JP6766091B2 - Magazine type charging device - Google Patents

Description

According to the present invention, when a battery that needs to be charged is placed on the charging stand at a predetermined position, such as when the battery is used or the amount of stored electricity is insufficient, the charging stand is displaced and stored in the casing. The present invention relates to a magazine-type charging device that enables the newly exposed charged battery to be taken out from the casing.

Batteries are a clean drive source that does not emit exhaust gas, etc., and have the advantages of being reusable if they are charged after discharge, and being easy to charge from a commercial power source. Since it has, it has come to be widely used. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a battery that can be used as a drive source for an electric scooter (represented as a "portable electric energy storage device" in Patent Document 1).

This battery has a tubular outer shell having a substantially square cross section and open upper and lower ends, and a cover (top case) and a base (bottom case) located at the upper and lower ends of the outer shell, respectively. Has a housing that includes. Then, a plurality of individual battery core packs are incorporated in the housing. Further, the cover is provided with a handle. The user can grasp this handle to move the battery in and out of the compartment located under the seating surface of the electric scooter.

It is preferable that a plurality of charging devices for charging the battery can be charged at the same time. This is because a large number of batteries that are charged and can be used when needed can be stored. As a charging device of this type, the one disclosed in Patent Document 2 is known. The charging device has a plurality of accommodators that individually house the batteries (portable electrical energy storage devices), so that the batteries can be collected, charged, and distributed.

Further, Patent Document 3 discloses a battery supply device that supplies a charged battery for an electric assist cycle. The battery supply device is provided with a room having a door for supplying and returning the battery in the central portion of the front surface thereof, and a battery supply port for supplying and returning the battery is provided in the room. An upper battery supply mechanism and a lower battery supply mechanism are housed inside a housing constituting the battery supply device. Both battery supply mechanisms have the same configuration, have a rotary table, and are provided with eight slots for holding batteries on the outer peripheral portion of the rotary table. The slots are separated from the center of rotation of the turntable at an angle of 45 °. Each slot can be tilted and is joined to a battery supply port for supplying or returning the battery in the tilted state. The battery supply port is provided above the charger (charger) and the battery power supply unit, that is, at a relatively high position in the housing.

Special Table 2016-534518 Special Table 2014-527689 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-182145

In the battery supply device described in Patent Document 3, it is said that by restricting the rotation angle of the rotary table and limiting the moving range of the slots, it is possible to avoid twisting of the wiring connected to each slot from the charger. ..

However, even if the rotation angle of the turntable is regulated, there is a concern that the wiring between the charger and the slot is actually twisted and damaged as the turntable rotates.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is a magazine-type charging device that can eliminate the concern that the cable that transmits power from the charger in which the rotary table is rotating to the charging connector on the device side is damaged by twisting. The purpose is to provide.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a magazine-type charging device in which a battery requiring charging is accommodated in an accommodation position and a charged battery is transferred to the accommodation position so that the battery can be taken out from the accommodation position. And
With a turntable
The drive device that rotates the rotary table and
A plurality of charging stands provided on a rotary table on which a battery is placed, and
A plurality of device-side charging connectors provided on each of the plurality of charging stands and engaged with the battery-side charging connector of the battery.
Multiple chargers for charging the battery,
Cables that electrically connect multiple device-side charging connectors and multiple chargers individually,
With
The cable is placed above the center of the turntable, above the top of the battery when it is placed on the charging stand, and the cable is placed.
The rotary table is characterized in that it can rotate within a range of 360 ° in one rotation direction with the accommodation position as the rotation start position, and can rotate within a range of 360 ° in the rotation direction opposite to the one rotation direction. And.

In this case, if the range of one rotation direction is within 180 ° and the range of the opposite rotation direction is within 90 °, the concern that twisting occurs and the wiring is damaged is eliminated, which is more preferable.

The rotary table can rotate within a range of 360 ° in one rotation direction from the storage position for accommodating the battery, and can rotate within a range of 360 ° in a rotation direction opposite to the one rotation direction. That is, it does not rotate only in the same rotation direction, and after rotating in one rotation direction at a predetermined rotation angle, it rotates in the opposite rotation direction at a predetermined angle. For this reason, the power transmission cable placed above the center of the rotary table from a position higher than the height when the removable battery is placed on the charging tray is twisted and untwisted. Repeated. In this case, the power transmission cable is electrically connected to the device-side charging connector from a position higher than the upper end of the battery mounted on the charging stand, so that the power transmission cable is connected from the twisting base point to the device-side charging connector. The length of the power transmission cable can be increased. Therefore, the degree of twisting of the power transmission cable can be reduced as compared with the case where the length of the power transmission cable from the base point of twisting of the power transmission cable to the charging connector on the device side is short. Therefore, the cable is not twisted significantly, and thus damage to the cable is avoided.

When there are four charging stands, the rotary table rotates 90 ° in one rotation direction from the accommodating position to stop, then rotates 90 ° in one rotation direction to stop, and then rotates one. It is preferable to be able to rotate 270 ° in the direction opposite to the direction (that is, the remaining rotation direction) and stop. By doing so, it is possible to take out a fully charged battery at each stop position while avoiding damage to the cable as described above.

It is preferable that the cable is fixed above the center of the turntable and higher than the upper end when the battery is placed on the charging stand. This prevents the twist from being transmitted to the charger that supplies power to the battery-side charging connector via the cable.

According to the present invention, the rotary table can be rotated within a range of 180 ° in one rotation direction from the storage position where the battery is housed, and can be rotated within a range of 90 ° in a rotation direction opposite to the one rotation direction. I am trying to make it possible. That is, the rotary table does not continue to rotate in the same direction. The power transmission cable is arranged above the center of the rotary table from a position higher than the height when the removable battery is placed on the charging tray. Therefore, the cable for power transmission is repeatedly twisted and untwisted, and the cable is not twisted significantly. As a result, damage to the cable is avoided.

FIG. 1A is a schematic overall perspective view of the battery from one direction, and FIG. 1B is a schematic overall perspective view from another direction. It is a bottom side perspective view of the battery shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. It is the schematic whole perspective view of the magazine type charging apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a front schematic diagram which showed the 1st unit magazine and the 2nd unit magazine by omitting a casing. It is a schematic exploded perspective view of the 1st unit magazine. It is a schematic perspective view of the main part which shows the state which the charging tray is located slightly forward in the charging part which constitutes the 1st unit magazine. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a main part showing a state in which the charging tray of FIG. 6 is located at the rearmost position and the device-side charging connector is passed through the connector hole. It is a schematic plan view which shows the arrangement position of the battery on the lower rotary table which constitutes the 1st unit magazine. It is a schematic plan view which showed the slide mechanism, the lock mechanism and the elevating mechanism arranged below the lower rotary table. FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of the lock mechanism shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a main part showing a state in which the moving plate is displaced from the state shown in FIG. 10 and the link member is slightly rotated. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a main part showing a state in which the link member is further rotated from the state shown in FIG. 11 and the moving plate is released. FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of the elevating mechanism shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a main part showing a state in which the charging connector on the device side is lowered under the action of the lifting mechanism of FIG. 13. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a main part showing a state in which the charging connector on the device side is raised under the action of the elevating mechanism of FIG. 13. It is a schematic overall perspective view from the lower side of the lower side rotary table. It is a schematic plan view of the main part which shows the state which the lower stage side rotary table is supported by the 1st cam follower to the 3rd cam follower. It is a schematic plan view of the main part which shows the state which the lower stage side rotary table is supported by the 1st cam follower, 2nd cam follower and a bearing receiver. It is a schematic perspective view of the main part of the 1st opening / closing shutter as an opening / closing type shutter. It is a schematic plan view of a main part when a shutter body is in an open state. It is the schematic plan view of the charging station which installed the magazine type charging device shown in FIG. It is a schematic flow chart which showed the posture of the claw member moving forward, and the positional relationship between the claw member and a cam member. It is a schematic plan view which shows the state when the claw member advances and the lock mechanism restrains a charging tray. It is a flow which shows the index rotation of the lower rotary table and the charge state of a battery. FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing a state in which the rack slide constituting the slide mechanism is retracted and the lock mechanism is operated to release the charging tray.

