Shovel and method of controlling shovel

• US 9,290,904 B2
• Filed: 01/22/2014
• Issued: 03/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sumitomo (S.H.I.) Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (Sumitomo Heavy Industries Limited)
• Original Assignee: Sumitomo (S.H.I.) Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (Sumitomo Heavy Industries Limited)
• Inventors: Takeo, Jitsutaka
• Primary Examiner(s): Parihar, Suchin
• Application Number:
  US14/160,686
• Publication Number:
  US 20140229078A1
• Time in Patent Office: 790 Days
• Field of Search: 320/118
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 1/003 to auxiliary motors, e.g. for pumps, compressors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/40 Working vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/547 Voltage
• 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: B60L 58/22 Balancing the charge of battery modules
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 3/30 with a dipper-arm pivoted on a cantilever beam , i.e. boom
• 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 9/26 Indicating devices E02F5/145 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/425 Structural combination with electronic components, e.g. electronic circuits integrated to the outside of the casing printed circuits H05K1/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/482 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2010/4271 Battery management systems including electronic circuits, e.g. control of current or voltage to keep battery in healthy state, cell balancing
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2010/4278 Systems for data transfer from batteries, e.g. transfer of battery parameters to a controller, data transferred between battery controller and main controller
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/20 Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0016 using shunting, discharge or bypass circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0048 Detection of remaining charge capacity or state of charge [SOC]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• 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 shovel includes a lower-part movable body, an upper-part turnable body turnably mounted on the lower-part movable body, a boom including a first end rotatably attached onto the upper-part turnable body, an arm including a first end rotatably attached to a second end of the boom, a work element rotatably attached to a second end of the arm, an electrical energy storage device including multiple electrical energy storage cells, and mounted on the upper-part turnable body, a controller configured to control the charge and discharge of the electrical energy storage device, and multiple voltage measurement parts configured to measure the respective cell voltages of the electrical energy storage cells. Information on the cell voltages is transmitted to the controller.

Claims

1. A shovel, comprising:

a lower-part movable body;

an upper-part turnable body turnably mounted on the lower-part movable body;

a boom including a first end rotatably attached onto the upper-part turnable body;

an arm including a first end rotatably attached to a second end of the boom;

a work element rotatably attached to a second end of the arm;

an electrical energy storage device including a plurality of electrical energy storage cells, and mounted on the upper-part turnable body;

a controller configured to control a charge and a discharge of the electrical energy storage device; and

a plurality of voltage measurement parts configured to measure respective cell voltages of the plurality of electrical energy storage cells,

wherein information on the cell voltages is transmitted to the controller, and

wherein the controller is configured to determine whether to equalize the cell voltages of the plurality of electrical energy storage cells based on the cell voltages measured under a same condition during a key-on state.

2. The shovel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to discharge an electrical energy storage cell whose cell voltage is higher than or equal to a predetermined voltage among the plurality of electrical energy storage cells, in a case of determining to equalize the cell voltages.

3. The shovel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to discharge an electrical energy storage cell whose cell voltage is higher than or equal to a predetermined voltage among the plurality of electrical energy storage cells when the charge or the discharge of the electrical energy storage device is being performed, in a case of determining to equalize the cell voltages.

4. The shovel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to discharge an electrical energy storage cell whose cell voltage is higher than or equal to a predetermined voltage among the plurality of electrical energy storage cells when the charge or the discharge of the electrical energy storage device is not being performed, in a case of determining to equalize the cell voltages.

5. The shovel as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

an electrical energy storage unit,

the electrical energy storage unit including

the electrical energy storage device; and

an equalization control part configured to obtain the information on the cell voltages from the plurality of voltage measurement parts and output the obtained information to the controller.

6. The shovel as claimed in claim 5, wherein the equalization control part is provided for each of groups of the plurality of electrical energy storage cells, wherein the electrical energy storage cells are connected in series in each of the groups.

