Industrial Truck Battery Management Centralized Switch

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Solution Overview

Problem

Industrial trucks with electric drives face challenges in integrating modular energy storage systems in a space-efficient manner, often requiring multiple contactors within battery modules, which complicates the design and reduces flexibility.

Innovation Solution

The industrial truck features a battery management system with a central switch to disconnect the battery module from the electric drive, eliminating the need for contactors within the modules, allowing for spatial separation and more compact, flexible battery module design, with a common management system controlling multiple modules.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If contactors are provided in each battery module for safety disconnection, then safety is improved, but device complexity and installation space increase

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovesafetyVSAvoiddevice complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Multiple contactors that would traditionally be distributed across different battery modules are merged into a single centralized contactor unit. This consolidation maintains the safety function of disconnecting electrical connections while reducing the overall number of contactors needed and simplifying the system architecture.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The contactor function is extracted from the battery modules and placed in a centralized location. This allows the battery modules to be simpler in design while the centralized contactor unit handles all disconnection operations, improving maintainability and reducing complexity in the modules themselves.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Reliability

If contactors are provided in each battery module, then safety disconnection is ensured, but installation space is consumed

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovesafetyVSAvoidinstallation space

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSVolume of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

Multiple spatially distributed contactors are merged into a single centralized contactor unit, reducing the total volume occupied by contactor components and freeing up installation space in the battery module areas.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Reliability

If battery modules are designed with integrated contactors, then safety is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovesafetyVSAvoidease of manufacture

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The contactor system is extracted from the battery module assembly process, allowing battery modules to be manufactured independently without integrating contactor components. This simplifies battery module manufacturing while the centralized contactor unit can be installed separately.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentEP3792098A1Industrial truck with an electrical energy storage device

Publication Date: 2021.03.17 JUNGHEINRICH AG

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AI summary

Industrial truck with at least one electrically powered drive and an electrical energy storage device, which has a battery management system (BMS) and at least one battery module, wherein the at least one battery module and the battery management system each have a housing with electrical connections and the housings are spatially separated from each other in the industrial truck, wherein the battery management system has at least one switch with which a connection between the at least one battery module and the electrically powered drive can be disconnected.