Charging device, loading vehicle, and charging system

Abstract

To preferably charge a battery.SOLUTION: Power transmitting terminals (first charging terminal 46, second charging terminal 47) of a charging station 40 or power receiving terminals (middle protruding portion 33, lower protruding portion 34) of a loading vehicle 20 have contact portions on their upper or lower surfaces, which make it possible to absorb any vertical positional deviation between the loading vehicle 20 and the charging station 40. As a result, a battery 28 of the loading vehicle 20 can be charged in a preferable manner.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a charging device, a loading vehicle, and a charging system. [Background technology]

[0002] In the charging system described in Patent Document 1, the battery of the automated guided vehicle is charged with the power receiving terminal of the automated guided vehicle and the power transmitting terminal of the charging device being in contact with each other in the left-right direction of the vehicle. The power transmitting terminal of the charging device is elastically supported so as to be movable in the left-right direction of the vehicle so as to absorb any mutual positional deviation in the left-right direction of the vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2003-274515 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 cannot absorb vertical positional deviation between the loading vehicle (automated guided vehicle) and the charging device. In loading vehicles such as forklifts, a relatively large vertical positional deviation can occur due to tire wear, unevenness of the road surface, etc. If this positional deviation cannot be absorbed appropriately, problems such as terminals not making proper contact and terminal (electrode) damage may occur.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has an object to preferably charge a battery. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The charging device according to the present invention comprises: A charging device comprising a power transmission terminal that contacts a power receiving terminal of a loading vehicle and charges a battery of the loading vehicle, The power transmitting terminal has a contact portion on an upper surface or a lower surface thereof that comes into contact with the power receiving terminal. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, the battery can be charged suitably. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a loading vehicle and a charging station provided in a loading system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic control configuration of a cargo handling system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 1 is a perspective view of a charging station according to an embodiment; [Figure 4] 2 is a perspective view of a charging terminal unit of the loading vehicle according to the embodiment; FIG. [Diagram 5] 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the loading vehicle and the charging station when the battery is being charged. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0010] [Overall configuration of the cargo handling system] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a cargo handling vehicle 20 and a charging station 40 provided in a cargo handling system 1 according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic control configuration of the cargo handling system 1. As shown in FIG. 1 and 2, the loading and unloading system 1 includes at least one loading and unloading vehicle 20 and a charging station 40. In the loading and unloading system 1, loading and unloading work is performed by the loading and unloading vehicle 20 in a predetermined work area, and the loading and unloading vehicle 20 is charged at the charging station 40. The loading and unloading system 1 corresponds to an example of a charging system according to the present invention, and the charging station 40 corresponds to an example of a charging device according to the present invention.

[0011] [Charging station configuration] The charging station 40 is installed at a predetermined position and charges the battery 28 of the cargo handling vehicle 20. The charging station 40 includes a power line L41 that transmits charging power for the battery 28. The power line L41 connects a first charging terminal 46 and a second charging terminal 47 of the electrode unit 42, which will be described later, to an external charger PE.

[0012] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the charging station 40. As shown in FIG. As shown in this figure, the charging station 40 includes a housing 41 with an opening on the right side, and an electrode unit 42 that covers the opening of the housing 41. In the following description of the configuration of the charging station 40, the directions of "front, back, left, right, top, bottom" refer to the directions of the loading vehicle 20 connected to the charging station 40.

[0013] The housing 41 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the vertical direction, and houses each component of the charging station 40 therein. The housing 41 may be provided with an operation unit that accepts user operations, a display unit that displays various information such as a charging state, and the like.

[0014] The electrode unit 42 is a so-called connection terminal unit that is connected to the loading vehicle 20 when charging the battery 28. The electrode unit 42 includes a vertically long rectangular plate-like base 43 .

[0015] The base 43 is supported by the housing 41 so as to be movable up and down within a predetermined height range. More specifically, the base 43 is positioned at a predetermined reference height when no external force is acting on it, and is guided by the housing 41 to move upward when an upward external force is acting on it, and is supported, for example elastically, by the housing 41 so as to return to the reference height by its own weight when the external force is no longer acting on it. Moreover, the base 43 is supported by the housing 41 so that the reference height at which the base 43 is normally located (that is, the position at which the base 43 can be moved in the vertical direction) can be adjusted (changed).

[0016] On the right main surface of the base 43, a positioning roller 44, a control terminal 45, a first charging terminal 46, and a second charging terminal 47 are provided in this order from the top. These are arranged so that their centers in the front-to-back direction are approximately aligned. However, their arrangement is not particularly limited, and for example, there may be multiple positioning rollers 44, and the centers in the front-to-back direction may not be aligned.

[0017] The positioning roller 44 is a short cylindrical member having a central axis along the left-right direction, and is supported by the base 43 so as to be rotatable about the central axis. When charging the battery 28, the positioning roller 44 comes into contact with an upper protruding portion 32 (see FIG. 4) of the loading vehicle 20 described below in the front-rear direction to move the electrode unit 42 (base 43) in the up-down direction. This keeps the relative height position of the electrode unit 42 with respect to the charging terminal unit 30 of the loading vehicle 20 constant. The positioning roller 44 is an example of a guided portion according to the present invention.

[0018] The control terminal 45 contacts a control electrode 32a of the cargo handling vehicle 20, which will be described later, and performs various communications including CAN (Controller Area Network) communication with the cargo handling vehicle 20. The control terminal 45 has two control electrodes 45a with mutually opposite positive and negative polarities. The two control electrodes 45a are arranged side by side in the front and rear on the upper surface of a terminal block 451 which is erected on the main surface of the base 43. The two control electrodes 45a are fitted vertically and contact two control electrodes 32a of the loading vehicle 20 which will be described later. Each control electrode 45a has a shorter length in the front-rear direction and a shorter length in the left-right direction than both the first charging electrode 46a of the first charging terminal 46 and the second charging electrode 47a of the second charging terminal 47. This makes the control terminal 45 less tolerant of misalignment of the loading vehicle 20 than the first charging electrode 46a and the second charging terminal 47.

[0019] The first charging terminal 46 and the second charging terminal 47 are charging terminals (power transmission terminals) having mutually opposite positive and negative polarities. The first charging terminal 46 has a first charging electrode 46a (contact portion) that comes into contact with a first power receiving electrode 33a of the loading vehicle 20 described below. The first charging electrode 46a is provided on the upper surface of a terminal block 461 that is erected on the main surface of the base 43. The first charging electrode 46a fits vertically into the first power receiving electrode 33a of the loading vehicle 20. The second charging terminal 47 has a second charging electrode 47a (contact portion) that comes into contact with a second power receiving electrode 34a of the loading vehicle 20 described below. The second charging electrode 47a is provided on the upper surface of a terminal block 471 that is erected on the main surface of the base 43. The second charging electrode 47a fits vertically into the second power receiving electrode 34a of the loading vehicle 20.

[0020] [Loading vehicle configuration] As shown in Fig. 1, the cargo handling vehicle 20 is a vehicle capable of transporting cargo, lifting and lowering the cargo, and receiving and delivering the cargo, such as a forklift that can travel on the road without using rails. The cargo handling vehicle 20 in this embodiment is, although not limited to, an automated guided forklift (AGF) that can operate unmanned (automatically). The cargo handling vehicle 20 performs a predetermined cargo handling operation based on operation commands from a management server (not shown). Specifically, the cargo handling vehicle 20 includes a vehicle body 11, forks 12, a mast 14, and wheels 15. The mast 14 is provided at the front of the vehicle body 11, and is driven by a drive source (not shown) to tilt the vehicle body 11 forward and backward. A pair of left and right forks 12 for holding loads, pallets, etc. are held by the mast 14. The forks 12 are driven by a drive source (not shown) to move up and down along the mast 14.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, the cargo handling vehicle 20 includes a drive unit 21, a control unit 27, and a battery 28 in addition to the above components. The drive unit 21 includes a travel motor, a steering motor, and a loading motor (all not shown), which are various drive sources of the loading vehicle 20. The travel motor drives the driving wheels of the wheels 15. The steering motor rotates (steers) the steering wheels of the wheels 15. The loading motor causes the forks 12 to perform various operations such as lifting, lowering, and tilting. The control unit 27 is configured with, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and controls the operation of each part of the cargo handling vehicle 20. The control unit 27 may also include a storage unit that stores various data and programs.