7. The shovel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of voltage measurement parts is provided inside an electrical energy storage unit including the electrical energy storage device, and

the controller is a drive unit configured to control driving of the shovel and is provided separately from the electrical energy storage unit.

8. The shovel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to control driving of the shovel based on information on an operation of equalizing the cell voltages.

9. A method of controlling the shovel as claimed in claim 1, the method comprising:

reading, by the controller, the information on the cell voltages.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising:

measuring, by the plurality of voltage measurement parts, the cell voltages of the plurality of electrical energy storage cells under the same condition during the key-on state; and

determining, by the controller, whether to equalize the cell voltages based on the measured cell voltages.

11. The method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising:

determining, by the controller, whether an absence of the charge and the discharge of the electrical energy storage device continues for a predetermined time during the key-on state;

determining, by the controller, a presence or an absence of a variation in the cell voltages of the plurality of electrical energy storage cells measured during the predetermined time in response to determining the continuation of the absence of the charge and the discharge of the electrical energy storage device; and

equalizing, by the controller, the cell voltages in response to determining the presence of the variation in the cell voltages.

12. The method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising:

obtaining the information on the cell voltages from the plurality of voltage measurement parts by an equalization control part provided in an electric energy storage unit including the electrical energy storage device,

wherein the obtained information is output to the controller by the equalization control part.

13. A shovel, comprising:

a lower-part movable body;

an upper-part turnable body turnably mounted on the lower-part movable body;

a boom including a first end rotatably attached onto the upper-part turnable body;

an arm including a first end rotatably attached to a second end of the boom;

a work element rotatably attached to a second end of the arm;

an electrical energy storage device including a plurality of electrical energy storage cells, and mounted on the upper-part turnable body;

a controller configured to control a charge and a discharge of the electrical energy storage device; and

a plurality of voltage measurement parts configured to measure respective cell voltages of the plurality of electrical energy storage cells,

wherein information on the cell voltages is transmitted to the controller, and

wherein the controller is configured to determine to equalize the cell voltages in response to determining a presence of a variation in the cell voltages of the plurality of electrical energy storage cells measured during a predetermined time, in a case of determining an absence of the charge and the discharge of the electrical energy storage device for the predetermined time during a key-on state.

14. The shovel as claimed in claim 13, wherein the controller is configured to discharge an electrical energy storage cell whose cell voltage is higher than or equal to a predetermined voltage among the plurality of electrical energy storage cells, in a case of determining to equalize the cell voltages.

15. The shovel as claimed in claim 13, wherein the controller is configured to discharge an electrical energy storage cell whose cell voltage is higher than or equal to a predetermined voltage among the plurality of electrical energy storage cells when the charge or the discharge of the electrical energy storage device is being performed, in a case of determining to equalize the cell voltages.

16. The shovel as claimed in claim 13, wherein the controller is configured to discharge an electrical energy storage cell whose cell voltage is higher than or equal to a predetermined voltage among the plurality of electrical energy storage cells when the charge or the discharge of the electrical energy storage device is not being performed, in a case of determining to equalize the cell voltages.

17. A shovel, comprising:

a lower-part movable body;

an upper-part turnable body turnably mounted on the lower-part movable body;

a boom including a first end rotatably attached onto the upper-part turnable body;

an arm including a first end rotatably attached to a second end of the boom;

a work element rotatably attached to a second end of the arm;

an electrical energy storage device including a plurality of electrical energy storage cells, and mounted on the upper-part turnable body;

a controller configured to control a charge and a discharge of the electrical energy storage device; and

a plurality of voltage measurement parts configured to measure respective cell voltages of the plurality of electrical energy storage cells,

wherein information on the cell voltages is transmitted to the controller, and

wherein the controller is configured to determine whether to equalize the cell voltages of the plurality of electrical energy storage cells based on the cell voltages measured during a predetermined time every time the controller determines an absence of the charge and the discharge of the electrical energy storage device for the predetermined time during a key-on state.