Floor Charging Plate Geometry for Wheel-Pass Materials Handling Vehicles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current materials handling vehicle charging systems face challenges in efficiently and safely charging battery-powered vehicles, particularly due to the design of charging stations not accommodating the unique dimensions and movement patterns of steerable drive wheels and load wheels, leading to difficulties in direct contact transfer of charging current.
Innovation Solution
A materials handling vehicle charging system comprising a vehicle-side charging contact assembly and a floor-mounted charging station with a multi-directional charging plate, where the floor-side charging contacts are positioned to complement the vehicle-side contact profile, allowing for direct contact transfer while accommodating the steerable drive wheel and load wheels, ensuring proper alignment and polarity matching for efficient charging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the charging contacts are positioned to accommodate the drive wheel track width, then the steerable drive wheel can pass through, but the load wheels may not be able to pass through properly
Solution Approach 1:
The charging system is designed to accommodate the dynamic movement patterns of the vehicle wheels during charging operation. The contact profile and contact spacing are configured to adapt to the steerable drive wheel's movement through the charging station, allowing the drive wheel to pass through while maintaining proper electrical contact.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the charging station are designed with different spatial characteristics to accommodate different wheel types. The inner contact spacing is optimized for the narrow drive wheel track width, while the outer contact spacing provides sufficient clearance for the wider load wheel gap, creating localized zones that serve different functional requirements.
2Manufacturing precision
If the charging contacts are positioned close together to match the drive wheel track width, then direct contact transfer is enabled, but the load wheel gap cannot accommodate the contacts
Solution Approach 1:
The charging contact arrangement utilizes two-dimensional spatial configuration with both inner and outer contact spacings. This dimensional approach allows the system to satisfy multiple constraints simultaneously: the inner spacing ensures proper alignment for drive wheel passage, while the outer spacing provides the necessary clearance for load wheel accommodation.
3Reliability
If the charging station is designed with fixed contact positions, then direct contact transfer is achieved, but it cannot accommodate different vehicle configurations
Solution Approach 1:
The charging station design incorporates multiple contact spacings (inner and outer) that can accommodate different vehicle configurations and wheel arrangements. This universal design allows the same charging infrastructure to serve various materials handling vehicle types while maintaining reliable electrical contact transfer through the complementary contact profiles.
Data Source
AI summary
A materials handling vehicle including a vehicle-side charging contact assembly coupled to a battery, a steerable drive wheel defining a drive wheel track width W, and a pair of load wheels defining a load wheel gap G between the pair of load wheels that is larger than the drive wheel track width W. A charging station includes a pair of floor-side charging contacts configured to transfer charging current to the vehicle-side charging contact assembly. The pair of floor-side charging contacts define an inner contact spacing S1 that is larger than the drive wheel track width W, and an outer contact spacing S2 that is larger than the inner contact spacing S1 and smaller than the load wheel gap G to permit passage of the steerable drive wheel between the floor-side charging contacts, followed by passage of the pair of load wheels outside of the floor-side charging contacts.