JPS63228902A - Automatically exchanging method for battery of unmanned carrier vehicle, and its device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a battery to be quickly exchanged, by exchanging the battery mounted on a carrier vehicle, automatically with a shifting means, and by setting the receiving shelf of the battery. CONSTITUTION:In case of exchanging a battery of a carrier vehicle, the carrier vehicle 1 is stopped at a fixed position close to a pit 6. Then, an exchanger 10 is lifted up by a lifting mechanism 11, and the battery 2 is mounted on a bearing plate 12. After that, the lifting mechanism 11 is moved down and is stopped confronted with a specified receiving shelf 8. After it is stopped, the battery 2 together with the bearing plate 12 is moved into the receiving shelf 8 and is mounted on a bearer. In this case, along with moving the battery 2 down, an electrode is fitted on an inserted member in close contact with each other, and charging is started. After that, by the lifting mechanism 11, the battery 2 is moved to a position confronted with another receiving shelf, and the charged battery 2 is shifted on the bearing plate 12 and is fitted on the carrier vehicle 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for automatically replacing batteries loaded on automatic guided vehicles used in factories, warehouses, etc.

[Conventional technology and its problems]

The above-mentioned automatic guided vehicle uses a method in which a guiding member is laid on the road surface as a means of moving along a predetermined route, and the guided vehicle is made to travel along this, and a battery is loaded as a driving source.
This battery needs to be replaced periodically.

However, batteries have a considerable weight, and replacing them is laborious and time-consuming, and it takes a considerable amount of time to replace them, and during this time, the transport vehicle cannot be used, which affects work.

[Means for solving problems]

In view of the above, the present invention aims to automatically and efficiently replace the battery loaded on an automatic guided vehicle, and to automatically charge the replaced battery while it is stored. In this method, a battery is removably installed in an automatic guided vehicle, a battery storage chamber is provided below the travel path at an appropriate location, the battery storage chamber is equipped with a battery transfer means that moves up and down, and a battery storage shelf, and at least One storage shelf is equipped with a battery charging mechanism, and the transfer means exchanges the used battery with the charged battery of the storage shelf in the transport vehicle, and also charges the used battery in the storage shelf. That is. The second invention relates to an apparatus for carrying out the above method, which is characterized by being equipped with a support mechanism for attaching a battery to the automatic guided vehicle in a removable manner, and having a battery storage chamber located below the travel path at an appropriate location. ,
The battery storage room is equipped with a battery transfer means that moves up and down, and a battery storage shelf, and the battery transfer means consists of an exchanger that inserts and removes batteries from the transport vehicle and the storage shelf, and a lifting mechanism of this exchanger. At least one
Each storage shelf is equipped with a battery charging mechanism, and the battery transfer means is used to replace the battery with respect to the transport vehicle, to insert and remove the battery from the storage shelf, and to charge the used battery in the storage shelf.

[Effect]

The battery loaded on the transport vehicle is replaced with a charged battery on the storage shelf by the transfer means. Also, used batteries are charged by storing them in storage shelves.

〔Example〕

The figure shows an embodiment of the present invention, in which the automatic guided vehicle 1 detects a guiding member C such as an electric wire or a guiding tape laid on the floor FL, travels along the guiding member C, and the guided vehicle 1 is powered by a power source. As will be described later, the battery 2 is removably loaded.

The automatic exchange device 5 for the battery 2 is provided with, for example, a bit 6 as a battery storage chamber below the travel path of the transport vehicle 1, and this bit 6 includes a battery transfer means 7 and a battery storage shelf 8.
, 8... are provided. The battery transfer means 7 is designed to exchange batteries 2 with respect to the transport vehicle 1 and supply used batteries to a storage shelf 8, and is composed of an exchanger 10 for receiving and transferring batteries 2, and a lifting mechanism 11 of this exchanger. .

The exchanger 10 includes a battery receiving plate 12, a traversing mechanism 13 that moves the receiving plate 12 in the left-right direction, and a lid 14 that raises and lowers the traversing mechanism 13. The traversing mechanism 13 includes a sliding plate 15 having a rail 16 on its upper surface that supports the receiving plate 12 slidably in the longitudinal direction, and a receiving plate driving member 20.

This drive member 20 includes a rack plate 21 attached to the lower surface of the sliding plate 15 in its longitudinal direction, and a pinion 22 that meshes with the rack plate 21. The pinion 22 is connected to a drive motor 24 attached to a base 23, and further A pulley 26 attached to one side of the sliding plate 15 and a wire 27 wound around the boo IJ26 are provided. One end of the wire 27 is attached to the receiving plate 12-4=, and the other end is attached to the pulley 26 and the base 23, respectively. is fixed to a stop plate 28 and a support plate 29 provided on the opposite side.

The rails 16 have a beam-like cross section and are provided in pairs on the sliding plate 15, and a support roller 32 supported by a support leg 31 attached to the base 23 is fitted into the groove on the negative side. A guide roller 33 attached to the pedestal 12 is fitted into the groove on the other side.

