Conveyor Vehicle Powering via Traction Battery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conveyor vehicles used in motor vehicle assembly require significant drive energy due to the heavy load, and existing energy supply methods, such as internal combustion engines or batteries, are inefficient and costly, especially when conveying electrically driven vehicles.
Innovation Solution
The conveyor vehicle utilizes the traction battery of the electrically driven motor vehicle being conveyed, eliminating the need for a large and heavy battery on the conveyor vehicle, and allowing for efficient energy use through an electrical interface and adapter unit to connect and adapt the voltage for the conveyor vehicle's power supply.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conveyor vehicles use their own large battery for power supply, then they can operate independently, but the battery becomes expensive and heavy and limits availability due to charging requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The motor vehicle's traction battery serves dual purposes: powering the vehicle during assembly and powering the conveyor vehicle that transports it. The motor vehicle essentially serves the conveyor vehicle's energy needs, eliminating the need for a separate large battery on the conveyor vehicle.
Solution Approach 2:
The traction battery of the motor vehicle is used for multiple functions: it powers both the motor vehicle itself and the conveyor vehicle. This multi-functional use of the same energy source resolves the contradiction by eliminating the need for duplicate battery systems.
2Use of energy by moving object
If conveyor vehicles use conductor rails for power supply, then power transmission is efficient, but installation effort and system complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The power supply system is extracted from the fixed infrastructure (conductor rails) and relocated to the moving object (motor vehicle's battery). This allows the conveyor vehicle to receive power from a portable source rather than requiring complex fixed installations.
Solution Approach 2:
The motor vehicle acts as an intermediary between the battery and the conveyor vehicle. Instead of direct connection between battery and conveyor vehicle, the motor vehicle's control unit mediates the power transfer, simplifying the overall system architecture.
3Ease of operation
If conveyor vehicles use internal combustion engines for power supply, then they can operate without external power sources, but their use in assembly halls becomes impossible due to safety restrictions
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical combustion engine is replaced with an electrical power system. The conveyor vehicle uses electric motors powered by the motor vehicle's battery instead of internal combustion engines, eliminating exhaust and safety hazards while maintaining operational independence.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces installation costs, increases the availability of conveyor vehicles by minimizing charging needs, and provides a more efficient energy supply for both driving and auxiliary components, especially in scenarios where conductor rails or induction is complex or impossible.
Implementation Method 1
an adapter unit (45) which is set up to adapt an electrical voltage provided by the traction battery (40) to an on-board network of the conveyor vehicle
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~5
Figure 6~7
AI summary
The invention relates to a conveying method, wherein a conveying vehicle (12) conveys an electrically driven motor vehicle (14) during assembly thereof. In this method, the conveying vehicle (12) uses energy which is stored in a traction battery (40) of the motor vehicle (14). For this purpose, the conveying vehicle has an electrical interface (44) which is connected to the traction battery (40) of the motor vehicle (14), and a converter (45). This lowers an electrical voltage provided by the traction battery (40) via the electrical interface (44) to a value suitable for the conveying vehicle (12). The energy drawn by the traction battery (40) can be used above all for the particular drive of the conveying vehicle (12) and/or for other electrical loads of the conveying vehicle. As a result, an on-board battery for the conveying vehicle (12) can have much smaller dimensions or can even be omitted completely.