine, in particular a road paver. Alternatively, the consumer can be an electric conveying device for paving material, an electric heating device and / or an electric chassis drive of a feeder. Alternatively, the consumer can be an electric roller drive and / or an electric chassis drive of a road roller. Alternatively, the consumer can be an electric longitudinal conveying device, an electric milling drive and / or an electric chassis drive of a milling machine.

[0026] It is conceivable that the road construction machine, in particular the unit for determining the remaining usage capacity, is functionally connected (e.g. via a web-based application) to the material supply chain, wherein a minimum paving material temperature of the paving material provided via the material supply chain of the road construction machine can be requested by means of the road construction machine as a function of the detected remaining usage capacity. By supplying hotter paving material, consumers, such as heating devices of the road construction machine powered by the energy supply source, can be switched at least temporarily to an energy-saving mode without causing a change in the desired operation of the road construction machine or the paving result.

[0027] The invention also relates to a paving vehicle comprising at least one road construction machine, in particular at least one feeder, at least one road paver and at least one roller, wherein in particular a residual usable capacity, in particular a residual usable area, can be transferred from the road paver and / or the feeder to the roller. It is conceivable that the residual usable capacity, in particular the residual usable area, can be transferred from the roller to the road paver and / or the feeder.

[0028] Optionally, the paving vehicle can also have a milling machine according to the invention, which can transmit the remaining usable capacity (especially the remaining usable area) to the road paver, feeder and / or roller. When determining the remaining usable area, the target working width of the pavement layer to be removed can be taken into account.

[0029] In principle, the remaining usable capacities between the individual components of the paving vehicle (i.e. the road paver, feeder, roller and optionally the milling machine) can be communicated and, in particular, compared. This ensures that the individual participants of the paving vehicle are aware of the energy reserves of each other and, in particular, can adjust their operation accordingly. For example, it is conceivable that the roller driver reduces the rolling performance of the roller, in particular the rolling speed, if he knows that the road paver ahead of the paving vehicle in the paving direction is running at a lower energy storage charge level.

[0030] In the control system of the paving vehicle, the minimum remaining usable capacity of the road construction machines in the paving vehicle can be taken into account, i.e. for the coordinated operation of the road construction machines in the paving vehicle. For example, the remaining usable capacities of all road construction machines in the paving vehicle can be compared with one another, wherein, for example, the individual consumers of the road construction machines can be coordinated with one another in their operation.

[0031] The invention also relates to a method for determining the remaining usage capacity of at least one energy supply source connected to at least one electrical consumer used on a road construction machine. In the method, the remaining usage capacity is indicated as a remaining usage duration, a remaining usage range and / or a remaining usage area of ​​at least one consumer based on the detected current charge state of the energy supply source.

[0032] Preferably, the unit is used to indicate the target usage capacity required for the planned work measure by means of the consumer as a target usage duration, a target usage range and / or a target usage area. The same advantages as the above-described unit for determining the remaining usage capacity or the road construction machine having at least one unit for determining the remaining usage capacity have been achieved.

[0033] Features or descriptions described with respect to one aspect (unit, road construction machine or method) can be transferred to other aspects and combined with other aspects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] The present invention will be described in more detail below in conjunction with the embodiments. It shows:

[0035] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a road construction machine in the form of a road paver having a unit for determining a remaining usage capacity according to one embodiment,

[0036] Figure 2is a schematic diagram of a road construction machine in the form of a feeder for a road paver having a unit for determining a remaining usage capacity according to one embodiment,

[0037] Figure 3 According to an embodiment Figure 1 A perspective view of the area with the road paver in the middle,

[0038] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a display area of ​​a unit for determining a remaining usage capacity of at least one energy supply source connected to at least one electrical consumer used on a road construction machine according to one embodiment, and

[0039] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a display field of a unit for determining a remaining usage capacity of at least one energy supply source connected to at least one electrical consumer used on a road construction machine according to a further exemplary embodiment.

[0040] In all figures, identical technical components are identified with identical reference numerals. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a road construction machine 1 is shown, which is configured as a road paver 2 for installing a new paving layer 3 with a target paving width or with a target working width and a target working length. The road paver 2 installs the new paving layer 3 at a paving speed v of about 10 m / min (meters / minute) in the driving direction R. For this purpose, the road paver 2 uses paving material 4, which is stored in a hopper 5 adapted to the front of the paver. The paving material 4 stored in the hopper 5 is transported by means of a longitudinal conveyor 30 against the driving direction R to a screed plate 6, which is suitable for compacting the paving material 4 supplied thereto to form a new paving layer 3.