Hereinafter, suitable embodiments of the magazine-type charging device according to the present invention will be described, and will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, the battery 10 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B will be described. The battery 10 has a vertically long substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is used, for example, as a driving force supply source for an electric motorcycle EB (see FIG. 21). On the upper surface of the battery 10, an arch portion 12 (second handle portion) having an arch shape formed by bending both ends in the longitudinal direction and connecting to the upper surface, and a tab-shaped protrusion whose upper edge portion is curved in an arc shape. The portion 14 (protruding portion) is provided so as to face each other. The distance H2 between the upper end of the tab-shaped protrusion 14 and the bottom surface of the battery 10 is set to be larger than the distance H1 between the lower end of the arch portion 12 and the bottom surface of the battery 10. The protruding height of the tab-shaped protruding portion 14 and the protruding height of the arch portion 12 are substantially the same.

A gripping bar 16 (first handle portion) is bridged from the upper end of the arch portion 12 to the upper end of the tab-shaped protrusion 14. That is, the gripping bar 16 extends in a direction substantially orthogonal to the extending direction of the arch portion 12. Here, since both upper ends of the arch portion 12 and the tab-shaped protruding portion 14 project from the upper surface of the battery 10, the gripping bar 16 is separated from the upper surface of the battery 10. Therefore, a gripping clearance 18 is formed between the gripping bar 16 and the upper surface of the battery 10. The user can insert a hand (finger) into the gripping clearance 18 to grip the gripping bar 16.

Further, an entrance 20 opens between the arch portion 12 and the upper surface of the battery 10. A determination protrusion 108 (see FIGS. 6 and 7), which will be described later, enters the entrance 20. The entrance 20 is connected to the gripping clearance 18. On the other hand, no opening is formed in the tab-shaped protrusion 14. That is, there is a closing portion between the tab-shaped protrusion 14 and the upper surface of the battery 10.

As shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 2, the battery 10 is provided with a battery-side charging connector 22 on the bottom surface of the side on which the arch portion 12 (entrance entrance 20) side is provided. When the battery-side charging connector 22 engages with the device-side charging connector 112 (see FIG. 7) described later, the lower-stage charger 52a or the upper-stage charger 52b (see FIG. 4) and the battery 10 are both connectors. It is electrically connected via 22 and 112 and charged. The battery-side charging connector 22 is composed of a plurality of plate-shaped terminal entry recesses 24 and two rod entry recesses 26 sandwiching the plate-shaped terminal entry recesses 24 (see FIG. 2).

When the battery 10 configured as described above is viewed in a plan view, its shape is substantially square or substantially rectangular (see particularly FIG. 8). In this case, the space on the lower rotary table 54a can be effectively used as compared with the case where the shape of the battery 10 in a plan view is another shape.

Next, the magazine type charging device will be described. FIG. 3 is a schematic overall perspective view of the magazine type charging device 30. The magazine-type charging device 30 has two unit magazines arranged (stacked) in the vertical direction, that is, a first unit magazine 32a and a second unit magazine 32b, and these first unit magazines 32a and second. The unit magazine 32b is housed in one casing 34. Each of the first unit magazine 32a and the second unit magazine 32b can accommodate four batteries 10, and the first accommodating position 36a and the second unit for accommodating the battery 10 in the first unit magazine 32a. At the second accommodating position 36b for accommodating the magazine 32b, a first opening / closing shutter 38a and a second opening / closing shutter 38b as an opening / closing shutter are provided, respectively. As can be understood from FIG. 3, the first accommodation position 36a and the second accommodation position 36b are offset from each other in a plan view. The first accommodation position 36a and the second accommodation position 36b are also take-out positions for taking out the battery 10, and this point will be described later.

Further, a receiver (communication means) (not shown) is mounted on the casing 34. The receiver receives a signal transmitted by a smartphone or RF key possessed by the user, or an electric motorcycle EB (see FIG. 21). The control device 60 (see FIG. 4) provided in the casing 34 recognizes that the receiver has received this signal and performs subsequent control.

FIG. 4 schematically shows a magazine-type charging device 30 in which the casing 34 is not shown. The lower base plate 50a constituting the first unit magazine 32a has a lower charger 52a for charging the battery 10 mounted on the first unit magazine 32a and a lower side for rotating the lower rotary table 54a. The drive motor 56a is provided so as to be close to each other. On the other hand, the middle base plate 50b constituting the second unit magazine 32b is provided with an upper drive motor 56b for rotating the upper rotary table 54b. The first unit magazine 32a and the second unit magazine 32b are partitioned by an inner base plate 50b.

As can be understood from FIGS. 3 and 4, the first unit magazine 32a and the second unit magazine 32b are stacked vertically, and the lower rotary table 54a and the upper rotary table 54b are offset from each other. The lower stage charger 52a, the lower stage drive motor 56a, and the upper stage drive motor 56b are arranged in the space created by this offset arrangement. Therefore, the occupied area of each magazine type charging device 30 is reduced.

Further, the lower drive motor 56a is arranged on the side of the lower rotary table 54a, and the upper drive motor 56b is arranged on the side of the upper rotary table 54b. Therefore, the height positions of the lower rotary table 54a and the upper rotary table 54b are not restricted by the heights of the lower drive motor 56a and the upper drive motor 56b. In other words, the lower rotary table 54a and the upper rotary table 54b can be arranged at a height at which the battery 10 can be easily inserted and removed.

Above the second unit magazine 32b, an upper-stage charger 52b for charging the battery 10 mounted on the second unit magazine 32b and an upper base plate 50c provided with the control device 60 are arranged. ..

Next, the first unit magazine 32a will be described in detail. FIG. 5 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the first unit magazine 32a. In the first unit magazine 32a, as the lower rotary table 54a rotates by index on the lower base plate 50a, the charging unit 90 on which the battery 10 is placed rotates by index. The first opening / closing shutter 38a covers a part of the charging unit 90 so as to be exposed at the first accommodation position 36a (see FIG. 3). In other words, the charging unit 90 located at the first accommodating position 36a is exposed to the outside of the casing 34 when the first opening / closing shutter 38a is opened.

The charging unit 90 will be described. 6 and 7 are schematic perspective views of a main part of the charging unit 90 constituting the first unit magazine 32a. The charging unit 90 has a rotary disk 92 that rotates integrally with the lower rotary table 54a, and four charging tables 100 provided on the rotary disk 92. The charging stands 100 are partitioned by a back plate 102, and each charging stand 100 is provided with a charging tray 104. A part of the charging stand 100 is passed through an insertion hole 105 formed in the turntable 92, and rotates integrally with the lower rotary table 54a and the turntable 92 (see FIG. 5).

A proximity sensor 106 is installed on the back plate 102, and a substantially U-shaped determination protrusion 108 is formed above the proximity sensor 106. A part of the back plate 102 protrudes from the lower surface of the turntable 92 and is connected to the lower turntable 54a. That is, the back plate 102 is supported by the lower rotary table 54a in an upright posture. Therefore, the back plate 102 also rotates integrally with the lower rotary table 54a and the rotary disk 92.

