JPH059904B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic battery replacement mechanism for an unmanned vehicle that is equipped with a battery as a power source and that automatically travels guided by a guide line provided on a running route.

Unmanned vehicles are usually equipped with a battery as a power source, but when an unmanned vehicle is moved, the electrical capacity in the battery decreases, so in order to start the next operation, the battery must be charged or replaced with an already charged battery. need to be replaced. Several methods are currently used to charge or replace batteries. In other words, method A involves manually removing the battery with a reduced electrical capacity from the unmanned vehicle, charging it, and then manually loading it onto the unmanned vehicle after charging is completed. Method C involves manually connecting the previously stored battery to the charger while it is still installed in the unmanned vehicle, and charging the unmanned vehicle by providing an automatic connection connector for charging. When the unmanned vehicle is lowered, the unmanned vehicle itself runs to a charging station on the unmanned vehicle operating track and automatically connects the charging connector with the power supply connector on the ground side to perform charging. It has the following drawbacks. In methods A and B, the battery must be manually removed from the unmanned vehicle and attached to the unmanned vehicle each time it is charged, which is time-consuming and does not allow unmanned operation as a system. Furthermore, in method A, the unmanned vehicle cannot operate while being charged, which is very uneconomical. The above method C and the above method D are methods that eliminate the trouble of taking out the battery from the unmanned vehicle and installing it in the unmanned vehicle as in the above methods A and B, but in the end, the above method C connects the battery and the charger. It takes a lot of manpower to do this, so it can't be said to be an unmanned operation. Method D is a fully automated version of Method C, but the unmanned vehicle cannot operate while its battery is being charged, making it extremely uneconomical. Naturally, the above-mentioned method C also has this drawback.

As mentioned above, the method for charging or replacing a battery with a reduced electrical capacity installed in an unmanned vehicle is A.
Several types are used, with method D being the most representative.
Each has its own drawbacks, and currently there is no economical method for completely unmanned battery replacement and charging of unmanned vehicles.

This invention was made to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, and includes a series of steps for removing a discharge battery mounted on an unmanned vehicle, attaching a charged battery to the unmanned vehicle, and charging the battery taken out from the unmanned vehicle. The object of the present invention is to provide an automatic battery exchange mechanism whose operation is completely automated and can be performed in a simple manner.

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below based on the drawings.

1 to 4 are schematic diagrams showing the positional relationship between an unmanned vehicle equipped with an automatic battery exchange mechanism and an automatic battery charging/exchanging device according to the present invention.

1 is an unmanned vehicle, and guide line 2 is installed on the driving route.
The vehicle will be guided by the robot and will run automatically according to commands from the control center. 3 is a pullout guide line, which is connected to the unmanned vehicle 2 above.
It is laid out so that it can be connected in parallel to the automatic battery charging/exchanging device 4. 5-a is a charged battery, 5-b is a charging battery, 5-c
are discharge batteries and each battery case 5
Built-in. Reference numerals 6 and 6' designate a space on the vehicle side and a space on the side of the automatic battery charging/replacement device, respectively, for storing the battery case 5. Reference numeral 7 denotes a vehicle detector that detects that the unmanned vehicle 1 has been correctly positioned to the automatic battery charging/exchanging device 4, and can detect that the unmanned vehicle 1 has correctly connected to the automatic battery charging/exchanging device 4. The vehicle detector 7 is connected to the automatic battery charging/exchanging device 4 via a controller 8 that controls the automatic battery charging/exchanging device. 9
is a moving plate having the space 6'. 1st
The figure is a diagram when the unmanned vehicle 1 has arrived at the automatic battery charging/exchanging device 4, FIG. Figure 3 is a diagram when the automatic battery charging/exchanging device 4 is activated and preparations for transferring the charged battery 5-a to the unmanned vehicle 1 side are completed, and Figure 4 is a diagram showing the fully charged battery 5-a being transferred to the unmanned vehicle 1. This is a diagram after completing the installation.

Next, the structure of the automatic battery exchange mechanism according to the present invention will be explained based on FIGS. 5 and 6.