[0042] Figure 1 The screed plate 6 shown is configured as an extension screed plate. The screed plate 6 has a base screed plate 7 and transverse extension parts 8 for setting the desired paving width of the new paving layer 3.

[0043] Figure 1 The road paver 2 comprises a driver control station 9 for a driver F. A control panel 12 is provided for the driver F at the driver control station 9 of the road paver 2. The control panel 12 is configured for controlling and monitoring processes that can be performed with the road paver 2. For example, the driver F can set a speed v of the road paver 2 in the travel direction R on the control panel 12.

[0044] Figure 1Also shown is an external control station 13 which creates a workplace outside the screed 6 for a screed operator B in order to control and monitor the processes of the road paver 2, in particular the screed 6. For this purpose, a further control panel 14 is also provided at the external control station 13.

[0045] The road paver 2 also has a battery 17 a as an energy supply source 17 , which is connected to the longitudinal conveying device 30 as an electrical consumer 16 in order to supply it with energy.

[0046] Figure 1 Also shown is a diagram for determining the remaining usable capacity 18 of the battery 17a (see Figure 4 ), which will be described in more detail below. The unit 15 is preferably arranged as a mobile unit on the driver console 9, so that the driver F can remove the unit 15 from the road paver 2 when necessary. For example, the unit 15 is part of an operating unit configured to control and monitor a process running on the road paver 2.

[0047] The unit 15 is also configured to transmit the remaining usable capacity 18 (preferably wirelessly) to at least one remote receiver 23. To this end, the unit 15 is configured as a transmitter for transmitting, preferably at least intermittently, a signal indicating the remaining usable capacity 18 to the remote receiver 23. According to this embodiment example, the remote receiver 23 is arranged as a station configured for the charging process of the battery 17a in the environment of the road paver 2, in particular as a mobile charging device. Thus, the unit 15 together with the receiver 23 forms a transceiver (transmitter-receiver) device, which ideally ensures uninterrupted operation of the road paver 2, in particular of the longitudinal conveying device 30.

[0048] Figure 2 Another road construction machine 1 is shown which is configured in the form of a feeder 25 for a road paver 2. This feeder 25 is in fact used to feed the road paver 2 with a feeder 25. Figure 1 The road paver 2 shown is supplied with paving material 4. For this purpose, a feeder 25 travels in the driving direction R in front of the road paver 2 and, by means of a conveying device 26 adapted to the feeder 25, drops the paving material 4 into a hopper 5 of the road paver 2 following behind it. Figure 2 The feeder 25 has a hopper 27 for receiving the paving material 4. The conveying device 26 extends to the hopper 27 and can thus convey the paving material 4 stored therein in the direction of the following road paver 2 against the driving direction R and deliver the paving material 4 to the following road paver 2.

[0049] according to Figure 2The feeder 25 has a driver control station 28. The driver control station 28 has a seat console 10' of a driver F' and a control panel 29 for controlling and monitoring the process performed by the feeder 25 mounted thereon.

[0050] The feeder 25 also has a battery 17 a as energy supply source 17 , which is connected to the conveyor 26 as an electrical consumer 16 in order to supply it with energy.

[0051] Figure 2 Also shown is a unit 15 for determining the remaining usable capacity 18 of the battery 17a, which is not shown, as will be explained in more detail below. The unit 15 is preferably arranged as a mobile unit at the driver control station 28 so that the driver F' can remove the unit 15 from the feeder 25 if necessary.

[0052] The unit 15 is also configured to transmit the remaining usage capacity 18 (preferably wirelessly) to at least one remote receiver 23. To this end, the unit 15 is configured as a transmitter for transmitting, preferably at least intermittently, a signal indicating the remaining usage capacity 18 to the remote receiver 23. According to this embodiment example, the remote receiver 23 is provided as a station for the charging process of the battery 17a of the mobile device in the environment of the feeder 25. Thus, the unit 15 together with the receiver 23 forms a transceiver (transmitter-receiver) device, which ideally ensures uninterrupted operation of the feeder 25, in particular of the conveying device 26.