The inner end face of the back plate 102 is arranged at a portion offset from the end face of another back plate 102. Therefore, when the four back plates 102 are combined with each other, a square columnar hollow portion 802 is formed at the center of the combination.

As shown in FIG. 8, one battery 10 can be mounted on one charging stand 100. As shown in FIG. 8, the four batteries 10 are slightly offset from the completely opposed positions in a plan view. Here, when the four batteries 10 in FIG. 8 are represented as the first battery 10a, the second battery 10b, the third battery 10c, and the fourth battery 10d in order to clearly distinguish the batteries 10, the first battery 10a and the first battery 10a are represented. The three batteries 10c face each other, and the second battery 10b and the fourth battery 10d face each other.

Further, when the left virtual line L1 in contact with the left corners of the first battery 10a and the third battery 10c facing each other and the right virtual line L2 in contact with the right corners are drawn, the left virtual line L1 becomes the second. Crosses battery 10b. Similarly, the right virtual line L2 intersects the fourth battery 10d.

Further, the second battery 10b and the third battery 10c adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction have different upper end positions, and the first battery 10a and the second battery 10b adjacent to each other in the vertical direction have different left end positions. Here, the above-mentioned "left", "right" and "upper" represent the direction when the user views the charging unit 90 in a plan view, and do not mean the right side, the left side, or the upper side of the battery 10.

In this way, the batteries 10 facing each other and the batteries 10 adjacent to each other are placed on the charging stand 100 in the casing 34 so as to be offset from each other. Therefore, the space on the lower rotary table 54a can be effectively utilized as compared with the case where the four batteries 10 are arranged at the apex positions of the squares and completely opposed to each other.

As can be understood from FIG. 8, adjacent batteries 10, that is, the first battery 10a and the second battery 10b, the second battery 10b and the third battery 10c, the third battery 10c and the fourth battery 10d, and the first In the 4 battery 10d and the 1st battery 10a, the extending directions of the gripping bars 16 are substantially orthogonal to each other.

The charging tray 104 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 can slide in the direction of arrow A, that is, in the front-back direction (A1 direction, A2 direction) when viewed from the front. The direction of arrow A in the subsequent drawings coincides with the direction of arrow A in FIGS. 6 and 7. Hereinafter, the side separated from the device-side charging connector 112 (A1 direction side) may be referred to as “front” and the side approaching (A2 direction side) may be referred to as “rear” in accordance with the sliding direction of the charging tray 104. Further, in the following description, the "front end" represents the end on the A1 side, and the "rear end" represents the end on the A2 side.

The charging tray 104 is located in the first accommodation position 36a at the frontmost position when the battery 10 is not mounted. Note that FIG. 6 shows a state in which the charging tray 104 is slightly biased forward. Then, the charging tray 104 is slid to the rear side (A2 side) after the battery 10 is placed. When the position of the connector hole 110 corresponds to the position of the device-side charging connector 112 during this rearward sliding, the device-side charging connector 112 rises and passes through the connector hole 110, as shown in FIG. 7.

Here, in the charging stand 100 other than the first accommodating position 36a, the charging tray 104 is located at the rearmost position (A2 side), the device-side charging connector 112 is passed through the connector hole 110, and the battery 10 is mounted. It is placed. Therefore, the charging tray 104 other than the first accommodating position 36a does not slide forward.

The charging stand 100 includes a support plate 200 facing the charging tray 104 with the through hole 105 interposed therebetween. That is, the support plate 200 is arranged below the charging tray 104. The support plate 200 is positioned and fixed on the upper surface of the lower rotary table 54a (see FIG. 5).

As shown in detail in FIG. 9, the device-side charging connector 112 is arranged on the support panel 200 so as to be able to move up and down. The device-side charging connector 112 has a plate-shaped terminal 114 that enters or leaves the plate-shaped terminal entry recess 24, and two engaging rods 116 that sandwich the plate-shaped terminal 114 in between. The engaging rod 116 enters or leaves the rod entry recess 26.

The device-side charging connector 112 includes two guided portions 120 provided on the outside of the engaging rod 116 (see FIG. 13). A guide hole 122 is formed through the guided portion 120 along the vertical direction. A guide rod 526, which will be described later, is slidably inserted into the guide hole 122.

On the support board 200, a slide mechanism 300 that allows the charging tray 104 to slide back and forth, a lock mechanism 400 that positions and fixes the charging tray 104 that slides backward, and an elevating mechanism that raises and lowers the device-side charging connector 112. 500 is provided.

The slide mechanism 300 includes a plurality of retractable rollers 302 on which the charging tray 104 slides, a moving plate 304 connected to the lower surface of the charging tray 104, and two provided on the lower surface of the charging tray 104. It has a hanging plate 305. The foldable roller 302 is provided at a position where a plurality of shock absorbing springs 306 erected on the support plate 200 are sandwiched.

The slide mechanism 300 further includes a spring fixing portion 308 erected on the support plate 200. A tray discharge spring 310 (elastic member) is stretched between the spring fixing portion 308 and the hook plate 305. That is, the front end of the tray discharge spring 310 separated from the device-side charging connector 112 is hooked on the spring fixing portion 308 that is positioned and fixed. On the other hand, the rear end close to the device-side charging connector 112 is hooked on the hook plate 305 that is displaced together with the charging tray 104.

As shown in FIG. 10, two cylindrical leg portions 312 are provided below the moving plate 304 so as to hang down. A substantially elliptical elliptical plate 314 is bridged between the legs 312.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the lock mechanism 400 is attached to a rack slide 404 displaceable along a set of rack guide rails 402 provided on the support plate 200 and the rack slide 404. It has a claw member 406 that is supported by the displacement plate 405 and is integrally displaced with the rack slide 404 and the displacement plate 405, a cam member 408, and a snatch lock 410.

The rack guide rail 402 extends along the direction of arrow A, and the rack slide 404, the displacement plate 405, and the claw member 406 are displaced so as to approach or separate from the device-side charging connector 112. (Backward or forward). Note that FIG. 9 shows a state in which the rack slide 404, the displacement plate 405, and the claw member 406 are closest to the device-side charging connector 112, that is, the state in which they are located at the rearmost position. At this time, the charging tray 104 is also retracted to the back plate 102 side (A2 direction side) (see FIG. 7). Further, the device-side charging connector 112 is located at the bottom dead center.

The claw member 406 has a first cam portion 412 protruding so as to be substantially orthogonal to the direction of arrow A. An insertion hole (not shown) is formed at one corner of the rear end of the claw member 406, and the first rotation shaft 414 is fitted into this insertion hole. The claw member 406 is connected to the displacement plate 405 via the first rotation shaft 414, and can rotate about the first rotation shaft 414. Further, one end of the first return spring 416 is hooked on the other corner portion of the claw member 406 facing the one corner portion.

One of the rack guide rails 402 is provided with a flat plate-shaped spring hooking portion 418 so as to project in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction thereof. The other end of the first return spring 416 is hooked on the spring hooking portion 418. That is, the first return spring 416 tensions the claw member 406 toward the spring hooking portion 418 side (A1 side which is the front side).

At the rear end of the rack guide rail 402 close to the device-side charging connector 112, a set of cam guides extending in a direction substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal direction (arrow A direction) of the rack guide rail 402. Rail 420 is supported. The upper end of the cam member 408 is slidably sandwiched by the cam guide rail 420.

The cam member 408 is substantially orthogonal to the displacement direction of the rack slide 404 while being guided by the cam guide rail 420 as the rack slide 404 is displaced so as to approach or separate from the device-side charging connector 112. Displace in the direction. This point will be described later.

