Electricity: battery or capacitor charging or discharging – Serially connected batteries or cells – Having variable number of cells or batteries in series
Reexamination Certificate
2002-01-30
2004-05-25
Tibbits, Pia (Department: 2838)
Electricity: battery or capacitor charging or discharging
Serially connected batteries or cells
Having variable number of cells or batteries in series
Reexamination Certificate
active
06741065
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to an electric device such as an electric vehicle of an electric bicycle, an electric wheelchair, or the like using electric energy by a battery as a power supply and a method for charging and discharging a battery unit of the electric device.
BACKGROUND TECHNOLOGY
There is an electric vehicle such as an electric bicycle or an electric wheelchair on which a storage battery pack composed of a plurality of storage batteries is mounted as a power supply. The vehicles of this type include one running only on a driving force of a motor driven by electric energy (electric power) from the mounted storage battery pack, one running on the resultant force of a driving force of a motor and human power, one selectively using a driving force of a gasoline engine and a driving force of a motor, and the like.
The storage battery mounted on these vehicles as a power supply needs to be frequently charged, and there are methods for charging it, that is, a simplex charging method of charging the battery detached from the vehicle and a mounted-on-vehicle charging method of charging the battery mounted on a vehicle.
For example, a storage battery of a large capacity with a heavy weight, as compared to the weight of a vehicle main body, may need to be mounted on an electric device such as an electric vehicle. In this case, it is difficult to detach and carry the storage battery by hand because of the heavy weight thereof. For this reason, the vehicle, an electric device, is provided with a charging apparatus, and the vehicle is moved and near a commercial power supply. Meanwhile, in the case of a storage battery mounted on the vehicle with a relatively light weight, one charge method is detaching the storage battery from the vehicle and connecting it to a charging apparatus, which is separately positioned.
A conventional electric device using a storage battery pack as the storage battery and a method for charging the storage battery pack are explained here using
FIG. 15
to FIG.
20
B.
FIG. 15
to
FIG. 17
show examples of an electric device on which a battery section and a charging apparatus therefor are fixedly mounted. Each of electric devices
200
,
210
and
220
is composed of a charging apparatus
201
, a battery section
202
, a controlling apparatus
203
, and a driving apparatus
204
, which are connected in parallel, and a motor
205
, which is driven by the driving apparatus to drive a running section such as wheels.
In each of these electric devices, electric power from battery section
202
is supplied to the driving apparatus
204
to drive the motor
205
, whose motive power drives the running section, such as wheels. The controlling apparatus
203
controls action of the driving apparatus
204
.
The electric device
200
shown in
FIG. 15
, on which a set of storage battery pack
202
a
composed of, for example, a lead storage battery is mounted as the battery section
202
, is often used for an electric wheelchair, an electric scooter, or the like. The weight of the battery section
202
in the case of the storage battery pack
202
a
, composed of the lead storage battery is as heavy as about 30 kg to 60 kg.
On the electric device
210
shown in
FIG. 16
, plural sets of storage battery packs
202
a
are mounted as the battery section
202
, which can be constituted by connecting in parallel m rows of storage battery packs
202
a
each of which is constituted by connecting n single storage batteries in series.
The electric device
220
shown in
FIG. 17
has thereon a plurality of (m pieces) storage battery pack units
202
b
connected in parallel as the battery section
202
, in which each storage battery pack unit
202
b
is constituted by connecting n single storage batteries in series.
These electric devices
210
and
220
are heavily used for an electric vehicle operated for a long time, an electric device for moving an object having a large weight, an electric fork lift or an electric carrier vehicle requiring a large capacity or a power supply of bulk power. These devices often have a battery section
202
having a weight of more than about 60 kg.
Since each of the electric devices
200
,
210
and
220
has thereon the battery section
202
and the charging apparatus
201
for charging it, charging is performed for the storage battery pack or packs
202
a
or the storage battery pack units
202
b
of the battery section
202
by moving or transporting the electric device together with the vehicle near a commercial power supply
100
, connecting the commercial power supply
100
to the charging apparatus
201
, and supplying a charging current to the battery section
202
by the charging apparatus
201
. Alternatively, the battery section
202
can be detached from the vehicle and charged by a special apparatus.
It should be noted that in the electric devices
210
and
220
shown in FIG.
16
and
FIG. 17
, it is also possible to charge and discharge a plurality of storage battery packs
202
a
or storage battery pack units
202
b
as a unit, each constituting the battery section
202
.
On the other hand, electric devices
300
,
310
and
320
shown in
FIGS. 18A
,
19
A and
20
A have no charging apparatuses thereon, and charging apparatuses
301
respectively shown in
FIGS. 18B
,
19
B and
20
B are provided in a garage or at a rest area. Each battery section
302
in
FIG. 18
,
FIG. 19A
or
FIG. 20A
is composed of storage battery packs
302
a
or storage battery pack units
302
b
, as in the battery section
202
in
FIG. 15
,
FIG. 16
or
FIG. 17
, but is a unit attachable/detachable to/from the main body of the electric device
300
,
310
or
320
and provided with connectors
306
a
and
306
b
for establishing electrical connection to the main body. The other structures are the same as in the electric devices shown in
FIG. 15
to FIG.
17
.
When charging is performed for the battery section
302
detachably mounted on the electric device
300
,
310
or
320
, the charging is performed by detaching the battery section
302
from the device main body and moving and installing it in the charging apparatus
301
, which is separately placed and connected to the commercial power supply
100
, as shown in
FIG. 18B
,
FIG. 19B
or FIG.
20
B.
As the storage battery packs
302
a
or the storage battery pack units
302
b
of the battery section
302
, for example, a nickel-cadmium (Ni—Cd) battery having a relatively light weight of about 1.8 kg to 3.5 kg is used and mounted on an electrically assisted bicycle or the like.
When a not-so-large battery capacity and supply power of the battery section are required, as in the electrically assisted bicycle, the battery section is of a weight easily portable by human power, and thus it is easy to detach the battery section from the vehicle for charging.
However, the battery section of a typical electric device is inconvenient because it has a considerably heavy weight. Charging should be performed by moving the electric device (vehicle) itself to a place having a chargeable power supply, such as the commercial power supply or the like, or by transporting the battery section using a transporter to a place where a charging apparatus is provided.
Further, since only one of (one set of) battery section
202
or
302
is mounted on the above-described electric device, when the battery section becomes unusable because the storage state of its storage battery packs fall below a predetermined specified value (which is decided in accordance with specifications of the battery, requirements for the electric device, and the like), the electric device itself becomes unusable, even if the controlling apparatus, the driving apparatus, and the like, except the battery section, are usable. Thus, if the battery section is detachable, the battery section which becomes unusable should be exchanged for another battery section for powering the electric device.
Alternatively, it is necessary to charge the battery section, which has become unusable because the storage state of its storage battery pack fal
Aoki Takashi
Ishii Hiroshi
Ohnuma Nobuhito
Tibbits Pia
Tokyo R & D Co., Ltd.
Westerman Hattori Daniels & Adrian LLP
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