[0053] Figure 3 According to an embodiment Figure 1 A perspective view of a traction unit of a road paver 2 is shown. Figure 3 The battery 17a is shown in detail as an energy supply source 17 installed in the road paver 2. In particular, the battery 17a can be present as an interchangeable module. At least one electrical consumer 16 is arranged at a suitable location, in particular an electric longitudinal conveyor 30, an electric heating device 31, an electric electro-hydraulic unit 32, an electric transverse conveyor 33 and / or an electric chassis drive 34 of the road paver 2. The energy supply source 17 can also supply current to other electrical consumers integrated in the towed screed 7, such as a heating device not shown.

[0054] In accordance with Figure 3 In the present embodiment example of , all consumers 16 are electrically connected to the battery 17a. However, it is also conceivable to power only one or selected consumer 16 via the battery 17a. Alternatively, it is also conceivable to provide a plurality of energy supply sources 17, each of which is connected to only one or more consumers 16. It is also conceivable that one or more consumers 16 are connected to more than one energy supply source 17.

[0055] For example, Figure 3 The assembly of the important electrical consumers 16 and their energy connection to the battery 17a are shown. The type, number and assembly details of the energy supply source 17 and the electrical consumers 16 are selected only by way of example and do not limit the scope of protection. It is obvious to the person skilled in the art that for the feeder 25 as a road construction machine 1, in addition to the electric conveyor 26 for the paving material 4, the consumer 16 can also be another electric device, such as an electric heating device or an electric chassis drive of the feeder 24. Alternatively, the road construction machine 1 can be a roller 35 or a milling machine 36. The consumer 16 can then be an electric roller drive and / or an electric chassis drive of the roller 35, an electric longitudinal conveyor, an electric milling drive and / or an electric chassis drive of the milling machine 36.

[0056] Figure 4 and Figure 5 The display area 22 of the unit 15 of the road construction machine 1 according to different embodiments is shown respectively. In this embodiment example, the display area 22 is arranged on the road paver 2. It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that the display area 22 can also be arranged on the feeder 25.

[0057] The unit 15 determines the current state of charge 19 of the battery 17a as a state of charge (SOC) of approximately 15% and indicates this in the form of a bar graph in the display area 22. This indication of the state of charge 19 in percentage may not be suitable for the driver F to estimate how far or how long the longitudinal conveyor 30 and / or the other electrical consumers 16 can still be operated using the battery 17a. In particular, the driver F cannot determine based on the current operation whether the energy stored in the energy supply source 17 is sufficient to complete the predetermined work measure 20, for example, to install 50 tons of paving material with the current energy consumption.

[0058] The longitudinal conveying device 30 is considered here only as an example of a consumer 16. As mentioned above, the consumer 16 can optionally be Figure 3 1 and 2. The consumer 16 may be, for example, an electric heating device 31, an electric electro-hydraulic unit 32, an electric transverse conveyor 33 and / or an electric chassis drive 34 of the road paver 2. The details of the consumer 16 are selected only as an example and do not limit the scope of protection.

[0059] In an embodiment example, it can be planned, for example, that the road paver 2 is to install a new paving layer 3 of approximately 1000 meters in length. Therefore, the planned work measure 20 includes, for example, a battery 17a, which supplies power to the electric longitudinal conveyor 30 in order to install the planned new paving layer 3. According to the work measure 20, the target usage capacity 21 of the battery 17a can be approximately 1000 meters in the form of a target usage range 21a and / or can be approximately 100 minutes in the form of a target usage duration 21b. The unit 15 is suitable for displaying the planned work measure 20 and / or the target usage capacity 21 in the display area 22. In addition, the unit 15 is suitable for determining the remaining usage capacity 18 of the battery 17a connected to the longitudinal conveyor 30 to indicate whether the target usage capacity 21 can be achieved. The unit 15 is also suitable for indicating the remaining usage capacity 18 determined based on the current charge state 19 of the battery 17a as a remaining usage duration 18a, a remaining usage range 18b of the longitudinal conveyor 30. Furthermore, the unit 15 may be adapted to determine and / or indicate a remaining usage area 18c and / or a target usage area 21c.

