Mobile body

Abstract

To provide a mobile body capable of increasing an operating rate by reducing power consumption.SOLUTION: A mobile body includes: a battery charged by external charging; a travelling motor driven by received output from the battery; DC-to-DC converters stepping down an output voltage from the battery; and an auxiliary machine load driven by the voltage stepped down by the DC-to-DC converters. The DC-to-DC converters include: a first DC-to-DC converter stepping down the output voltage of the battery to a first voltage value; and a second DC-to-DC converter stepping down the output voltage of the battery to a second voltage value lower than the voltage value of the first voltage value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a moving body.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an autonomous mobile robot (AMR) that moves between a plurality of workstations.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In a large-sized autonomous mobile robot as disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, a 48V power supply system with a small capacity is adopted. Therefore, the charging frequency increases, and the problem has been that the operation rate is low (the operation time is short).

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide a moving body capable of improving the operation rate by reducing power consumption.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The mobile body according to the present disclosure includes a battery charged by external charging, a traveling motor driven by receiving the output of the battery, a DCDC converter that steps down the output voltage from the battery, and an auxiliary load driven by the voltage stepped down by the DCDC converter. The DCDC converter includes a first DCDC converter that steps down the output voltage of the battery to a first voltage value, and a second DCDC converter that steps down the output voltage of the battery to a second voltage value lower than the voltage value of the first voltage value.

Advantages of the Invention

[0007] According to the present disclosure, the operating rate can be improved by reducing the power consumption.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] The mobile body according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the components in the following embodiments include those that can be replaced and are easy for those skilled in the art, or those that are substantially the same.

[0010] The mobile body according to the embodiment includes, for example, a motor and a battery, and is an autonomous driving transport robot or the like that can be externally charged.

[0011] The mobile body 1 includes an HV-ECU 11, a battery ECU 12, a PLG (Plug-in)-ECU 13, a battery 14, an SMR (System Main Relay) 15, an AC charging inlet 16, a charger 17, and a charge relay 18. In addition to the above, the mobile body 1 further includes an IPC (Industrial PC) 19, a servo driver 20, a motor 21, DCDC converters 22 and 23, and an auxiliary battery 24. Note that in FIG. 1, only the configurations necessary for the description of this embodiment are illustrated among the configurations of the mobile body 1, and other configurations are omitted from the illustration.

[0012] Among the configurations shown in FIG. 1, the HV-ECU 11, the battery ECU 12, and the PLG-ECU 13 are constituted by an electronic control unit (ECU). This electronic control unit has, for example, a microcomputer composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. as main components, and executes various programs.

[0013] The HV-ECU 11 controls and monitors various in-vehicle components mounted on the mobile body 1, for example. The battery ECU 12 controls the battery 14, for example. The PLG-ECU 13 controls electrical devices such as the AC charging inlet 16 and the charger 17, for example.

[0014] The battery 14 is a secondary battery such as a lithium-ion battery, for example. This battery 14 is charged by external charging and supplies power to, for example, the servo driver 20, industrial components, and power train ECTs.

[0015] SMR15 is a semiconductor relay that is opened and closed, for example, by HV-ECU11. When SMR15 is connected, power is exchanged between the battery 14 and the servo driver 20 and others. On the other hand, when SMR15 is cut off, power exchange between the battery 14 and the servo driver 20 and others stops.

[0016] The AC charging inlet 16 is, for example, a charging port into which a charging connector is inserted. The charger 17 supplies the power supplied to the AC charging inlet 16 to the charge relay 18. This charger 17 is, for example, a charger of the 300V system (300V specification). The charge relay 18 is a semiconductor relay that is opened and closed, for example, by PLG-ECU13.

[0017] IPC19 is an industrial PC and performs, for example, state monitoring of HV-ECU11, state monitoring of industrial components, autonomous driving commands for the moving body 1, etc. The servo driver 20 converts the DC power supplied from the battery 14 into AC power and supplies the AC power to the motor 21. The motor 21 is, for example, an AC synchronous motor. This motor 21 is driven by receiving the output of the battery 14.

[0018] The DCDC converter 22 has, for example, at least one switching element and a circuit that controls the switching element. This DCDC converter 22 is connected to the auxiliary battery 24 and industrial components. The industrial components are auxiliary load devices driven by the voltage stepped down by the DCDC converter 22 and are, for example, components of the 24V system (24V specification).

[0019] The DCDC converter 22 steps down the output voltage from the battery 14. That is, the DCDC converter 22 steps down the output voltage of the battery 14 to a first voltage value (for example, 24V). More specifically, the DCDC converter 22 converts the power of the battery 14 to a low voltage (for example, from 350V to 24V) and supplies the converted power to, for example, the 24V system (24V specification) auxiliary battery 24 and industrial components.

[0020] The DCDC converter 23 has, for example, at least one switching element and a circuit for controlling the switching element. This DCDC converter 23 is connected to the auxiliary battery 24 and the power train ECT which is an in-vehicle component. Note that the power train ECT is an auxiliary load driven by the voltage stepped down by the DCDC converter 23 and is, for example, a component of the 12V system (12V specification).

[0021] The DCDC converter 23 steps down the output voltage from the battery 14. That is, the DCDC converter 23 steps down the output voltage of the battery 14 to a second voltage value (for example, 12V) lower than the voltage value of the first voltage value described above. More specifically, the DCDC converter 23 converts the power of the auxiliary battery 24 to a low voltage (for example, from 24V to 12V) and supplies the converted power to the power train ECT of the 12V system (12V specification), for example.

[0022] The auxiliary battery 24 functions as a power source when the moving body 1 is started. Further, the auxiliary battery 24 supplies power to the power train ECT and the like. As shown in FIG. 1, the HV-ECU 11, the battery ECU 12, the PLG-ECU 13, and the IPC 19 are connected by a power train bus (CAN). Further, the HV-ECU 11, the battery ECU 12, and the PLG-ECU 13 are connected by a battery local bus (CAN). Further, the HV-ECU 11 and the IPC 19 are connected by an HV-MG local bus (CAN). Further, the IPC 19 and the servo driver 20 are connected by Ethernet (registered trademark).

[0023] In the moving body 1 having such a configuration, in the case of normal operation, it operates as follows. (1) The start switch of the moving body 1 is turned ON (2) The HV-ECU 11, the IPC 19, the DCDC converter 23, and the auxiliary battery 24 are started (3) The "operation mode" is selected by a mode changeover switch (not shown) (4) The HV-ECU 11 and the IPC 19 transmit CAN information through the HV-MG local bus. (5) The SMR 15 is turned on, and power is supplied to the servo driver 20, the motor 21, and the DCDC converter 22. (6) Switch from "power supply from the accessory battery 24" to "power supply from the battery 14".

[0024] Also, in the moving body 1, during charging of the battery 14, it operates as follows. (1) The start switch of the moving body 1 is turned on. (2) The HV-ECU 11, the IPC 19, the DCDC converter 23, and the accessory battery 24 are started. (3) The "charging mode" is selected by a mode switch (not shown). (4) The HV-ECU 11 and the IPC 19 transmit CAN information through the HV-MG local bus. (5) After confirming the insertion of the charging connector into the AC charging inlet 16, the battery 14 is started. (6) Charging of the battery 14 starts.

[0025] According to the moving body according to the embodiment described above, by reducing the output voltage of the battery 14 using the two DCDC converters 22 and 23, the power consumption is reduced, so that the operation rate can be improved. That is, in the moving body according to the embodiment, for example, by coexisting a 24V industrial part and a 300V in-vehicle part (such as the charger 17), a power supply system that can operate inexpensively and for a long time can be realized.

[0026] For the purpose of long-term operation, for example, connecting a plurality of 48V batteries in parallel is also conceivable, but on the contrary, it leads to an increase in size and cost. Therefore, it is desirable to use the in-vehicle battery 14 of the moving body according to the embodiment.

[0027] Further effects and modifications can be easily derived by those skilled in the art. Therefore, the broader aspects of the present invention are not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments presented and described as above. Accordingly, various changes are possible without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Explanation of Signs

[0028] 1 Moving body 11 HV-ECU 12 Battery ECU 13 PLG-ECU 14 Battery 15 SMR (System Main Relay) 16 AC charging inlet 17 Charger 18 Charge relay 19 IPC (Industrial PC) 20 Servo driver 21 Motor 22 DCDC converter (first DCDC converter) 23 DCDC converter (second DCDC converter) 24 Auxiliary battery

Claims

【Claim 1】 A battery charged by external charging, A traveling motor that is driven by receiving the output of the battery, A DC-DC converter that steps down the output voltage from the battery, An auxiliary load driven by the voltage stepped down by the DC-DC converter, Comprising, The DC-DC converter, A first DC-DC converter that steps down the output voltage of the battery to a first voltage value, A second DC-DC converter that steps down the output voltage of the battery to a second voltage value lower than the voltage value of the first voltage value, A moving body comprising.

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