[0022] The battery 28 is built into the vehicle body 11 and supplies power to each part of the cargo handling vehicle 20. When charging, the battery 28 is connected to the charging station 40 via the charging terminal unit 30, and in this state is charged by the charging station 40. The charging terminal unit 30 in this embodiment is disposed at the rear of the left side surface of the body 11 of the cargo handling vehicle 20 (see FIG. 1).

[0023] [Charging terminal unit configuration] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the charging terminal unit 30. As shown in FIG. In the following description of the configuration of the charging terminal unit 30, unless otherwise specified, the "front, rear, left, right" directions refer to the respective directions in the loading vehicle 20. The same applies to the "front, rear, left, right" directions in FIG.

[0024] As shown in Fig. 4, the charging terminal unit 30 is fitted (attached) to the electrode unit 42 of the charging station 40 during charging. Specifically, the charging terminal unit 30 has three protruding portions 31 protruding from the left side surface of the vehicle body 11. The three protruding portions 31 correspond to the control terminal 45, first charging terminal 46 and second charging terminal 47 of the electrode unit 42, and are arranged side by side in the vertical direction at predetermined intervals. Each protruding portion 31 is formed in a block shape that is elongated in the front-rear direction of the vehicle.

[0025] Of the three protruding portions 31, the upper protruding portion 32 disposed at the uppermost position corresponds to a control terminal 45 of the electrode unit . Two control electrodes 32a corresponding to the two control electrodes 45a of the control terminal 45 are arranged side by side in the front and rear on the lower surface 32b of the upper protruding portion 32. The two control electrodes 32a have opposite polarities, positive and negative, and fit vertically into and come into contact with the two control electrodes 45a of the charging station 40. The two control electrodes 32a are connected to the control unit 27 (see FIG. 2).

[0026] The upper surface 32c of the upper protruding portion 32 serves as a positioning surface that determines the height of the electrode unit 42 of the charging station 40. The upper surface 32c supports a positioning roller 44 of the charging station 40 when the battery 28 is being charged, thereby keeping the relative height position of the electrode unit 42 of the charging station 40 and the charging terminal unit 30 constant. More specifically, the relative height position of the upper surface 32c with respect to the control electrode 32a, the first power receiving electrode 33a, and the second power receiving electrode 34a corresponds to the relative height position of the positioning roller 44 (the lower end thereof) with respect to the control electrode 45a, the first charging electrode 46a, and the second charging electrode 47a in the electrode unit 42 of the charging station 40.

[0027] In the upper protruding portion 32, the corners connecting the top surface 32c to both the front and rear side surfaces form tapered surfaces 32d that gradually move downward toward the outside in the front-to-rear direction. The tapered surfaces 32d are guide surfaces that guide the positioning rollers 44 of the charging station 40. The tapered surfaces 32d are formed in a predetermined shape (inclination angle, height, etc.) so that when the electrode unit 42 of the charging station 40 is fitted into the charging terminal unit 30, the tapered surfaces 32d come into suitable contact with the positioning rollers 44 of the charging station 40 to move the electrode unit 42 upward.