[0060] In order to determine the remaining usable capacity 18, the unit 15 takes into account the current operating conditions of the longitudinal conveyor 30, in particular its average energy consumption, which is influenced by the set conveying speed of the longitudinal conveyor 30. For this purpose, the energy demand of the longitudinal conveyor 30 is averaged over a period of approximately ten minutes, resulting in a requirement of approximately 150 kWh of energy when the conveying speed v' is approximately 10 m / min. In addition, the determination of the remaining usable capacity 18 is based on the current operating conditions of the battery 17a, in particular its current operating temperature, which is determined to be approximately 18° C. using an infrared thermometer. Based on this information, the unit 15 determines the remaining usable capacity 18 as a remaining usage duration 18a of approximately 25 minutes or a remaining usage range 18b of approximately 250 meters. In order to increase the accuracy of the determination of the remaining usable capacity 18, the unit 15 compares the current operating conditions of the battery 17a with the target operating conditions of the battery 17a and compares the current operating conditions of the longitudinal conveyor 30 with the target operating conditions of the longitudinal conveyor 30. As target operating conditions for the battery 17a and the longitudinal conveyor 30, for example, an energy consumption of approximately 100 kWh at a conveying speed of approximately 10 m / min and an operating temperature of the battery 17a of approximately 20° C. are stored in the consumer or energy supply data table. The deviation determined by the unit is therefore approximately ten percent. Based on this result, the unit 15 corrects the remaining usable capacity 18, resulting in a corrected remaining usable duration 118a of approximately 22.5 minutes or a corrected remaining usable range 118b of approximately 225 meters. The corrected remaining usable capacity 118 of the battery 17a is therefore approximately 22.5% of the target usable capacity 21.

[0061] exist Figure 4 , the display area 22 only displays the remaining usage duration 18a or the corrected remaining usage duration 118a of about 22.5 minutes as the remaining usage capacity 18 or the corrected remaining usage capacity 118. The unit 15 is also configured to emit an acoustic signal via a speaker (not shown) arranged in the driver control station 9 if the corrected remaining usage capacity 118 of the battery 17a is less than 30% of the target usage capacity 21. Therefore, in the embodiment example, the unit 15 emits a signal as a warning. The driver F can take corresponding measures, such as not performing the planned work measures.

[0062] exist Figure 5 , the display area 22 of the unit 15 shows in a bar graph that the current state of charge 19 of the battery 17a is 15%. In addition, the display area 22 also shows that the corresponding corrected remaining usage duration 118a is about 22.5 minutes. As mentioned above, a target usage capacity 21 of the battery 17a is required for the planned work measure 20 in the form of a target usage range 21a of about 1000 meters. The driver F cannot easily estimate from the indicated corrected remaining usage duration 118a whether the battery 17a can still provide sufficient energy for the longitudinal conveyor 30 to perform the work measure 20. Therefore, the display area 22 can be controlled by means of a user interface (not shown) to set and / or change the unit in which the corrected remaining usage capacity 118 is indicated on the display area 22. For this purpose, the display area 22 is suitable as a touch screen. The driver F only needs to operate the touch screen with his finger so that the display area 22 displays, in addition to the corrected remaining usage duration 118a of 22.5 minutes, the corrected remaining usage range 118b of the battery 17a of 225 meters. Optionally, the display area 22 can also be set to indicate the remaining range of use 18b or the corrected remaining range of use 118b, or to indicate the remaining duration of use 18a or the corrected remaining duration of use 118a. The driver F can quickly and easily find that the corrected remaining range of use 118b of 225 meters of the battery 17a is no longer sufficient to carry out the planned work measures 20.

Claims

1. A unit (15) for determining the remaining usable capacity (18) of at least one energy supply source (17) connected to at least one electrical consumer (16) used on a road construction machine (1), characterized in that The unit (15) is adapted to indicate a remaining usage capacity (18) determined based on a current charge state (19) of an energy supply source (17) as a remaining usage duration (18a), a remaining usage range (18b) and / or a remaining usage area (18c) of at least one consumer (16).

2. The unit according to claim 1, characterized in that The unit (15) is adapted to indicate a target usage capacity (21) required for a planned work measure (20) by means of a consumer (16) as a target usage duration (21a), a target usage range (21b) and / or a target usage area (21c).