This rotates the binion 22 and moves the sliding plate 15 to the pulley 2.
When moving to the 6 side, the wire 27 is pulled, and as is well known, the receiving plate 12 moves twice as far as the moving distance of the sliding plate 15.

In this embodiment, the receiving plate 12 is moved in both directions by the same means, and the above-mentioned pulley 26, stop plate 28,
A pulley 26a, a stop plate 28a, and a support plate 29a are provided symmetrically to the support plate 29, and a wire 27a is stretched thereon.

In the figure, 30.30a is a support plate mounting leg.

Further, it is preferable that a plurality of pinions 22 be provided at intervals. This makes it possible to measure the reciprocating distance of the sliding plate 15. The example shown is two pinions 22.2
This shows an example where 2 is deployed, and each and 22
．． 22 are driven by a drive motor 24 via an intermediate shaft 25 in the same direction at the same circumferential speed.

The lifter 14 is constituted by, for example, a known table lifter. 35 is a lifter drive motor; 36 is a screw shaft rotated by the motor 35 via a gear 37; a sliding tube 38 is screwed onto the screw shaft 36; are connected via a shoe 40, and the shoe 40 is connected to the rail 4.
1, these are well-known structures and their explanations will be omitted.

The exchanger lifting mechanism 11 includes a drive motor 50 disposed at the bottom of the bit 6 and a vertical screw shaft 52 driven by the motor 50 via a reduction gear 51. The screw shaft 52 is provided along both side walls of the bit 6 (the front and rear side walls where the storage shelf 8 is not provided), and a screw tube 53 is attached to the mounting base 42 of the lifter 14 to be screwed thereto. Reference numeral 54 designates guide rails, preferably four guide rails are provided, and a shoe 55 is attached to the lifter mounting base 42 to fit therein.

As a result, the rotation of the screw shaft 52 moves the exchanger 10 to the guide rail 5.
Go up and down along 4.

The storage shelves 8 are provided in multiple stages at one side or on both sides facing the elevator path of the exchanger 10, and an appropriate number of storage shelves 8 are equipped with a battery holder 60 and a charger 61. These pedestals 60 and chargers 61 may be provided on all the storage shelves, or they may be omitted from some of the shelves to serve as storage shelves for charged batteries.

The battery is designed to automatically connect an electric circuit when it is loaded on the transport vehicle 1 and when it is placed on the pedestal 60, and the procedure is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. 7th
The figure shows a battery support mechanism in the transport vehicle 1. The battery 2 includes a storage box 71 that houses a battery main body 70, a top plate 72 and a bottom plate 73, and an upper electrode insertion member 74 and a lower electrode insertion member 7 on the top plate and the bottom plate, respectively.
5. Provide upper and lower guide rod insertion holes 76 and 77.

The battery support mechanism 80 includes a guide rod 8 that fits into the insertion hole 76.
1, a lifting plate 82 guided by this guide rod 81, and left and right lifting levers 83 and 84. The lifting plate 82 includes an electrode 85 that fits into the electrode insertion member 74, and a receiving plate 86.
A proximity switch LS is placed on the top and detects when it is pushed upward as described later.

Each of the lifting levers 83 and 84 has its upper end attached to a support shaft 87°8.
Connecting levers 89 and 90 are provided on each support shaft 87 and 88 in opposite directions, and both levers are connected to the connecting rod 9.
Connect by 1. One of the support shafts 87 is connected to a drive motor 92 via a belt 93, and as described later, the battery 2 is supplied by the exchanger 10 and is pushed up and raised along the guide rod 81 to connect the electrode insertion member 74 and the electrode 8.
5 is connected, the lifting levers 83 and 84 are rotated by the rotation of the drive motor 92, and the proximity switch LS is activated by lifting the battery 2 and the lifting plate 82, and the drive motor 92 is stopped and the battery is lifted. Maintain grip.

FIG. 8 shows details of the pedestal 60. The pedestal 60 includes a battery holder 101.101, a guide rod 102.102 that fits into the insertion hole 77 of the battery bottom plate 73, and both guide rods 102.10.
This mounting plate 10 is provided with an electrode mounting plate 103 that fits into the
3 has electrodes 104 and 104 fitted to the electrode insertion member 75 of the battery bottom plate 73, and is urged upward by a spring 105. 106 is a spring guide rod.

The electrode mounting plate 103 is normally pushed upward by a spring 105, and when the battery 2 is placed, it is held in place by a guide rod 102, and the electrode 104 is attached to the insertion member 7.
5 and the electrode 104 is connected to the charger 61 to start charging the battery 2. Note that the charger 61
is provided with an overcharge prevention member.

In the above configuration, when replacing the battery of the transport vehicle,
The transport vehicle 1 is stopped at a predetermined position close to the bit 6, and the exchanger 10 is raised by a lifting mechanism 11 and stopped at a predetermined position.