An entrance 10 is provided on one side of the unmanned vehicle 1 so that a battery case 5 containing a battery can be freely taken in and taken out. A handle 11 is attached to one side of the battery case 5. A plurality of freely rotating rollers 12 are arranged at equal pitches on the floor surface 13 of the unmanned vehicle 1 so that the battery cases 5 can move horizontally in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the unmanned vehicle 1. 1
Reference numeral 4 is a stopper that is inserted into a hole in the floor surface 13 of the unmanned vehicle, forming a mechanism that can be moved in the vertical direction.When rising, the tip of the stopper hits the battery case 5, and the battery case 5 is moved upwardly. Fix it. When this stopper 14 receives a downward external force on the horizontal force-receiving surface 14a, it descends. A spring 15 has a restoring force to raise the stopper 14, and its lower end is fixed at a constant level, and its upper end is in a raised state when no external force is applied to the force-receiving surface 14a. A stopper guide 16 is attached to the lower surface of the stopper 14 perpendicular to the floor surface, and moves up and down as the stopper 14 moves up and down. Reference numeral 17 denotes a main power switch for the unmanned vehicle 1, which is attached to the unmanned vehicle 1 so that the switch is pressed when the stopper guide 16 is lowered. Reference numeral 18 denotes a cylinder which is placed near the stopper 14 of the unmanned vehicle 1 when the unmanned vehicle 1 is positioned on the automatic battery charging/exchanging device 4. A battery stopper opening fitting 19 is fixed to the tip of the movable bar 18a of the cylinder 18.
In the raised state a, the bottom surface of the tip of the movable bar 18a faces the force receiving surface 14a of the stopper 14 with some margin. The movable plate 9 in FIGS. 1 to 4 consists of a movable bar 21a at the tip of a piston 21 and a pair of members 20 provided on the left and right sides of the movable bar at a position parallel to the floor surface 13 of the unmanned vehicle 1. It is supported and movable. Reference numeral 22 denotes a rail that is installed parallel to the traveling direction of the unmanned vehicle 1 so as to mesh with the member 20 and guide the movable plate. Reference numeral 12' denotes freely rotating rollers, and a plurality of rollers are arranged at equal pitches on the movable plate 9 so that when the battery case 5 comes to the battery space 6', it can easily move in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the unmanned vehicle 1. ing. A hand 23 is supported by a support rod 24 and attached to the tip of a movable bar 25a of the piston 25. Further, the hand 23 is structured so that it can grip the handle 11 of the battery case 5 and move the battery case 5 in the horizontal direction. 26 is a connector on the battery side, 26' is a connector on the vehicle side, 26'' is a connector on the automatic battery charging/exchanging device side, and the battery side connector 26 is connected to the battery case 5.
The connector 26 has projections 26a and 26b on both sides. The connector 26' has a terminal to which the projection 26a can be connected, and this terminal is connected to the unmanned vehicle 1, and when a battery is present in the unmanned vehicle 1, the connector 26' on the vehicle side and the battery side It is installed at a position where the connector 26 can be connected.
Connector 2 on the side of the automatic battery charging/replacement device above
6″ has a terminal to which the projection 26a can be connected;
This terminal is connected to the charger, and when a battery is present in the battery space 6' of the automatic battery charging/exchanging device 4, the automatic battery charging/exchanging device side connector 26'' and the battery side connector 26 can be connected. installed in position.

In the above configuration, when the built-in battery of the unmanned vehicle 1 that is automatically traveling guided by the guide line 2 discharges the scheduled amount, the unmanned vehicle 1 deviates from its normal operating route and guides the unmanned vehicle 1 according to instructions from the central controller. It is guided by a line 3 and connected in parallel to an automatic battery charging/replacing device 4, and stopped at a predetermined location. When the vehicle stops, the vehicle detector 7 detects that the unmanned vehicle 1 has returned to the automatic battery charging/exchanging device 4, and notifies the controller 8.
The operation of the automatic battery charging/replacing device 4 is started in response to a command from the controller 8. In other words, when the battery case 5 of the unmanned vehicle 1 and the battery space 6' of the automatic battery charging/exchanging device 4 are aligned in parallel as shown in FIG.
A command is issued from the controller 8, the piston 18 shown in FIG. A downward force is applied and the battery stopper 14 is lowered, whereby the battery case 5 is released from the stopper and becomes movable. In addition, the battery stopper 14
As the stopper guide 16 is lowered, the stopper guide 16 is lowered and the switch 17 is pressed, which turns off the main power supply in the unmanned vehicle 1. Next, the piston 25 is actuated by a command from the controller 8, and the movable bar 25a is guided by the support rod 24 and moves in the direction of the unmanned vehicle 1. Along with this, the hand 23 advances in the direction of the unmanned vehicle 1. Grasp the handle 11 attached to the battery case 5 on the unmanned vehicle 1 side, and when this operation is finished,
The hand 23 begins to move back to its original position, and along with this, the battery case 5 moves, and when the battery case 5 comes to the battery space 6' of the automatic battery charging/replacement device,
The hand 23 is separated from the handle 11. Furthermore, due to the movement of the battery case 5, the battery side connector 26 is disconnected from the vehicle side connector 26'.
When the battery case 5 comes to the position of the battery space 6', the battery side connector 26 is connected to the automatic battery charging/exchanging device side connector 26'', and the discharge battery 5-c starts receiving power from the charger. When the state shown in FIG. 2 is reached, the piston 21 is actuated by a command from the controller 8, and the movable bar 21a moves, and the movable plate 9 is thereby guided to the rail 22, and as shown in FIG. 3, the unmanned vehicle 1 and the charged battery 5-a of the automatic battery charging/replacement device 4 are moved to a position where the battery space 6 of 1 and the charged battery 5-a of the automatic battery charging/replacement device 4 are parallel to each other.Then, the piston 25 is actuated by a command from the controller 8, and the movable bar 25a
4, the hand 23 moves in the direction of the unmanned vehicle 1, and the hand 23 moves along with the handle 11 of the battery case 5 of the charged battery 5-a.
, and proceed towards the unmanned vehicle 1 with the battery case 5, and the battery case 5 fits into the space 6 inside the unmanned vehicle 1.
When this operation is completed, the hand 23 releases the handle 11 and returns to the automatic battery charging/exchanging device 4. After this operation, the piston 18 is activated by a command from the controller 8, the movable bar 18a is raised, and the battery stopper opening fitting 19 is raised accordingly, and the restoring force of the spring 15 raises the stopper 14. The battery case 5 is fixed to the unmanned vehicle 1. Also, as the stopper 14 rises, the stopper guide 1
6 rises, stop pressing switch 17,
The switch 17 is turned on and the main power of the unmanned vehicle is turned on. Furthermore, due to the movement of the battery case 5 to the unmanned vehicle 1 side, the vehicle side connector 26 is changed to the automatic battery charging/replacement device side connector 26''.
When the battery case 5 is fixed to the unmanned vehicle 1, the battery side connector 2
6 is connected to the vehicle side connector 26', and current flows from the charged battery to the unmanned vehicle 1. With the above operations, the unmanned vehicle 1 completes battery replacement. The positional relationship between the battery and the battery space after battery replacement is as shown in FIG. 4. Next, the unmanned vehicle 1 starts moving according to a command from the central controller, is guided by the pull-out guide line 3, and returns to the guide line 2. Although the present embodiment describes the case where the unmanned vehicle is equipped with two batteries, the same configuration and operation can be used even when the unmanned vehicle is equipped with one or three or more batteries.