[0028] Of the three protruding portions 31, the middle protruding portion 33 located at the middle height corresponds to the first charging terminal 46 of the electrode unit 42 and is, so to speak, a power receiving terminal (terminal block). A first power receiving electrode 33a corresponding to the first charging electrode 46a of the first charging terminal 46 is provided on the underside 33b of the middle protrusion 33. The first power receiving electrode 33a is a contact portion that vertically fits into and contacts the first charging electrode 46a of the first charging terminal 46.

[0029] Of the three protruding portions 31, the lower protruding portion 34 disposed at the lowest side corresponds to the second charging terminal 47 of the electrode unit 42 and is, so to speak, a power receiving terminal (terminal block). A second power receiving electrode 34a corresponding to the second charging electrode 47a of the second charging terminal 47 is provided on the lower surface 34b of the lower protruding portion 34. The second power receiving electrode 34a is a contact portion that fits vertically into contact with the second charging electrode 47a of the second charging terminal 47. The first power receiving electrode 33a and the second power receiving electrode 34a are electrodes having mutually different positive and negative polarities, and are connected to the battery 28 so that the battery 28 can be charged by power supplied from the outside.

[0030] [Battery charging operation] Next, the operation of the cargo handling vehicle 20 and the charging station 40 when charging the battery 28 of the cargo handling vehicle 20 will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the cargo handling vehicle 20 and the charging station 40 when the battery 28 is charged. In the following description, the directions of "front, back, left and right" refer to the respective directions on the loading vehicle 20 unless otherwise specified.

[0031] As shown in Fig. 5(a), when charging the battery 28, first, the control unit 27 of the loading vehicle 20 moves the loading vehicle 20 toward the charging station 40 from the front to the rear of the charging station 40 (see Fig. 1). More specifically, the control unit 27 moves the loading vehicle 20 toward the charging station 40 from the front to the rear of the charging station 40 while the positions of the charging terminal unit 30 and the electrode unit 42 of the charging station 40 are approximately aligned in the left-right direction of the vehicle.

[0032] 5(b), first, the tapered surface 32d of the upper protruding portion 32 of the charging terminal unit 30 contacts the lower half of the positioning roller 44 of the electrode unit 42 in a rearward direction. Then, as the loading vehicle 20 further moves backward, the positioning roller 44 is pushed upward while rotating following the tapered surface 32d, and rides onto the upper surface 32c of the upper protruding portion 32. At this time, the positioning roller 44 moves up and down together with the electrode unit 42. As a result, the electrode unit 42 moves upward to a predetermined height relative to the charging terminal unit 30. In other words, the control terminal 45, the first charging terminal 46, and the second charging terminal 47 of the electrode unit 42, and the upper protruding portion 32, the middle protruding portion 33, and the lower protruding portion 34 of the charging terminal unit 30 are positioned at relative heights that allow them to be suitably fitted together.

[0033] Thereafter, as the loading vehicle 20 moves further backward, the positioning roller 44 rotates on the upper surface 32c of the upper protrusion 32, causing the charging terminal unit 30 and the electrode unit 42 to gradually overlap in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle while maintaining their relative height. 5(c), when the charging terminal unit 30 and the electrode unit 42 are positioned approximately in the vehicle front-rear direction, their electrodes (contact portions) fit together and come into contact. Specifically, the two control electrodes 45a of the electrode unit 42 and the two control electrodes 32a of the charging terminal unit 30, the first charging electrode 46a of the electrode unit 42 and the first power receiving electrode 33a of the charging terminal unit 30, and the second charging electrode 47a of the electrode unit 42 and the second power receiving electrode 34a of the charging terminal unit 30 come into contact with each other.