3. The unit according to claim 1, characterized in that The remaining usable capacity (18) is determined based on the current operating conditions of the electrical consumer (16).

4. The unit according to claim 3, characterized in that The remaining usable capacity (18) is determined based on a current energy demand and / or an average energy demand of the electrical consumer (16).

5. The unit according to claim 2, characterized in that The remaining usable capacity (18) is determined based on the current operating conditions of the electrical consumer (16).

6. The unit according to claim 5, characterized in that The remaining usable capacity (18) is determined based on a current energy demand and / or an average energy demand of the electrical consumer (16).

7. A unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The determination of the remaining usable capacity (18) is based on the current operating conditions of the energy supply source (17).

8. The unit according to claim 7, characterized in that The remaining usable capacity (18) is determined based on the current operating temperature and / or the uniform or fluctuating load of the energy supply source (17).

9. A unit according to any one of claims 3 to 6 and 8, characterized in that The remaining usable capacity (18) is determined based on a comparison of a current operating condition of the electrical consumer (16) with a target operating condition of the electrical consumer (16), and / or based on a comparison of a current operating condition of the energy supply source (17) with a target operating condition of the energy supply source (17).

10. The unit according to claim 7, characterized in that The remaining usable capacity (18) is determined based on a comparison of a current operating condition of the electrical consumer (16) with a target operating condition of the electrical consumer (16), and / or based on a comparison of a current operating condition of the energy supply source (17) with a target operating condition of the energy supply source (17).

11. The unit according to claim 9, characterized in that The unit (15) is configured to correct the determined remaining used capacity (18) based on a result of the comparison to determine a corrected remaining used capacity (118).

12. The unit according to claim 10, characterized in that The unit (15) is configured to correct the determined remaining used capacity (18) based on a result of the comparison to determine a corrected remaining used capacity (118).

13. A unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6, 8 and 10 to 12, characterised in that The unit (15) has at least one adjustable display area (22), by means of which the remaining usable capacity (18) or the corrected remaining usable capacity (118) can be displayed.

14. The unit according to claim 13, characterized in that The unit (15) is configured to output a signal when the remaining usage capacity (18) or the corrected remaining usage capacity (118) is less than a predetermined percentage of the target usage capacity (21).

15. A road construction machine (1) having at least one unit (15) according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

16. The road construction machine according to claim 15, characterized in that: The unit (15) is configured to transmit the remaining used capacity (18) or the corrected remaining used capacity (118) to at least one remote receiver (23).

17. The road construction machine according to claim 15, characterized in that: The road construction machine (1) is a road paver (2), a feeder (24) of the road paver (2), a road roller (35) or a milling machine (36).

18. The road construction machine according to claim 16, characterized in that: The road construction machine (1) is a road paver (2), a feeder (24) of the road paver (2), a road roller (35) or a milling machine (36).

19. The road construction machine according to any one of claims 15 to 18, characterized in that: The remaining usable capacity (18) is determined based on the current outside temperature of the road construction machine (1) and / or the current travel speed of the road construction machine (1).

20. The road construction machine according to any one of claims 15 to 18, characterized in that The energy supply source (17) is a battery (17a); and / or the consumer is an electric heating device (31); and / or the consumer is an electric electro-hydraulic unit (32); and / or the consumer is an electric longitudinal conveying device (30); and / or the consumer is an electric transverse conveying device (33) and / or an electric chassis drive (34) of the road construction machine.

21. A paving vehicle (37) comprising at least one road construction machine according to any one of claims 15 to 20, wherein: The remaining usable capacity (18) can be transferred from the road paver (2) and / or the feeder (24) to the road roller (35).

22. The paving vehicle (37) according to claim 21, characterized in that The remaining usable capacity (18) is a remaining usable area (18c).

23. A method for determining the remaining usable capacity (18) of at least one energy supply source (17) connected to at least one electrical consumer (16) used on a road construction machine (1), characterized in that: Based on the detected current state of charge of an energy supply source (17), a remaining usage capacity (18) is indicated as a remaining usage duration (18a), a remaining usage range (18b) and / or a remaining usage area (18c) of at least one consumer (16).

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that The unit (15) indicates a target usage capacity (21) required for a planned work measure (20) by means of a consumer (16) as a target usage duration (21a), a target usage range (21b) and / or a target usage area (21c).

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