As explained above, according to the automatic battery exchange mechanism of the present invention, the discharge battery exchange device mounted on an unmanned vehicle can take out the discharge battery mounted on the unmanned vehicle, attach a charged battery to the unmanned vehicle, The series of operations of charging the discharge battery taken out from the unmanned vehicle can be completely automated, and since the battery can be quickly replaced using a simple method, the entire unmanned vehicle system can be fully automated, making it possible to completely automate the operation of charging the discharge battery taken out from the unmanned vehicle. The disadvantage that unmanned vehicles cannot be moved during charging can also be eliminated.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 4 are schematic diagrams of the positional relationship between an unmanned vehicle equipped with an automatic battery exchange mechanism according to the present invention and an automatic battery charging/exchanging device. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of when the unmanned vehicle's discharged battery has been transferred to the automatic battery charging/exchanging device, and Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the automatic battery charging/exchanging device operating to transfer the charged battery. A schematic diagram when preparations for transfer to the unmanned vehicle have been completed, Figure 4 is a schematic diagram when the charged battery has been loaded onto the unmanned vehicle, Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 1, and Figure 6
The figure is a BB sectional view in FIG. 5. 1... Unmanned vehicle, 2... Guidance wire, 4... Automatic battery charging/exchange device, 5-a, 5-b, 5-
c... Battery, 6'... Space, 9... Moving board, 10... Doorway, 14... Stopper,
15... Spring, 16... Stopper guide, 17
... Switch, 18 ... Piston, 19 ... Movable bar, 21 ... Piston, 23 ... Hand, 25
...Piston, 26''...Connector.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 In an unmanned vehicle that is equipped with a battery as a power source and runs automatically guided by a guide line provided on a running route, the unmanned vehicle 1 has an entrance 10 through which the battery can be freely brought in and taken out, and the installed battery is connected to the unmanned vehicle 1. a stopper 14 that descends in response to a downward external force, a spring 15 having a restoring force that raises the stopper 14, and a stopper guide 16 that moves as the stopper 14 moves up and down.
, a switch means 17 that opens and closes by vertical movement of the stopper guide 16, and a vehicle-side connector 26' that electrically connects the battery to the unmanned vehicle.
On the other hand, the automatic battery charging/replacement device 4 is provided with a movable bar 18a that applies a downward force to the stopper 14, a first piston 18 that moves the movable bar 18a, and spaces for holding a discharge battery 5c and a charged battery 5a. moving plate 9 with
, a second piston 21 that moves the movable plate 9 in the left-right direction, a hand 23 that moves the discharge battery 5c and the charged battery 5a to be carried into and out of the unmanned vehicle 1 in the front-rear direction, and a third piston that moves the hand 23. The piston 25 and the discharge battery 5c carried out from the unmanned vehicle 1 are connected to a charger.
A replacement device side connector 26'' is provided, and the battery case 5 that stores the battery is connected to the vehicle side connector 26' when mounted on an unmanned vehicle.
On the other hand, when moving to the ground during unloading, a battery-side bipolar connector 26 is provided to be connected to the charging/exchange device side connector 26'', and when the unmanned vehicle 1 reaches a designated stop position, the on-board discharge battery 5c is activated. The battery is carried out to the automatic battery discharging/replacing device 4 on the ground side and automatically connected to the charger to start automatic charging, and the movable plate 9 is moved by a predetermined distance by the operation of the second piston 21. The charged battery is brought to the unmanned vehicle stopping position, and then carried into the unmanned vehicle 1 by the action of the hand 23, the movable bar 25a, and the third piston 25, and is automatically electrically connected to the vehicle side connector 26'. An automatic battery replacement mechanism characterized by: