WORKING VEHICLE

• US 20090261761A1
• Filed: 05/24/2007
• Published: 10/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Takeuchi Mfg. Co.Ltd
• Original Assignee: Takeuchi Mfg. Co.Ltd
• Inventors: Yoshioka, Masao
• Granted Patent: US 7,973,499 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 318/139
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/40 Working vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/529 Current
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/003 relating to inverters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0046 relating to electric energy storage systems, e.g. batteries or capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/04 Cutting off the power supply under fault conditions protective devices and circuit arrangements in general H01H; H02H
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/15 with additional electric power supply with capacitors charged by engine-driven generators B60L50/40; with batteries charged by engine-driven generators B60L50/61
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/207 of the type electric propulsion units, e.g. electric motors or generators
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/2091 Control of energy storage means for electrical energy, e.g. battery or capacitors energy recovery arrangements in hydraulic or pneumatic drives E02F9/2217
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/2095 Control of electric, electro-mechanical or mechanical equipment not otherwise provided for, e.g. ventilators, electro-driven fans control of hydraulic driven equipment E02F9/22
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/2246 Control of prime movers, e.g. depending on the hydraulic load of work tools
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/2292 Systems with two or more pumps
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/267 Diagnosing or detecting failure of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 27/06 using dc to ac converters or inverters H02P27/05 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 29/0241 the fault being an overvoltage
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 Electric machine technologies in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors

Abstract

A crawler type power shovel vehicle (1) operated by a hydraulic actuator (20), constructed from an electric motor (31) for driving a hydraulic pump (32) for supplying hydraulic oil to the hydraulic actuator (20), a battery (50) for supplying direct current power, an inverter (41) for operating the electric motor (31) by converting the direct current power into alternating current power and supplying it to the motor, a controller (40) for causing the inverter (41) to control operation of the electric motor (31), and a voltage/current sensor (42) for detecting the magnitude of a load current flowing from the battery (50) into the inverter (41). The controller (40) stops the motor (31) when the magnitude of the load current detected by the voltage/current sensor (42) continuously exceeds a predetermined threshold for a predetermined time period.

Claims

1. A working vehicle operated by a hydraulic actuator, comprising:

an electric motor that drives a hydraulic pump that supplies hydraulic oil to the hydraulic actuator;

a battery that supplies direct current electric power;

an inverter that drives the electric motor by converting the direct current electric power of the battery to alternating current electric power and supplying the alternating current electric power to the electric motor;

a controller that controls the operation of the electric motor by the inverter; and

a current sensor that measures the magnitude of the load current flowing from the battery to the inverter, wherein

the controller stops the electric motor when the magnitude of the load current measured by the current sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold value for a predetermined continuous period of time.

2. A working vehicle driven by a hydraulic actuator, comprising:

a hydraulic pump that outputs hydraulic oil for operating the hydraulic actuator;

an electric motor that drives the hydraulic pump;

a main battery that supplies direct current electric power;

an inverter that operates the electric motor by converting the direct current electric power from the main batter into alternating current electric power and supplying the alternating current electric power to the electric motor;

an electric motor relay that makes and breaks the connection between the main battery and the inverter;

a controller which is operated by direct current electric power from the main battery, and which controls the operation of the hydraulic actuator and the inverter, and makes and breaks the connection between the main battery and the inverter in use of the electric motor relay;

a controller relay that makes and breaks the connection between the main battery and the controller;

a power source monitoring controller that monitors the state of the main battery, and that makes and breaks the connection between the main battery and the controller in use of the controller relay;

a backup battery that supplies electric power to the power source monitoring controller; and

a key switch that makes and breaks the connection between the power source monitoring controller and the backup battery, wherein

configuration is employed to execute;

when the power source monitoring controller and the backup battery are connected by the key switch and the power sources monitoring controller is operating, a first step in which the power source monitoring controller obtains the state of the main battery and determines whether the main batter can be used or not;

a second step in which the power source monitoring controller connects the main battery and the controller in use of the controller relay and starts up the controller when judgment is made in the first step that the main battery can be used; and

a third step in which the controller starts the electric motor by connecting the inverter and the main battery in use of the electric motor relay.

3. The working vehicle according to claim 2, comprising a protective circuit that collects the status of the main battery, wherein

in the first step, the power source monitoring controller supplies electric power to the protective circuit from the backup battery and starts up the protective circuit, and then obtains the status of the main battery from the protective.

4. The working vehicle according to claim 2, comprising warning means for warning that the main battery cannot be used, wherein

in the first step, when determination is made that the main battery cannot be used, the power source monitoring controller issues a warning by the warning means.

5. The working vehicle according to claim 2, comprising a DC-DC converter for converting the direct current voltage of the main battery to the voltage for operating the power source monitoring controller, wherein

the controller relay connects the main battery and the controller and connects the output of the DC-DC converter to the backup battery and the power source monitoring controller.