[0034] Here, in the electrode unit 42, each control electrode 45a is smaller in size in the vehicle front-rear direction and vehicle left-right direction than both the first charging electrode 46a and the second charging electrode 47a. Similarly, in the charging terminal unit 30, each control electrode 32a is smaller in size in the vehicle front-rear direction and vehicle left-right direction than both the first power receiving electrode 33a and the second power receiving electrode 34a. Therefore, the tolerance for positional misalignment between the control electrode 45a and the control electrode 32a can be made smaller than that between the first charging electrode 46a and the second charging electrode 47a and the first power receiving electrode 33a and the second power receiving electrode 34a. This makes it possible to activate an interlock function that does not start charging when the control electrodes are not in proper contact (communication is not established).

[0035] In this way, the electrode unit 42 of the charging station 40 and the charging terminal unit 30 of the cargo handling vehicle 20 are fitted together. Then, the two control electrodes 45a of the electrode unit 42 come into contact with the two control electrodes 32a of the charging terminal unit 30, and communication is properly established between the charging station 40 and the cargo handling vehicle 20, and charging of the battery 28 begins.

[0036] When charging of the battery 28 is completed, the supply of power from the charger PE to the cargo handling vehicle 20 ends. Thereafter, the control unit 27 of the loading vehicle 20 moves the loading vehicle 20 toward the front of the vehicle, and releases the engagement between the charging terminal unit 30 and the electrode unit 42 of the charging station 40. The electrode unit 42 of the charging station 40 returns (descends) to the normal reference height as the support of the positioning rollers 44 is released.

[0037] It is preferable to adjust the reference height of the electrode unit 42 in advance so that the tapered surface 32d of the charging terminal unit 30 appropriately contacts the lower half of the positioning roller 44. This leveling adjustment is performed based on, for example, the degree of wear of the wheels 15 of the cargo handling vehicle 20. Since wear on the wheels of a forklift is relatively large, it is preferable to perform this leveling adjustment periodically.

[0038] [Technical effect of the present embodiment] As described above, according to this embodiment, the power transmitting terminal (first charging terminal 46, second charging terminal 47) of the charging station 40 or the power receiving terminal (middle protrusion portion 33, lower protrusion portion 34) of the loading vehicle 20 have contact portions on their upper or lower surfaces that come into contact with each other. This makes it possible to absorb any vertical positional deviation between the cargo handling vehicle 20 and the charging station 40. As a result, the battery 28 of the cargo handling vehicle 20 can be charged in an optimal manner.

[0039] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the power transmission terminal of the charging station 40 is disposed on the base 43 that is vertically movable. Therefore, by moving the base 43 in the vertical direction, the vertical positional deviation between the cargo handling vehicle 20 and the charging station 40 can be absorbed.

[0040] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the base 43 of the charging station 40 is configured so that the position at which it can be moved in the vertical direction can be adjusted. Therefore, even if the height of the charging terminal unit 30 of the cargo handling vehicle 20 changes due to wear of the wheels 15 of the cargo handling vehicle 20, for example, the height of the power transmission terminal of the charging station 40 can be adjusted accordingly.

[0041] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the positioning rollers 44 arranged on the base 43 come into contact with the loading vehicle 20 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle to move the base 43 in the up-down direction. This allows the base 43 to be suitably moved in the vertical direction, thereby absorbing any vertical positional deviation between the cargo handling vehicle 20 and the charging station 40.

[0042] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the control electrode 45a of the charging station 40 has a length in both the vehicle front-rear and left-right directions shorter than the contact portions (first charging electrode 46a, second charging electrode 47a) of the power transmitting terminal. This makes it possible to activate an interlock function that does not start charging when the control electrode is not in proper contact (when communication with the cargo handling vehicle 20 has not been established).

[0043] [others] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the power transmitting terminal of the charging station 40 may have a contact portion (electrode) on the lower surface, and the power receiving terminal of the cargo handling vehicle 20 may have a contact portion on the upper surface. However, it is preferable that the terminal of the cargo handling vehicle 20, which is a moving body, is configured to be relatively less susceptible to damage, that is, not exposed upward.

[0044] Further, there is no particular limitation on the position of the charging terminal unit 30 in the cargo handling vehicle 20. For example, the cargo handling vehicle 20 may enter the charging station 40 from the front side of the vehicle (the fork 12 side) when charging the battery, and exit toward the rear of the vehicle after charging.

[0045] In the above embodiment, the upper protruding portion 32 of the charging terminal unit 30 has the control electrode 32a on the lower surface 32b, and the upper surface 32c thereof is a positioning surface that determines the height of the electrode unit 42. However, this positioning surface may be separate from the configuration having the control electrode 32a.

[0046] In addition, the amount of forward protrusion of each terminal (control terminal 45, first charging terminal 46, and second charging terminal 47) in the electrode unit 42 and the amount of protrusion to the side of the vehicle of each protruding portion 31 in the charging terminal unit 30 are preferably set based on the expected positional deviation between the loading vehicle 20 and the charging station 40 in the left-right direction of the vehicle.

[0047] Furthermore, the cargo handling vehicle according to the present invention is not limited to one capable of unmanned operation (automatic operation), but includes one capable of manned operation (including remote operation) and one capable of switching between manned and unmanned operation. Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to a cargo handling system in which manned and unmanned cargo handling vehicles are mixed, and can also be used as an assist function for manned operation.

[0048] Furthermore, the cargo handling vehicle according to the present invention is not limited to a forklift as long as it has a battery, and includes, for example, an automated guided vehicle (AGV) that travels without a driver. In addition, the details shown in the above embodiment can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0049] 1. Cargo handling system (charging system) 11 Body 20 Cargo handling vehicles 27 Control Unit 28 Battery 30 Charging terminal unit 31 Protruding part 32 Upper protrusion (control terminal) 32a Control electrode 32b Bottom side 32c top surface 32d tapered surface 33 Middle protrusion (receiving terminal) 33a First power receiving electrode (contact portion) 33b Bottom surface 34 Lower protrusion (receiving terminal) 34a: second power receiving electrode (contact portion) 34b Bottom surface 40 Charging Station (Charging Equipment) 42 Electrode unit 43 Base (support part) 44 Positioning roller (guided part) 45 Control terminal 45a Control electrode 46 First charging terminal (power transmission terminal) 46a 1st charging electrode (contact part) 47 Second charging terminal (power transmission terminal) 47a 2nd charging electrode (contact part)

Claims

1. A charging device comprising a power transmission terminal that contacts a power receiving terminal of a loading vehicle and charges a battery of the loading vehicle, The power transmitting terminal has a contact portion on an upper surface or a lower surface thereof that contacts the power receiving terminal. Charging device.

2. The power transmission terminal is disposed on a support part that is movable in the vertical direction. The charging device according to claim 1 .

3. The support portion is configured to be adjustable in a vertically movable position. The charging device according to claim 2.

4. A guided portion is provided on the support portion and contacts the loading vehicle in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction to move the support portion in the vertical direction. The charging device according to claim 2.

5. a control electrode in contact with a control terminal of the loading vehicle; the control electrode has a length in a direction perpendicular to the up-down direction in which the power receiving terminal and the power transmitting terminal move relative to each other when they come into contact with each other and in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction, the length being shorter than that of the contact portion of the power transmitting terminal; The charging device according to claim 1 .

6. a battery; and a power receiving terminal that contacts a power transmitting terminal of a charging device when charging the battery, The power receiving terminal has a contact portion on an upper surface or a lower surface thereof that contacts the power transmitting terminal. Loading vehicle.

7. A protruding portion is provided on a side surface of a vehicle body, The power receiving terminal is disposed on a lower surface of the protruding portion.

7. The loading vehicle according to claim 6.

8. A cargo handling vehicle including a battery and a power receiving terminal for charging the battery; a charging device including a power transmitting terminal that contacts the power receiving terminal of the loading vehicle and charges a battery of the loading vehicle; Equipped with The power transmitting terminal and the power receiving terminal are in contact with each other at their contact portions above and below. A charging system comprising:

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