The cam member 408 has a second cam portion 424 that cooperates with the first cam portion 412 of the claw member 406. The second cam portion 424 faces the first cam portion 412.

The snatch lock 410 has a link member 430, a hook member 432, and a backup plate 434 that rotatably supports the link member 430 and the hook member 432.

One end of the cam member 408 is connected to the rear end of the link member 430 via a connecting shaft 436. Further, the front end of the link member 430 is rotatably connected to the backup plate 434 via a second rotation shaft 440 (particularly see FIG. 12). Therefore, when the cam member 408 is displaced along the cam guide rail 420, the link member 430 changes its posture as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.

The link member 430 has a first raised portion 442 that protrudes toward the hook member 432 at a portion intermediate between the connecting shaft 436 and the second rotating shaft 440.

The hook member 432 is rotatably supported by the backup plate 434 via a third rotation shaft 444 provided at a substantially central portion thereof.

The hook member 432 is provided with a second raised portion 446 that protrudes toward the first raised portion 442 of the link member 430. The first raised portion 442 and the second raised portion 446 can get over each other when the link member 430 and the hook member 432 rotate (see FIGS. 10 to 12).

At the front end of the hook member 432, a hook portion 450 having a U-shaped cutout in a portion facing the link member 430 is formed. The leg portion 312 of the moving plate 304 is restrained by the hook portion 450 when the link member 430 and the hook member 432 are in a predetermined positional relationship. As will be described later, this restraint positions and fixes the charging tray 104 to the rearmost position. On the other hand, when the rack slide 404 is displaced (backward) toward the device-side charging connector 112 and the claw member 406 presses the cam member 408, the hook member 432 rotates as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. .. By this rotation, the leg portion 312 of the moving plate 304 is released from the hook portion 450.

A second return spring 452 is stretched between the hook member 432 and the link member 430. One end of the second return spring 452 is locked to the rear end of the hook member 432, and the other end of the second return spring 452 is locked to an intermediate portion between the connecting shaft 436 and the first raised portion 442 of the link member 430. Will be done. The second return spring 452 pulls and biases the rear end of the hook member 432 toward the link member 430.

As shown in FIG. 13, the elevating mechanism 500 for elevating and lowering the device-side charging connector 112 includes an elevating motor 502, a worm 504, a worm gear 506, a rack-side gear 508 having flat teeth, a rack slide 404, and a device-side. It has a link portion 510 for connecting to the charging connector 112. The worm 504 is provided on the rotating shaft of the elevating motor 502 and meshes with the worm gear 506. The worm gear 506 and the rack-side gear 508 are connected via a transmission shaft 512, and the rack-side gear 508 meshes with a tooth portion (not shown) provided on the lower surface of the rack slide 404.

The link portion 510 is provided at the rear end of the rack slide 404 and has a first axis 514 extending in a direction substantially orthogonal to the arrow A direction, and an elongated hole 516 through which the first axis 514 passes is formed at the upper end thereof. It has a set of arm members 518 extending below the device-side charging connector 112. The arm member 518 extends so as to incline from the A2 side to the A1 side, and then bends and extends so as to incline from the A1 side to the A2 side. A second shaft 520 is passed through a bending point between a set of arm members 518.

Further, the rear end of the arm member 518 is connected to a bearing portion 522 provided in the vicinity of the guided portion 120. That is, the bearing portion 522 is formed with an elongated hole 524 extending along the direction of arrow A. A third shaft 525 is connected to the rear ends of the arm members 518, and the third shaft 525 is passed through an elongated hole 524.

When the elevating motor 502 is urged, the worm 504, the worm gear 506, the transmission shaft 512, and the rack side gear 508 rotate. Therefore, the rack slide 404 is displaced along the A1 direction in FIG. As will be described later, following this displacement, the arm member 518 rotates as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15. Note that FIG. 14 shows a state in which the device-side charging connector 112 is located at the bottom dead center, and FIG. 15 shows a state in which the device-side charging connector 112 is located at the top dead center.

The elevating mechanism 500 further includes a guide rod 526 inserted into a guide hole 122 of the guided portion 120 of the device-side charging connector 112. The guide rod 526 guides the device-side charging connector 112 ascending or descending.

The tray discharge spring 310 extends and tensions the charging tray 104 toward the A1 direction when the charging tray 104 is not restrained by the snatch lock 410.

Next, the lower rotary table 54a provided below the charging unit 90 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 17, the lower base plate 50a is provided with a phase holding cylinder 600 (positioning mechanism) for holding the position of the lower rotary table 54a. The phase holding cylinder 600 has an advancing / retreating rod 602, and when advancing, the advancing / retreating rod 602 enters the engaging recess 604 formed on the side peripheral wall of the lower rotary table 54a. As a result, the rotation of the lower rotary table 54a is prevented and held in that phase.

The lower base plate 50a is further provided with a first cam follower 606 that receives a heavy load, a second cam follower 608 that receives a light load, a third cam follower 610 for centering the lower rotary table 54a, and an interlock switch 612. .. Since the lower rotary table 54a is supported by the first cam follower 606, the second cam follower 608, and the third cam follower 610, the lower rotary table 54a can be positioned above the lower base plate 50a slightly away from the lower base plate 50a.

As shown in FIG. 16, the lower rotary table 54a is configured such that a ring body 614 having a thickness slightly larger than that of the disk-shaped body 613 is fitted onto the side peripheral wall of the disk-shaped body 613. The first cam follower 606 and the second cam follower 608 are in sliding contact with the lower surface of the disk-shaped body 613. On the other hand, the third cam follower 610 slides in the sliding groove 615 formed on the inner peripheral wall of the ring body 614. Further, a winding groove (not shown) around which the timing belt 616 is wound is formed on the outer peripheral wall of the ring body 614.

The engaging recess 604 and the latch groove 620 are formed on the outer peripheral wall of the ring body 614. These engaging recesses 604 and latch grooves 620 are arranged at 90 ° intervals.

As shown in FIG. 18, the lower base plate 50a may be provided with a bearing 622 instead of the third cam follower 610. In this case, the bearing receiver 624 can be provided on the lower rotary table 54a (disk-shaped body 613), and the lower rotary table 54a can be centered by the bearing 622 and the bearing receiver 624. Therefore, there is an advantage that the number of parts is reduced. Therefore, it is not particularly necessary to provide the third cam follower 610.

The timing belt 616 is bridged to a pulley 630 fitted on the rotation shaft of the lower drive motor 56a. Therefore, the pulley 630 rotates and the timing belt 616 rotates in accordance with the rotation of the rotation shaft of the lower drive motor 56a, and the lower rotation table 54a rotates. The interlock switch 612 detects the latch groove 620 of the lower rotary table 54a that rotates in this way.

As shown in FIG. 19, the first opening / closing shutter 38a has a shutter body 700. The shutter body 700 rotates under the action of the shutter opening / closing motor 702. Among them, the shutter body 700 has a fan shape and has a first portion 704 that covers the upper surface side (arch portion 12, the tab-shaped protrusion 14 and the gripping bar 16) of the battery 10, and a second portion that covers the side surface of the battery 10. It has a 706 and a third portion 708 that is interposed between the first portion 704 and the second portion 706 and is connected so as to be curved. Further, an annular driving force transmission unit 710 is provided at the center of the first portion 704, and a shutter bearing holder 712 and a shutter bearing 714 are provided in the driving force transmission unit 710.