Then, the receiving plate 12 is moved to the transport vehicle 1 side by the traversing mechanism 13 and inserted under the battery 2. The above-mentioned raising may be performed only by the elevating mechanism 11, but the lifter 14 may also be used for fine adjustment.

After inserting the receiving plate 12, the battery lifting lever 83°8
4 to release the battery 2 and place it on the receiving plate 12.

Return the corresponding return plate 12 to the old position, and attach J to the lifting mechanism 11.
: It descends and stops facing a predetermined storage shelf 8. After stopping, the battery 2 is moved into the storage shelf 8 together with the receiving plate 12, lowered by the lifter 14, and placed on the support base 101. At this time, the guide rod 102 is inserted into the insertion hole 77 formed in the bottom plate 73 for positioning, and as the battery 2 is lowered, the electrode 104 is fitted tightly into the insertion member 75, and charging is started. The receiving plate 12 is returned to its original state, moved to a position opposite the pond storage shelf by the lowering mechanism 11, and the receiving plate 12
The fully charged battery 2 is moved onto the receiving plate 12 by being raised by the insertion cover 14, and is raised to a predetermined position by the backward movement of the receiving plate 12 and the raising by the elevating mechanism 11. Thereafter, the battery 2 is attached to the carrier 1 by performing the above-described removal operation and the reverse operation.

The fully charged battery is transferred to a suitable storage shelf by the transfer means 7. Alternatively, a charger 61 may be arranged together with the above-mentioned cradle 60 in all the storage shelves, and the power supply circuit may be automatically opened when charging is completed.

Further, in this embodiment, the battery storage box 71 has a top plate 72 and a bottom plate 7.
3, and when mounted on the carrier 1, the electrode insertion member 74 provided on the top plate 72 is used as the electrode 85, and the pedestal 6 of the storage shelf 8 is used as the electrode 85.
0, an example was shown in which the electrode insertion member 75 provided on the bottom plate 73 is connected to the electrode 104, but the battery storage box 71 is provided with only the top plate 72, and the connection method of the electric circuit to the pedestal 60 is changed to the battery support. It may have the same structure as the mechanism 80,
Alternatively, the storage box 71 may be provided with a bottom plate 73, and the transport vehicle 1 may be provided with the same structure as the pedestal 60.

Note that the series of operations described above can be performed automatically based on a program inputted in advance by the control device.

Further, in this embodiment, a bit is provided as the battery storage room, but the battery storage room is not limited to a bit, and it is of course possible to use, for example, the space under the floor where the transport vehicle is running. be.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, when replacing a heavy battery mounted on a transport vehicle, the transfer means automatically replaces the battery, and since a storage shelf is provided, the battery can be replaced effectively and the battery can be stored and taken out quickly. can be done. In addition, since the battery automatically starts charging when stored in the storage shelf, operations such as connecting electric wires for charging can be omitted, reducing downtime for charging and saving labor. have an effect.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The figures show embodiments of the present invention, with Figure 1 being an overall explanatory diagram and Figure 2 being an overall explanatory diagram.
The figure is a front view of the switch, Figure 3 is a left side view thereof, Figure 4 is a front view of the traversing mechanism, Figure 5 is a left side view thereof, and Figure 6 is an arrow taken along line I-1 in Figure 4. 7 is a front view of the battery support mechanism of the guided vehicle, FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the storage shelf pedestal, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the travel route of the automatic guided vehicle. 1 is an automatic guided vehicle, 2 is a battery, 5 is an automatic battery exchange device, 6 is a bit, 7 is a battery transfer means, 8 is a storage shelf, IO is an exchanger, 11 is an exchanger lifting mechanism, 12 is a battery receiving plate, 13 is 14 is a lifter, 61 is a charger, and 80 is a battery support mechanism. −12=

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A battery is attached to the automatic guided vehicle in a removable manner, a battery storage room is provided below the travel path at an appropriate location, and the battery storage room is equipped with a battery transfer means that moves up and down and a battery storage shelf, and at least one The storage shelf is equipped with a battery charging mechanism, and the transfer means exchanges the used battery with the charged battery of the storage shelf in the transport vehicle, and also charges the used battery in the storage shelf. Automatic battery replacement method for automated guided vehicles. (2) The automatic guided vehicle is equipped with a support mechanism that allows batteries to be inserted and removed freely, and a battery storage chamber provided below the travel path at an appropriate location, and the battery storage chamber is equipped with a battery transfer means that moves up and down and a battery storage shelf. The battery transfer means includes an exchanger for inserting and removing the battery into and from the transport vehicle and the storage shelf, and an elevating mechanism for the exchanger, and the exchanger includes a receiving plate for supporting the battery, a traversing mechanism for the receiving plate, and a lifter. At least one storage shelf is equipped with a battery charging mechanism, and the battery transfer means replaces the battery with respect to the transport vehicle, inserts and removes the battery from the storage shelf, and charges the used battery in the storage shelf. An automatic battery exchange device for an unmanned guided vehicle, which is characterized by: