Battery charging management system of automated guided vehicle and battery charging management method

• US 9,428,075 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2013
• Issued: 08/30/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Fukui, Toshihito, Hirayama, Mitsuru
• Primary Examiner(s): DIAO, M BAYE
• Application Number:
  US14/418,283
• Publication Number:
  US 20150258908A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,126 Days
• Field of Search: 320/162, 320/109, 320/104
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/00 Electric devices on electrically-propelled vehicles for safety purposes; Monitoring operating variables, e.g. speed, deceleration or energy consumption methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells B60L58/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/14 Preventing excessive discharging
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/15 Preventing overcharging
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/16 responding to battery ageing, e.g. to the number of charging cycles or the state of health [SoH]
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/21 having the same nominal voltage
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/40 The network being an on-board power network, i.e. within a vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00047 with provisions for charging different types of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0013 acting upon several batteries simultaneously or sequentially H02J7/1423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00712 the cycle being controlled or terminated in response to electric parameters
• 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 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles

Abstract

Disclosed is a battery charging management system of an automated guided vehicle that travels in an unpiloted manner by using a mounted battery as a driving source, the mounted battery being charged in a charging station, wherein a battery charging controller that monitors a remaining capacity of the mounted battery is mounted on the automated guided vehicle, the battery charging controller starts a charging operation for the mounted battery in the charging station when the remaining capacity of the battery is lower than a predetermined value, and a charging route of the vehicle is cut off when a charging amount of the mounted battery reaches a predetermined capacity during the charging operation.

Claims

1. A battery charging management system that manages charging operations of automated guided vehicles including a first type of automated guided vehicle that travels in an unpiloted manner by using a first type of mounted battery as a driving source and charges the first type of mounted battery using an automatic battery charger provided in a charging station and a second type of automated guided vehicle that travels in an unpiloted manner by using a second type of mounted battery as a driving source having a full charge voltage lower than a full charge voltage of the first type of mounted battery and charges the second type of mounted battery using the automatic battery charger,

wherein the first type of automated guided vehicle is not provided with a controller for controlling a voltage of the first type of mounted battery during charging operations,

the first type of mounted battery is charged while the voltage of the first type of mounted battery is controlled by a first battery charging controller provided in the automatic battery charger,

the second type of automated guided vehicle is provided with a second battery charging controller that controls a voltage of the second type of mounted battery,

the second battery charging controller performs a charging operation using the automatic battery charger for the second type of mounted battery in the charging station when the voltage of the second type of mounted battery is lower than a predetermined voltage lower than the full charge voltage of the second type of mounted battery, and

a charging route of the vehicle is cut off when the voltage of the second type of mounted battery during the charging operation reaches a voltage lower than the full charge voltage of the first type of mounted battery and higher than the predetermined voltage.

2. The battery charging management system of the automated guided vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the second battery charging controller switches a power receiving control switch provided in the charging route of the vehicle to a turn-off state when the voltage of the second type of mounted battery during the charging operation reaches a voltage lower than the full charge voltage of the first type of mounted battery and higher than the predetermined voltage.

3. The battery charging management system of the automated guided vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the second battery charging controller switches the power receiving control switch from the turn-off state to a turn-on state when the voltage of the second type of mounted battery is lower than the predetermined voltage.

4. The battery charging management system of the automated guided vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the second battery charging controller switches the power receiving control switch from the turn-off state to the turn-on state when the voltage of the second type of mounted battery is lower than the predetermined voltage before the second type of automated guided vehicle stops in the charging station.

5. The battery charging management system of the automated guided vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the charging station is configured to transmit/receive a signal to/from the automated guided vehicles using a communication unit, and in the charging station, the second battery charging controller opens or closes the power receiving control switch provided in the charging route of the vehicle in response to a command from the charging station.

6. The battery charging management system of the automated guided vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the second type of mounted battery is a lithium ion battery.

7. A battery charging management method that manages charging operations of automated guided vehicles including a first type of automated guided vehicle that travels in an unpiloted manner by using a first type of mounted battery as a driving source and charges the first type of mounted battery using an automatic battery charger provided in a charging station and a second type of automated guided vehicle that travels in an unpiloted manner by using a second type of mounted battery as a driving source having a full charge voltage lower than a full charge voltage of the first type of mounted battery and charges the second type of mounted battery using the automatic battery charger,

wherein the first type of automated guided vehicle is not provided with a controller for controlling a voltage of the first type of mounted battery during charging operations,

the first type of mounted battery is charged while the voltage of the first type of mounted battery is controlled by a first battery charging controller provided in the automatic battery charger,

when the second type of mounted battery of the second type of automated guided vehicle is charged, a second battery charging controller provided in the second type of automated guided vehicle controls a voltage of the second type of mounted battery,

a charging operation using the automatic battery charger is performed for the second type of mounted battery in the charging station when the voltage of the second type of mounted battery is lower than a predetermined voltage lower than the full charge voltage of the second type of mounted battery, and

a charging route of the vehicle is cut off when the voltage of the second type of mounted battery during the charging operation reaches a voltage lower than the full charge voltage of the first type of mounted battery and higher than the predetermined voltage.