As shown in FIG. 20, the shutter body 700 includes a fourth portion 716 and a fifth portion 718 having different radii connecting the center of the shutter bearing 714 and the outer circumference of the second portion 706 in a plan view. It further has a sixth portion 720 intervening between the fourth portion 716 and the fifth portion 718.

The shutter bearing 714 is provided at a position higher than the upper end (arch portion 12, tab-shaped protrusion 14 and gripping bar 16) of the battery 10 mounted on the charging stand 100. This prevents the battery 10 from interfering with the shutter bearing 714.

Further, the shutter opening / closing motor 702 is provided on the side of the shutter bearing 714 and on the outer side of the outer circumference of the lower rotary table 54a (see FIG. 20). That is, the shutter opening / closing motor 702 is not arranged at a position where it overlaps below or above the lower rotary table 54a. Therefore, the height of the magazine-type charging device 30 can be reduced, and the size can be reduced.

A large pulley 722 (or large sprocket) as a transmission mechanism is provided on the outside of the shutter bearing 714. The opening / closing belt 726 (or opening / closing chain) is wound around the large pulley 722 and the small pulley 724 (or small sprocket) provided on the rotation shaft of the shutter opening / closing motor 702. The large pulley 722 is preferably provided with a torque limiter 728.

A power transmission cable 800 (cable) is electrically connected to the device-side charging connector 112. The power transmission cable 800 was passed through a through hole 801 (see FIGS. 5, 16 and 17) formed in the center of the lower rotary table 54a, and was placed on the charging stand 100 above the center. From a position higher than the upper end of the battery 10, the back plates 102 are passed through a square columnar hollow portion 802 (see FIGS. 6 and 7) formed by combining the back plates 102 with each other. Further, the power transmission cables 800 are focused by the focusing band 804, which prevents the twist from propagating to the lower charger 52a.

The second unit magazine 32b is configured according to the first unit magazine 32a. Therefore, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. In the second unit magazine 32b, the member corresponding to the lower base plate 50a of the first unit magazine 32a is the middle base plate 50b.

The magazine-type charging device 30 according to the present embodiment is basically configured as described above, and next, its action and effect will be described in relation to the method of fixing the battery 10. In the following, a case where two batteries 10 are replaced at the same time will be illustrated, but it goes without saying that the number of replacements may be only one.

The battery 10 is used, for example, as a drive source for the electric motorcycle EB shown in FIG. The battery 10 used for traveling the electric motorcycle EB and having a reduced discharge capacity is charged by the magazine type charging device 30 described above.

The magazine-type charging device 30 is installed at a predetermined charging station ST provided outdoors. The user may approach the magazine-type charging device 30 while riding on the electric motorcycle EB or on foot. At this point, both the first open / close shutter 38a and the second open / close shutter 38b are in the closed state.

As described above, the electric motorcycle EB, or the smartphone or RF key possessed by the user is provided with a transmitter. The receiver provided in the casing 34 of the magazine-type charging device 30 receives the signal transmitted by the transmitter. The control device 60, which recognizes that the receiver has received the signal for a predetermined time set in advance, issues a command signal to "open the shutter" to the shutter opening / closing motor 702 (see FIG. 19). The control device 60 maintains the shutters 38a and 38b in the open state when the receiver receives the signal from the transmitter for a predetermined time.

In some cases, the electric motorcycle EB or the like only passes through the charging station ST. At this time, even if the receiver receives the signal from the transmitter, the reception period is short. In this case, control is performed so that the shutter body 700 does not rotate.

The shutter opening / closing motor 702 is urged based on the command signal of "open the shutter", the small pulley 724 rotates, and the opening / closing belt 726 rotates around. As a result, the large pulley 722, which is a transmission mechanism, rotates, and the shutter body 700 rotates around the driving force transmission unit 710 provided with the large pulley 722 (see FIGS. 19 and 20). Therefore, the first open / close shutter 38a and the second open / close shutter 38b are in the open state. As a result, the charging units 90 located at the first accommodating position 36a and the second accommodating position 36b, and thus the charging stand 100, are exposed to the outside of the casing 34.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the shutter main body 700 is automatically rotated, the user does not need to rotate the shutter main body 700. Therefore, the charged battery 10 can be taken out only by approaching the magazine-type charging device 30, and the used battery 10 or the battery 10 having an insufficient storage amount can be set in the magazine-type charging device 30.

As shown in FIG. 20, in a plan view, the shutter body 700 includes a fourth portion 716 and a fifth portion 718 having different radial lengths connecting the center of the shutter bearing 714 and the outer circumference of the second portion 706. Has. Therefore, the length in the depth direction required when the shutter body 700 is changed from the closed state to the open state is shortened. Therefore, the installation area of each magazine type charging device 30 can be reduced.

While the shutter body 700 is open, an object such as a user's hand may come into contact with the shutter body 700. At this time, torque acts on the shutter body 700. When the large pulley 722 is provided with the torque limiter 728, the control device 60 detects that a torque has been applied through the torque limiter 728 and stops the opening operation of the shutter body 700. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an excessive load from acting on the shutter body 700 and the shutter bearing 714, and to prevent an object from being pinched by the shutter body 700. Instead of stopping the open operation, the shutter body 700 may be switched from the open operation to the closed operation.

After the first open / close shutter 38a and the second open / close shutter 38b are opened, the user maintains the charging bases 100 of the first unit magazine 32a and the second unit magazine 32b slid forward. The battery 10 that needs to be charged is placed on the charging tray 104 in a posture in which the entrance 20 faces the back plate 102 (determination protrusion 108). That is, the battery 10 that needs to be charged is inserted into the casing 34 from the first accommodation position 36a and the second accommodation position 36b shown in FIG. Since the first accommodating position 36a and the second accommodating position 36b are offset from each other, the charged battery 10 is taken out from each charging stand 100 of the first unit magazine 32a and the second unit magazine 32b, and each charging stand 100. Insertion of the battery 10 that requires charging into the battery becomes extremely easy.

When the battery 10 that needs to be charged is placed on the charging tray 104, it is assumed that the user accidentally releases his / her hand from the gripping bar 16. In this case, the shock absorbing spring 306 (see FIG. 9) and the first cam follower 606 (see FIGS. 17 and 18) receive the load of the dropped battery 10, and the foldable roller 302 falls downward. Therefore, damage to the charging tray 104, the lock mechanism 400, the slide mechanism 300 including the roller body of the foldable roller 302, and the like can be avoided.

When the battery 10 that needs to be charged is placed on the charging tray 104, the device-side charging connector 112 is lowered and is located below the lower-stage side rotary table 54a (see FIG. 6). Therefore, for example, even when the battery 10 is placed on the charging tray 104 so that the tab-shaped protrusion 14 faces the back plate 102 (determination protrusion 108) by mistake, the battery-side charging connector 22 remains. It is effectively prevented that the non-existent bottom surface comes into contact with the device-side charging connector 112. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the device-side charging connector 112 from being damaged due to this contact.

After placing the battery 10 on the charging tray 104, the user presses the charging tray 104 toward the back plate 102 side. In other words, the charging tray 104 is slid together with the battery 10 toward the back plate 102 side (rearward A2 direction side). Along with this slide, the hook plate 305 is displaced rearward integrally with the charging tray 104, so that the tray discharging spring 310 that has been contracted until then extends. When the user slides the charging tray 104 to the rearmost position, the charging tray 104 is locked to that position by the snatch lock 410. The operation of the snatch lock 410 at this time will be further described below.

In the state before the charging tray 104 is slid backward, in the snatch lock 410, the hook portion 450 of the hook member 432 is separated from the front end of the link member 430, as shown in FIG. At this time, the second raised portion 446 is in front of the first raised portion 442 and is separated from the first raised portion 442.

