Battery-powered devices and construction machinery

Abstract

The objective of this disclosure is to provide a battery mounting device that can easily secure space for storing a battery without being constrained by the space inside the construction machine, and that allows for easy battery replacement. [Solution] A battery mounting device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a battery mounting device for construction machinery, comprising a bracket attached to the side of a counterweight, a frame fixed to the bracket, and a casing for housing a battery and being detachable from the frame.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a battery-mounted device and a construction machine.

Background Art

[0002] Construction machines such as cranes have equipment that consumes power (electrical equipment) and hydraulic equipment, such as an air conditioner in the cab and a starting motor for an internal combustion engine. In recent years, in order to reduce environmental impact, noise, etc., there is a tendency to increase the electrical equipment in place of the above hydraulic equipment. In such construction machines, the number of batteries may be increased or a larger-sized battery may be mounted. An arrangement structure for efficiently arranging batteries in a work vehicle (construction machine) is known (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-211394).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the battery arrangement structure described in the above publication, a curved surface portion is formed on the outer periphery of the vehicle body frame or the swing base, and a plurality of cells (batteries) are arranged in a battery storage portion provided on the curved surface portion side in accordance with the shape of the curved surface portion, so that the batteries can be efficiently accommodated, and a space can be provided inside the vehicle body frame or inside the swing base. Since the vehicle body frame or the swing base houses an internal combustion engine, hydraulic equipment, etc., it may be difficult to secure a space for a battery storage portion having sufficient capacity, and it may be difficult to store a large-sized battery in the battery storage portion, or there may be a risk that all of the increased number of batteries cannot be stored. Also, it is required that large-sized batteries and a plurality of batteries can be easily replaced.

[0005] This disclosure is made in view of the circumstances described above, and aims to provide a battery mounting device that can easily secure space for storing a battery without being constrained by the space inside the construction machine, and that allows for easy battery replacement. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A battery mounting device according to one aspect of the present disclosure for solving the above problems is a battery mounting device for construction machinery, comprising a bracket attached to the side of a counterweight, a frame fixed to the bracket, and a casing for housing a battery and being detachable from the frame. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] A battery-mounted device according to one aspect of this disclosure allows for easy securing of space to store a battery without being constrained by the space inside the construction machine, and allows for easy replacement of the battery. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic side view showing a construction machine that is one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a schematic enlarged side view showing the counterweight section and battery mounting device arranged in the construction machine shown in Figure 1. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a schematic plan view showing the counterweight section and battery mounting device of Figure 2. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a schematic rear view showing the counterweight section and battery mounting device of Figure 3. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a schematic exploded rear view showing a battery mounting device, which is one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a schematic rear view showing the bracket of the battery mounting device shown in Figure 5. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a schematic side view showing the bracket in Figure 6. [Figure 8]Figure 8 is a schematic side view showing the mounting frame of the battery-equipped device shown in Figure 5. [Figure 9] Figure 9 is a schematic plan view showing the frame shown in Figure 8. [Figure 10] Figure 10 is a schematic side view showing the arm of the frame in Figure 8 in a lowered position. [Figure 11] Figure 11 is a schematic side view showing the casing of the battery mounting device shown in Figure 5. [Figure 12] Figure 12 is a schematic plan view showing the casing of Figure 11. [Figure 13] Figure 13 is a schematic rear view showing a configuration in which the battery mounting device is positioned on the counterweight section using a different method than that shown in Figure 4. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] [Description of Embodiments of this Disclosure] First, the embodiments of this disclosure will be listed and described.

[0010] (1) A battery mounting device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a battery mounting device for construction machinery, comprising a bracket attached to the side of a counterweight, a frame fixed to the bracket, and a casing for housing a battery and being detachable from the frame.

[0011] Since the battery mounting device is attached to the counterweight section, it is possible to secure storage space for the battery without being constrained by the space inside the construction machine, and thus large batteries and multiple batteries can be easily mounted on the construction machine. The casing that houses the battery is detachable from the stand attached to the side of the counterweight section, so the battery can be easily replaced by detaching the casing containing the battery from the stand.

[0012] (2) In the above (1), the pedestal may have a back portion and an arm protruding from the back portion, and the casing may have a hole portion into which the arm is inserted. By inserting and removing the arm of the pedestal into the hole portion of the casing, the casing can be easily detached from and attached to the pedestal.

