CHARGE MANAGING SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATED GUIDED VEHICLE

• US 20150258910A1
• Filed: 08/01/2013
• Published: 09/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Hirayama, Mitsuru, Fukui, Toshihito
• Granted Patent: US 9,242,571 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/12 Recording operating variables ; Monitoring of operating variables
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/13 Maintaining the SoC within a determined range
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 65/022 Transferring or handling sub-units or components, e.g. in work stations or between workstations and transportation systems
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31004 Move vehicle to battery charge or maintenance area
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0088 characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours using knowledge based models G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00036 Charger exchanging data with battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0013 acting upon several batteries simultaneously or sequentially H02J7/1423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00306 Overdischarge protection
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0042 characterised by the mechanical construction
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0048 Detection of remaining charge capacity or state of charge [SOC]
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles

Abstract

A system for managing charging of each of a plurality of automated guided vehicles that travels on an orbiting route in an unmanned manner using a battery mounted thereon as a driving source, in which the battery is charged at a charging station installed at a predetermined position on the orbiting route, includes: an after-charging voltage recording unit for recording a voltage after charging at the charging station for each of the automated guided vehicles; a charge priority setting unit for setting up charge priority of each of the automated guided vehicles on the basis of voltage values of voltages after charging recorded in the after-charging voltage recording unit; and a charging target value setting unit for setting up a charging target value of each of the automated guided vehicles on the basis of the charge priorities set up by the charge priority setting unit.

Claims

1. A charge managing system for an automated guided vehicle, the system managing charge of each of a plurality of automated guided vehicles that travels on an orbiting route in an unmanned manner using an electric power of a battery mounted thereon as a driving source, the battery being charged at a charging station that is located at a predetermined position on the orbiting route, the charge managing system comprising:

an after-charging voltage recording unit for recording a voltage after charging at the charging station for each of the automated guided vehicles;

a charge priority setting unit for setting up a charge priority of each of the automated guided vehicles on the basis of voltage values of the voltages after charging recorded in the after-charging voltage recording unit; and

a charging target value setting unit for setting up a charging target value of each of the automated guided vehicles on the basis of the charge priorities set up by the charge priority setting unit.

2. The charge managing system for an automated guided vehicle according to claim 1,

wherein the charge priority setting unit sets up a higher charge priority to an automated guided vehicle whose voltage value of the voltage after charging, recorded in the after-charging voltage recording unit, is lower than a priority charging voltage value set up in advance compared with an automated guided vehicle whose voltage value of the voltage after charging, recorded in the after-charging voltage recording unit, is higher than the priority charging voltage value.

3. The charge managing system for an automated guided vehicle according to claim 1,

wherein the charging target value setting unit sets up the charging target value so that the higher the charge priority set up by the charge priority setting unit is, the longer a charging time becomes.

4. The charge managing system for an automated guided vehicle according to claim 1,

wherein the automated guided vehicle includes a charge/discharge monitor for monitoring the amount of charge/discharge of the battery,

wherein the charge/discharge monitor is configured to:

monitor voltages of a plurality of cells that constitute the battery;

in a ease where a voltage of any cell is reduced to a voltage lower than a voltage value set up in advance, display the fact that the battery of the automated guided vehicle is in an abnormal state; and

cause the automated guided vehicle to stop, and

wherein, in a case where each of the automated guided vehicles travels in an area facing a building station in a production line, the voltage value by which it is determined whether the battery is in the abnormal state or not is lowered compared with the case of traveling in other area.