When the charging tray 104 is slid rearward, the rear leg portion 312 presses the inner wall on the rear end side of the hook portion 450. By this pressing, the hook member 432 rotates about the third rotation shaft 444, the hook portion 450 approaches the front end of the link member 430, and the second return spring 452 gradually extends.

When the amount of rotation of the hook member 432 increases, the second raised portion 446 engages with the first raised portion 442 and presses the first raised portion 442.

Eventually, when the second raised portion 446 gets over the first raised portion 442, the hook member 432 draws the link member 430 via the second return spring 452. As a result, the posture of the link member 430, that is, the direction of inclination of the link member 430 with respect to the A direction is changed, and the cam member 408 is displaced toward the claw member 406. Then, the rotation of the hook member 432 and the link member 430 is stopped.

When the rotation of the hook member 432 is stopped, the opening of the hook portion 450 faces the link member 430. That is, the hook portion 450 closes (see FIGS. 9 and 10). Further, in this state, the second raised portion 446 is located behind the first raised portion 442. Even if the charging tray 104 is slid forward in this state, the action of the second raised portion 446 pushing the first raised portion 442 forces the hook member 432 and the link member 430 to move unreasonably. The charging tray 104 does not slide. Therefore, the leg portion 312 is restrained by the hook portion 450, and the charging tray 104 is locked at a position close to the device-side charging connector 112.

The determination protrusion 108 enters the entrance 20 of the battery 10 slid toward the back plate 102. In response to this approach, the proximity sensor 106 provided on the back plate 102 detects the presence of the battery 10. Upon receiving this detection signal, the control device 60 recognizes that "the battery 10 has moved to the normal charging position".

On the other hand, when the tab-shaped protrusion 14 faces the back plate 102 side because the battery 10 is erroneously inserted, the tab-shaped protrusion 14 comes into contact with the determination protrusion 108. Since H2> H1 as shown in FIG. 1A, the upper end of the tab-shaped protrusion 14 is higher than the lower end of the arch portion 12 (the bottom of the entrance 20), and the tab-shaped protrusion 14 is the closing portion. Because. Therefore, the battery 10 is stopped, and the charging tray 104 cannot be slid further backward. In this case, the proximity sensor 106 does not detect the presence of the battery 10, and the control device 60 does not recognize that the battery 10 has moved to the normal charging position. By visually recognizing this situation, the user can recognize that the direction (posture) of the battery 10 has been erroneously inserted. In this case, the battery 10 may be taken out and reinserted in a normal posture.

When the control device 60 recognizes that "the battery 10 has moved to the normal charging position", the control device 60 urges the elevating motor 502 (see FIGS. 9 and 13) by a command signal. Along with this, the worm 504 rotates, and the worm gear 506, the transmission shaft 512, and the rack-side gear 508 rotate in a driven manner, and as a result, the rack slide 404 is displaced in the direction away from the device-side charging connector 112. That is, the rack slide 404 advances in the A1 direction.

As the rack slide 404 advances, the first shaft 514 provided at the rear end of the rack slide 404 also integrally advances in the A1 direction. Therefore, the upper end of the arm member 518 through which the first shaft 514 is passed through the elongated hole 516 is pulled forward (in the A1 direction). As a result, the lower end of the arm member 518 rises. As a result, the arm member 518 rotates from the posture shown in FIG. 14 to the posture shown in FIG. Since the guided portion 120 is restrained by the guide rod 526, the device-side charging connector 112 rises vertically upward following the rotation of the arm member 518.

Here, it will be described that even if the rack slide 404 moves forward, the cam member 408 holds the position displaced toward the claw member 406 side, and the charging tray 104, which will be described later, is not unlocked. When the rack slide 404 moves forward, the displacement plate 405 and the claw member 406 move forward integrally. At this time, as shown in FIG. 22, the tip of the first cam portion 412 of the advancing claw member 406 interferes with the tip of the second cam portion 424 of the cam member 408.

When the rack slide 404 tries to move forward further, the first cam portion 412 is pressed from the second cam portion 424 because its tip interferes with the tip of the second cam portion 424 of the cam member 408. The claw member 406 that has received this pressure rotates about the first rotation shaft 414 so that the first cam portion 412 moves rearward. At the same time, the first return spring 416 extends.

By the above rotation, the interference of the first cam portion 412 with the second cam portion 424 is avoided. When the first cam portion 412 is positioned in front of the second cam portion 424 as the rack slide 404 advances, the first return spring 416 contracts and the claw member 406 is pulled and urged forward. As a result, the claw member 406 rotates in the direction opposite to the above and returns to the original posture. Further rotation of the claw member 406 in the reverse direction is restricted.

The guided portion 120 of the device-side charging connector 112 is guided by the guide rod 526 passed through the guide hole 122 while ascending. As a result, the device-side charging connector 112 rises toward the connector hole 110 side. FIG. 23 shows a state in which the rack slide 404, the displacement plate 405, and the claw member 406 are moved forward to the maximum.

The device-side charging connector 112 raised as described above passes through the connector hole 110 of the charging tray 104 and is engaged with the battery-side charging connector 22. That is, the plate-shaped terminal 114 enters the plate-shaped terminal entry recess 24 (see FIG. 2), and the two engaging rods 116 enter the rod entry recess 26.

The battery 10 is firmly supported on the charging stand 100 by the engagement of the device-side charging connector 112 with the battery-side charging connector 22 and the entry of the determination protrusion 108 with respect to the entrance / exit 20. In particular, the determination protrusion 108 applies an insertion load reaction force to the bottom of the entrance 20. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the battery 10 from being displaced, rattling, or tipping over.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the battery 10 requiring charging is inserted (accommodated) into the casing 34 of the magazine-type charging device 30 from the first accommodating position 36a and the second accommodating position 36b. It is possible to determine whether or not the battery 10 is inserted in a normal posture only by performing a simple operation of sliding the charging tray 104 on which the battery 10 is placed toward the back plate 102 side. At the same time, damage to the device-side charging connector 112 or the battery-side charging connector 22 can be prevented, and the battery 10 can be held firmly.

Alternatively, the user may insert the battery 10 that needs to be charged and emit a warning sound when the charging connector 112 on the device side does not rise even after a certain period of time has passed. Thereby, the user can recognize whether the battery 10 requiring charging is inserted in the wrong posture, or whether the charging connector 112 on the device side is not raised for some reason.

After that, the control device 60 issues a command signal to the shutter opening / closing motor 702 to rotate the small pulley 724, and circulates the opening / closing belt 726 to rotate the large pulley 722. As a result, the shutter body 700 rotates around the driving force transmission unit 710 (see FIG. 20), and the first open / close shutter 38a and the second open / close shutter 38b are closed. This prevents the user from putting his or her hand in the casing 34.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the battery 10 and the charging stand 100 are protected by the casing 34, the first opening / closing shutter 38a, and the second opening / closing shutter 38b. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the battery 10, the charging stand 100, and the like from coming into contact with rainwater and dust even outdoors. That is, the magazine type charging device 30 can be suitably used outdoors.

The control device 60 then urges the lower drive motor 56a and the upper drive motor 56b. As a result, the timing belt 616 rotates around the lower stage side rotary table 54a and the upper stage side rotary table 54b. The rotation operation at this time is shown in FIG. 24 by taking the first unit magazine 32a as an example. In addition, "empty", "small", "medium", and "full" in FIG. 24 are the battery 10 which is difficult to discharge and needs to be charged, respectively, and the discharge capacity is restored when charging is started. It represents a charging battery 10 that is being charged, a charging battery 10 that has recovered a large amount of discharge capacity after a certain period of time has passed from the start of charging, and a fully charged battery 10 that has recovered its discharge capacity and is fully charged. That is, "empty" does not mean that the battery 10 does not exist.

When the battery 10 (“empty”) that needs to be charged is inserted into the casing 34 from the first accommodation position 36a as described above, the lower rotary table 54a is 90 ° indexed clockwise (to the right). Rotate. As a result, the charging unit 90 including the turntable 92 also rotates integrally with the index, so that the fully charged battery 10 is transferred to the first accommodation position 36a.

The phase determination of the lower rotary table 54a after the index rotation is performed by the interlock switch 612 (see FIGS. 17 and 18) detecting the position of the latch groove 620. Then, after it is determined that the lower rotary table 54a is rotating by 90 ° index, the advancing / retreating rod 602 of the phase holding cylinder 600 advances and enters the engaging recess 604. By this approach (engagement), the rotation of the lower rotary table 54a is prevented.

Further, when the index rotation of the lower rotary table 54a is performed, the second cam follower 608 prevents the lower rotary table 54a from rattling, and the third cam follower 610 maintains the position of the center of rotation.

Of course, the upper rotary table 54b constituting the second unit magazine 32b also operates in the same manner as described above.

The control device 60, which recognizes that the lower rotary table 54a has rotated by 90 °, is a charging stand located at the first accommodation position 36a and the second accommodation position 36b to which the fully charged battery 10 is transferred by the command signal. Only the elevating motor 502 (see FIGS. 9 and 13) provided on the support plate 200 of 100 is urged. That is, the remaining three elevating motors 502 are not urged at the same time as the above urging.

As the elevating motor 502 is urged, the worm 504 rotates in the opposite direction to the above. As the worm gear 506, the transmission shaft 512, and the rack-side gear 508 rotate following this rotation, the rack slide 404 is displaced so as to approach the device-side charging connector 112. That is, it retreats in the A2 direction.

As the rack slide 404 retracts, the first shaft 514 integrally retracts in the A2 direction. Along with this, the upper end of the arm member 518 is pulled backward (in the A2 direction), so that the lower end of the arm member 518 is lowered. That is, the arm member 518 rotates from the posture shown in FIG. 15 to the posture shown in FIG. Following this rotation, the device-side charging connector 112 descends and separates from the battery-side charging connector 22, and is located below the lower rotary table 54a through the connector hole 110 of the charging tray 104. During the descent, the device-side charging connector 112 is guided by the guide rod 526.

When the rack slide 404 retracts toward the device-side charging connector 112 as described above, the first cam portion 412 of the claw member 406 that advances integrally with the device-side charging connector 112 becomes the second cam portion 424 of the cam member 408. Press. The cam member 408 that has received this pressure is displaced along the cam guide rail 420 in a direction away from the rack guide rail 402.

Therefore, the link member 430 changes its posture in a direction away from the hook member 432, and the second raised portion 446 gets over the first raised portion 442 and is located in front of the first raised portion 442 (A1 direction side). Along with this, the link member 430 attracts the hook member 432 via the second return spring 452.

The hook member 432 rotates about the third rotation shaft 444, and the hook portion 450 is separated from the link member 430 (see FIG. 12). That is, the hook portion 450 opens.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 10, the leg portion 312 is released from the hook portion 450. Along with this release, the tray discharge spring 310 contracts, and the contracted tray discharge spring 310 pulls the charging tray 104 forward.

Therefore, the charging tray 104 slides integrally with the hook plate 305 in the direction opposite to the device-side charging connector 112, that is, in the front A1 direction. FIG. 25 shows the state of the slide mechanism 300 and the lock mechanism 400 when the charging tray 104 is advanced, together with the support plate 200.

In this way, at the first accommodation position 36a, the charging tray 104 is returned to the forward position. At this time, the charged battery 10 also advances integrally and separates from the back plate 102. Therefore, the entrance 20 of the battery 10 is separated from the determination protrusion 108 of the back plate 102.

In the present embodiment, after the proximity sensor 106 detects that the charged battery 10 is separated from the back plate 102, a command signal is transmitted from the control device 60 to the shutter opening / closing motor 702. As a result, the small pulley 724 rotates and the opening / closing belt 726 rotates, and the large pulley 722 rotates to open the first opening / closing shutter 38a and the second opening / closing shutter 38b. After that, the user may take out the fully charged battery 10 transferred to the first accommodation position 36a and the second accommodation position 36b from the casing 34 and attach it to the electric motorcycle EB.

As shown in FIG. 8, the extending directions of the gripping bars 16 are substantially orthogonal to each other between the adjacent batteries 10. Therefore, the extending direction of the gripping bar 16 when the user takes out the fully charged battery 10 coincides with the extending direction of the gripping bar 16 when the battery 10 requiring charging is accommodated. Therefore, the battery 10 can be easily taken out.

As described above, the first open / close shutter 38a and the second open / close shutter 38b are opened after the charging tray 104 and the battery 10 are transferred to the first storage position 36a and the second storage position 36b. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the user from putting his / her hand in the casing 34 while the charging unit 90 is rotating the index.

After the charged battery 10 is taken out, a command signal is transmitted from the control device 60 to the shutter opening / closing motor 702, and the first opening / closing shutter 38a and the second opening / closing shutter 38b are closed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the user from touching the shutter body 700 during the removal of the battery 10. In addition, it is possible to prevent the user from putting his / her hand in the casing 34 after taking it out.

By taking out the charged battery 10 as described above, the battery 10 is absent at the first accommodation position 36a and the second accommodation position 36b. Under this circumstance, electric power is supplied from the lower charger 52a and the upper charger 52b to the device charging connector 112 via the power transmission cable 800. Therefore, charging of each of the three batteries (six in total) remaining in the first unit magazine 32a and the second unit magazine 32b progresses, and the batteries 10 that require charging, which were "empty" until then, are "small". ". Similarly, the battery 10 that was "small" becomes "medium", and the battery 10 that was "medium" becomes "full". At the first accommodation position 36a and the second accommodation position 36b, the battery 10 remains absent.

The second user accommodates the battery 10 that needs to be charged in the casing 34 from the first accommodation position 36a and the second accommodation position 36b in the same manner as described above. In this case as well, the lower rotary table 54a and the upper rotary table 54b are index-rotated clockwise (to the right) by 90 ° in the same manner as described above. Therefore, the lower rotary table 54a and the upper rotary table 54b are rotated by 180 ° from the initial position.

After the fully charged battery 10 (“full”) that has reached the first accommodation position 36a and the second accommodation position 36b is taken out, this state, that is, the first accommodation position 36a and the second accommodation position as described above. At 36b, the battery 10 is charged in the absence of the battery 10. As a result, "empty", "small" and "medium" become "small", "medium" and "full".

The third user accommodates the battery 10 that needs to be charged from the first accommodation position 36a and the second accommodation position 36b into the casing 34 in the same manner as described above. In this case, the lower rotary table 54a and the upper rotary table 54b rotate counterclockwise (leftward) by 270 ° index. Therefore, the index rotation of the lower rotary table 54a and the upper rotary table 54b from the initial position is −90 °.

After the fully charged battery 10 (“full”) that has reached the first accommodation position 36a and the second accommodation position 36b is taken out, this state, that is, the first accommodation position 36a and the second accommodation position as described above. At 36b, the battery 10 remains absent, and the battery 10 is charged by the charging unit 90 at a position other than the first accommodating position 36a and the second accommodating position 36b. As a result, "empty", "small" and "medium" become "small", "medium" and "full".

The fourth user accommodates the battery 10 that needs to be charged in the casing 34 from the first accommodation position 36a and the second accommodation position 36b in the same manner as described above. At this time, the lower rotary table 54a and the upper rotary table 54b rotate clockwise (to the right) by 90 ° index. Therefore, the index rotation from the initial position of the lower rotary table 54a and the upper rotary table 54b is 0 °.

After the fully charged battery 10 (“full”) that has reached the first accommodation position 36a and the second accommodation position 36b is taken out, this state, that is, the first accommodation position 36a and the second accommodation position as described above. At 36b, the battery 10 is charged in the absence of the battery 10. By this charging, "empty", "small" and "medium" become "small", "medium" and "full".

After the fifth user, the above index rotation is repeated. As described above, in the present embodiment, the lower rotary table 54a and the upper rotary table 54b do not rotate only in the clockwise direction or the counterclockwise direction, but are indexed in one direction up to a predetermined index angle. After the rotation, it reversely rotates to a predetermined index angle in the remaining one direction. Therefore, the power transmission cable 800 (see FIGS. 6, 7, and 19) is only twisted and untwisted within a predetermined rotation angle. That is, the twisting in the same direction is not continued, and therefore, damage to the power transmission cable 800 is effectively avoided.

Further, the power transmission cable 800 is passed through a square columnar hollow portion 802 formed by combining the back plates 102 from a position higher than the upper end of the battery 10 mounted on the charging stand 100 on the device side. It is electrically connected to the charging connector 112. Therefore, the length of the power transmission cable 800 from the twisting base point to the device-side charging connector 112 can be increased. In this case, the degree of twisting of the power transmission cable 800 can be reduced as compared with the case where the length from the twisting base point to the charging connector 112 on the device side is small. This also effectively avoids damage to the power transmission cable 800.

Moreover, charging can be continued even while the lower rotary table 54a is rotating.

Further, since the lower rotary table 54a and the upper rotary table 54b are index-rotated as described above, the user can easily take out the fully charged battery 10.

If the second user replaces the battery 10 immediately after the first user replaces the battery 10, the receiver continues to receive the signal emitted by the transmitter. When the reception is continuously performed for a predetermined time in this way, the shutter body 700 may be maintained in the open state after the first user inserts the battery 10 that needs to be charged. As a result, the second user can quickly replace the battery 10 that needs to be charged with the fully charged battery 10.

Moreover, in the present embodiment, the plurality of batteries 10 are stored while being charged in the magazine-type lower rotary table 54a and the upper rotary table 54b (charging table 100). Therefore, it is possible to respond to a plurality of users' requests for replacement of the battery 10 that requires charging.

The present invention is not particularly limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, the number of unit magazines may be increased and stacked. Alternatively, the magazine-type charging device may be configured with only one unit magazine.

Further, the lower rotary table 54a may be rotated by a plurality of gears (gear groups). In this case, gears are provided on each of the rotating shaft of the motor and the lower rotating table 54a, and the lower rotating table 54a is provided directly with a gear attached to the rotating shaft of the motor or indirectly with one or more other gears. The gear provided in the above may be rotationally urged. The same applies to the upper rotary table 54b.

The opening / closing shutter may also be composed of a plurality of gears as described above, and the first opening / closing shutter 38a and the second opening / closing shutter 38b may be opened / closed under the action of the gears.

Further, the removal detection means of the battery 10 holds the shutters 38a and 38b in the open state if the detection state of the user is maintained even after the charged battery 10 is taken out from the charging stand 100. You may try to do so.

10 ... Battery 12 ... Arch part 14 ... Tab-shaped protrusion 16 ... Gripping bar 18 ... Gripping clearance 20 ... Entrance 22 ... Battery side charging connector 30 ... Magazine type charging device 32a, 32b ... Unit magazine 34 ... Casing 36a, 36b ... Accommodating positions 38a, 38b ... Opening / closing shutters 50a to 50c ... Base plates 52a, 52b ... Chargers 54a, 54b ... Rotating table 56a, 56b ... Drive motor 60 ... Control device 90 ... Charging unit 100 ... Charging stand 102 ... Back plate 104 ... Charging tray 106 ... Proximity sensor 108 ... Judgment protrusion 110 ... Connector hole 112 ... Device side charging connector 120 ... Guided part 200 ... Support board 300 ... Slide mechanism 302 ... Retractable roller 304 ... Moving plate 305 ... Hanging Stop plate 306 ... Shock absorption spring 310 ... Tray discharge spring 312 ... Leg 400 ... Lock mechanism 402 ... Rack guide rail 404 ... Rack slide 405 ... Displacement plate 406 ... Claw member 408 ... Cam member 410 ... Snatch lock 412, 424 ... Cam part 414, 440, 444 ... Rotating shaft 416, 452 ... Return spring 418 ... Spring hooking part 420 ... Cam guide rail 430 ... Link member 432 ... Hook member 434 ... Backup plate 442, 446 ... Raised part 450 ... Hook part 500 ... Lifting mechanism 502 ... Lifting motor 504 ... Worm 506 ... Worm gear 508 ... Rack side gear 510 ... Link part 512 ... Transmission shaft 518 ... Arm member 600 ... Phase holding cylinder 602 ... Advance / retreat rod 604 ... Engagement recess 606 ... 1st cam follower 608 ... 2nd cam follower 610 ... 3rd cam follower 612 ... Interlock switch 613 ... Disc shape 614 ... Ring body 616 ... Timing belt 620 ... Latch groove 622 ... Bearing 624 ... Bearing receiver 700 ... Shutter body 702 ... Shutter Opening and closing motor 704 ... 1st part 706 ... 2nd part 708 ... 3rd part 710 ... Driving force transmission part 716 ... 4th part 718 ... 5th part 720 ... 6th part 722 ... Large pulley 724 ... Small pulley 726 ... Opening and closing Bearing belt 728 ... Torque limiter 800 ... Transmission cable 802 ... Hollow part 804 ... Focusing band EB ... Electric two-wheeled vehicle

Claims (4)

A magazine-type charging device in which a battery that needs to be charged is stored in a storage position, and a charged battery is transferred to the storage position so that the battery can be taken out from the storage position.
With a turntable
A drive device for rotating the rotary table and
A plurality of charging stands provided on the rotary table on which the battery is placed, and
A plurality of device-side charging connectors provided on each of the plurality of charging stands and engaged with the battery-side charging connector of the battery.
A plurality of chargers for charging the battery,
A cable that electrically connects the plurality of device-side charging connectors and the plurality of chargers individually.
With
The cable is arranged above the center of the rotary table and above the upper end of the battery when the battery is placed on the charging stand.
The rotary table can rotate within a range of 360 ° in one rotation direction with the accommodation position as a rotation start position, and can rotate within a range of 360 ° in a rotation direction opposite to the one rotation direction. ,
Each of the plurality of charging stands has a back plate extending along one side surface of the battery.
By combining the back plates, a hollow portion is formed at the center of the combination.
The cable, magazine type charging device according to claim Rukoto passed through the hollow portion. In the magazine-type charging device according to claim 1, the number of charging stands is four, and the rotary table rotates 90 ° in one rotation direction from the accommodation position to stop, and then further 90 in the one rotation direction. ° Rotate and stop,
After that, the magazine-type charging device is characterized in that it can be rotated by 270 ° in the remaining one rotating direction and stopped. In the magazine-type charging device according to claim 1 or 2, the cable is fixed above the center of the rotary table and higher than the upper end when the battery is placed on the charging stand. Magazine type charging device featuring. The magazine-type charging device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the magazine-type charging device has a plurality of the cables and the plurality of the cables are focused by a focusing band.

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