[0013] (3) In the above (2), the pedestal may include a pair of column portions and a connecting portion disposed between the pair of column portions, and the arm may protrude from the connecting portion. By configuring the pedestal to have the pair of column portions and the connecting portion, the pedestal can be made into a simple structure.

[0014] (4) In the above (2) or (3), a cover for sealing the hole portion into which the arm is inserted may be further provided. By sealing the hole portion into which the arm is inserted with the cover, it is possible to suppress rainwater and dust from entering the hole portion.

[0015] (5) In any one of the above (2) to (4), the pedestal may include a lifting means for lifting and lowering the arm. By having the pedestal have the lifting means, the ease of detaching and attaching the casing can be improved.

[0016] (6) The construction machine according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a counterweight portion and a battery mounting device according to any one of the above (1) to (5).

[0017] Since the construction machine includes the battery mounting device, relatively large-capacity electric power can be used. Since the construction machine can easily replace the battery that supplies the electric power, it can work efficiently.

[0018] [Details of the form for implementing the present disclosure] The following description of a construction machine according to one embodiment of this disclosure will be made with reference to the drawings. Note that the drawings are for illustrative purposes only, and the shape, scale, etc., of each component (each member) may differ from the actual ones. In the following description, "front" refers to the direction that the operator seated in the cockpit of the construction machine is looking at, and "rear" refers to the opposite direction. "Left and right" refers to the directions perpendicular to the front-rear direction in a plan view, and "up and down" refers to the directions perpendicular to both the front-rear and left-right directions.

[0019] <Construction machinery> As shown in Figure 1, the construction machine is a crane 1 mainly comprising a lower traveling body 2, an upper rotating body 3 that is rotatably mounted on the lower traveling body 2, a luffing member (boom 4) attached to the upper rotating body 3, a counterweight section 31 located behind the upper rotating body 3, and a battery mounting device 10 located on the side of the counterweight section 31. The boom 4 is formed in a roughly rectangular tubular shape and has a lattice structure frame. The construction machine may also be a wheel crane with tires (rough terrain crane, etc.), a fixed crane without a traveling body (climbing crane, etc.), a gantry crane used in ports, or a floating crane used on water.

[0020] The lower traveling body 2 has a pair of crawlers 21 as a traveling device, enabling the crane 1 to travel in any direction. The upper slewing body 3 is rotatably mounted on the lower traveling body 2 and has a driver's cabin 32, a boom winch (not shown) for raising and lowering the boom 4 in the vertical direction, and a rope winch (not shown) for paying out and raising the wire rope 5 hanging from the tip of the boom 4. The upper slewing body 3 houses an internal combustion engine, auxiliary equipment for the internal combustion engine, a fuel tank, a cooling water tank, hydraulic equipment, and an oil tank for the hydraulic equipment.

[0021] As shown in Figures 2 to 4, the counterweight 31 is formed by stacking a substantially plate-shaped counterweight 312 on a substantially plate-shaped base plate 311. A pair of columnar guide members 33 are provided at the rear of the upper rotating body 3. The base plate 311 and the counterweight 312 have holes 310, and the guide members 32 are inserted through these holes 310 to attach them to the upper rotating body 3.

[0022] <Battery-equipped device> The battery mounting device 10 is attached to the side of the counterweight section 31. In Figures 1 to 4, the battery mounting device 10 is positioned on one of the left-right sides (lateral surfaces) of the counterweight section 31, but it may also be positioned on the other side, on both sides, on the rear side (back) of the counterweight section 31, or on all sides. As shown in Figure 5, the battery mounting device 10 comprises a bracket 11 attached to the side of the counterweight section 31, a frame 12 fixed to the bracket 11, and a casing 13 that houses the battery and is detachable from the frame 12.

[0023] 〔bracket〕 The bracket described above is not particularly limited as long as it can fix the frame 12. As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the bracket 11 of this embodiment has a holding portion 111 in which a first hole 111a is formed, and a flat plate-like portion 112 that is joined to the holding portion 111 and extends in the axial direction of the first hole 111a. A pair of second holes 112a may be provided in the plate-like portion 112, and the bracket 11 may be fixed to the counterweight portion 31 by inserting known bolts or the like through this pair of second holes 112a. It is preferable to arrange multiple (four in this embodiment) brackets 11 on the side surface of the counterweight portion 31.

[0024] [Stand] The frame 12 may have a back portion and an arm 125 protruding from the back portion. The casing 13 may have a hole 131 into which the arm 125 is inserted. The casing 13 can be easily attached to and detached from the frame 12 by inserting and removing the hole 131 of the casing 13 into the arm 125 of the frame 12. In this embodiment, the frame 12 has a pair of arms 125, and the casing 13 has a pair of holes 131.

[0025] The back portion may be formed in the shape of a plate, for example, but may include a pair of columnar sections 121 and a connecting section that connects the pair of columnar sections 121, as shown in Figures 8 and 9. The pair of arms 125 may protrude from the connecting section. The frame 12 of this embodiment has a first connecting section 123 located at the top of the pair of columnar sections 121 and a second connecting section 124 located at the bottom. The first connecting section 123 connects the pair of columnar sections 121. The arms 125 protrude from the second connecting section 124.

[0026] Each of the pair of column sections 121 has a projection 122 at its upper and lower ends. The projection 122 protrudes in the opposite direction to the direction in which the arm 125 protrudes. The projection 122 has a pin hole 122a that corresponds to the first hole 111a of the bracket 11. The frame 12 is fixed to the counterweight section 31 by aligning the first holes 111a of the brackets 11, which are located at four locations on the counterweight section 31, with the four pin holes 122a, and inserting connecting pins (not shown) or fastening them with bolts (not shown).

[0027] The frame 12 may be equipped with a lifting mechanism for raising and lowering the arms 125. The lifting mechanism may raise and lower a second connection portion 124 from which a pair of arms 125 protrude. The presence of the lifting mechanism in the frame 12 allows the arms 125 to be lowered when replacing the battery, making it easy to attach and detach the casing 13. The lifting mechanism is not particularly limited; for example, the second connection portion 124 may be raised and lowered by rotating a known gear or chain with a motor. The frame 12 in this embodiment has a hydraulic cylinder 126, with the cylinder tube 126a fixed to the first connection portion 123 and the piston rod 126b fixed to the second connection portion 124. The column portion 121 is formed of a hollow tubular member, and the second connection portion 124 may have a columnar guide portion 124a that moves back and forth within the column portion 121.

[0028] [Casing] As shown in Figures 11 and 12, the casing 13 is a box-shaped structure with an internal space in which a battery (not shown) is stored. The casing 13 may have shelves, walls, etc. to partition the internal space. The casing 13 may have a door (not shown) for storing and removing the battery. The casing 13 may have a hole (not shown) for bringing wiring (power cord) extending from the crane 1 into the interior.

[0029] The battery mounting device 10 may have fixing means for securing the casing 13 to the arm 125 of the frame 12. The fixing means is not particularly limited, and for example, a protrusion (or recess) may be provided in the hole 131 and a recess (or protrusion) may be provided in the arm 125, and these protrusions and recesses may be engaged, or holes may be provided below the hole 131 and in the arm 125, and a pin may be inserted through these holes, or a bolt may be used to fix the bottom of the casing 13 to the arm 125. By fixing the casing 13 to the arm 125 of the frame 12, it is possible to prevent the casing 13 from falling off the frame 12.

[0030] 〔cover〕 The battery mounting device 10 may be provided with a cover (not shown) that seals the hole 131 into which the arm 125 is inserted. By attaching the cover to the hole 131, it is possible to prevent rainwater, dust, etc. from entering the inside of the hole 131. The cover may be configured to be fixed to the casing 13 in a state that seals the hole 131 into which the arm 125 is inserted.

[0031] <How to install the battery> The method for mounting a battery to the construction machine 1 includes the steps of attaching a bracket 11 to the side of the counterweight section 31, fixing the frame 12 to the bracket 11, and attaching the casing 13 containing the battery to the frame 12. When mounting the battery, it is preferable to rotate the upper rotating body 3 to position the counterweight section 31 in a way that improves the workability of each of the above steps.

[0032] [Installation process] In the above installation process, a known bolt or the like is inserted through the second hole 112a of the plate-shaped portion 112 of the bracket 11 to fix the bracket 11 to the side surface of the counterweight portion 31.

[0033] [The fixing process] In the fixing process described above, the frame 12 is fixed to the bracket 11 by aligning the pin hole 122a formed in the protruding portion 122 of the column portion 121 with the first hole 111a of the bracket 11 and inserting the connecting pin. The frame 12 may also be lifted by a crane or the like to align the pin hole 122a with the first hole 111a.

[0034] [Installation process] In the above installation process, the arm 125 of the frame 12 is inserted through the hole 131 of the casing 13. The means for inserting the arm 125 of the frame 12 through the hole 131 of the casing 13 are not particularly limited; for example, the casing 13 may be lifted by a crane or lifted by a forklift. If the frame 12 has the above-mentioned lifting mechanism, the ease of operation by the forklift can be improved by lowering the arm 125. If the battery mounting device 10 has the above-mentioned cover, after inserting the arm 125 through the hole 131, the hole 131 may be sealed with the cover and the arm 125 may be raised by the above-mentioned lifting mechanism.

[0035] Alternatively, as shown in Figure 13, the battery mounting device 10 may be positioned using a mounting member 14 having a top portion 141 positioned on the upper surface of the counterweight portion 31 and a side portion 142 extending downward from the end of the top portion 141 and positioned on the side of the counterweight portion 31. Specifically, the mounting member 14 is formed in a substantially inverted L shape, with a guide hole (not shown) in the top portion 141 through which a guide member 33 is inserted, and a bracket 11 is positioned at a predetermined location on the side portion 142 by known means such as bolts or welding. The mounting member 14 can be lifted using a crane or the like, and the bracket 11 can be positioned on the side of the counterweight portion 31 by inserting the guide hole into the guide member 33. The frame 12 may be fixed to this bracket 11, and the casing 13 may be attached and detached.

[0036] The battery-mounted device 10 should be positioned on the counterweight section 31 so as not to reduce the safety of operations performed by the crane 1, and so as to fit within the slewing radius R of the crane 1 (the dashed line in Figure 3). Specifically, it should be positioned so that the outer surface of the casing 13 does not extend beyond the slewing radius R.

[0037] To detach the battery from the construction machine 1, the above steps should be performed in reverse order. To detach the battery, the arm 125 should be lowered to remove the cover, the casing 13 should be detached from the frame 12 using a forklift or similar tool, and the battery housed in the casing 13 should be removed. Alternatively, the frame 12 may be removed from the bracket 11.

[0038] [Other embodiments] The above embodiments do not limit the configuration of the present invention. Accordingly, the above embodiments allow for the omission, substitution, or addition of components of each part of the above embodiments based on the description herein and common technical knowledge, and all such omissions, substitutions, or additions should be interpreted as falling within the scope of the present invention.

[0039] The connection between the bracket and the mounting frame is not limited to that described in the above embodiment. For example, the shape of the protruding parts in the bracket and mounting frame is not limited to the shape described above.

[0040] In the above embodiment, a configuration having a pair of arms and a pair of holes into which these arms are inserted has been described, but the number of arms and holes is not limited to this and may be 1 or 3 or more.

[0041] The battery may also be replaced by opening and closing a door on the casing while the casing is mounted on a frame. [Industrial applicability]

[0042] The battery mounting device of this disclosure can easily accommodate large batteries and multiple batteries, and is therefore suitable for use in construction machinery and the like. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0043] 1. Crane (construction machinery) 2 Lower running body 21 Crawler 3. Upper rotating body 31 Counterweight section 310 Hole 311 circuit board 312 Counterweight 32 Pilot's cabin 33 Guide member 4. Boom (relieving member) 5 Wire rope 10 Battery-powered devices 11 brackets 111 Holding part 111a 1st hole 112 Plate-like portion 12 mounting bases 121 Column section 122 Protrusion 122a Pin hole 123 First connection section 124 Second connection section 124a Guide section 125 Arm 126 Hydraulic Cylinder 126a Cylinder tube 126b Piston rod 13 Casing 131 Hole 14 Mounting components 141 Heavenly Beings 142 Side R (Swing radius)

Claims

1. A battery-powered device for construction machinery, A bracket attached to the side of the counterweight section, A mounting frame fixed to the bracket mentioned above, The casing houses the battery and is detachable from the aforementioned mounting frame. A battery-powered device equipped with the following features.

2. The above-mentioned frame has a back section and an arm protruding from this back section. The battery mounting device according to claim 1, wherein the casing has a hole into which the arm is inserted.

3. The above-mentioned back portion includes a pair of columnar sections and a connecting section positioned between these two columnar sections. The battery mounting device according to claim 2, wherein the above-mentioned arm protrudes from the above-mentioned connection portion.

4. The battery mounting device according to claim 2, further comprising a cover that seals the hole into which the above-mentioned arm is inserted.

5. The battery mounting device according to claim 2, wherein the frame is provided with a lifting means for raising and lowering the arm.

6. The counterweight section and A battery-mounted device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and Construction machinery equipped with these features.

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