Patent Application
20180086216
The present invention relates generally to electric vehicle charging and more particularly to charging the battery in an electric vehicle using a charger with heavy cabling.
Electric vehicles such as forklifts, lift trucks, fork trucks are electric powered industrial vehicles used to lift and move materials short distances. The use and development of the forklift truck has greatly expanded worldwide. Electric vehicles have become an indispensable piece of equipment in manufacturing and warehousing operations. Electric forklifts are powered by either a battery or by fuel cells that provide power to the AC or DC electric motors. The electric vehicle is typically driven to a recharging station where heavy cabling is dragged into position in order to charge the batteries on-board the vehicle.
The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate views and which together, with the detailed description below, are incorporated in and form part of the specification, serve to further illustrate various embodiments and to explain various principles and advantages all in accordance with the present invention.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
Before describing in detail embodiments that are in accordance with the present invention, it should be observed that the embodiments reside primarily in combinations of method steps and apparatus components related to a forklift battery charging stand. Accordingly, the apparatus components and method steps have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, having the benefit of the description herein.
In this document, relational terms such as first and second, top and bottom, and the like, may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by “comprises . . . a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element. It will be appreciated that embodiments of the invention described herein may be comprised of one or more conventional processors and unique stored program instructions that control the one or more processors to implement, in conjunction with certain non-processor circuits, some, most, or all of the functions of a forklift battery charging stand described herein.
The battery cabling counterbalance device 100 further includes a battery charger housing 113 that connects to the stand assembly using charger legs 115. A counter weight housing 117 is positioned adjacent to the charger housing 113 and is used in connection with the charger arm 119. As will be further described herein, the charger arm 119 works with a charger power cord 121 and charger connector 123 in a manner so that the charger arm 119 can be lowered into position by the user to allow the forklift to be easily connected to a vehicular connector on the forklift.
At the proximal end of the charging arm 301, the arm 301 is connected to a pivot post 307 that extends downwardly to a stand assembly (not shown). The pivot post 307 works with a pivot assembly 309 allowing the changing arm to rotate 90 degrees in an arc movement for raising and lowering the arm 301. The pivot assembly 309 includes a first pivot plate 311, second pivot plate 313 and third pivot plate 315 such that the second pivot plate 313 connects to a side section of the charging arm 301. The second pivot plate 313 is used with a pivot shaft 317 which runs through the first pivot plate 311, second pivot plate 313 and third pivot plate 315 to hold each of the pivot plates together with connecting fasteners and/or hardware 319. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the pivot shaft 317 provides a fulcrum or pivot point allowing the charging arm 301 to rotate about a connection point.
The charging arm 301 and the charging cable 303 make the overall weight of the charging arm 301 very heavy and difficult to move since the charging cable 303 is typically 00-gauge insulated wire or similar. In order to allow the charging arm 301 to be easily moved by a user, a counter weight 321 is attached to the proximal end of the charging arm 301. The counter weight 321 is typically assembled using a plurality of metallic plates so the overall weight or counter-load can be specially configured to work with the weight of the charging arm 301. This allows the user to easily and safely move the charging arm 301 about the fulcrum with little to no effort. As seen in
In order to guard and protect the counterweight 321 from damage, the counterweight 321 is enclosed in a counterweight housing 322 that includes a vertical guard mount 329 that is mounted to abut the side of the pivot post 307. A side guard mount 331 is attached to the vertical guard mount 329 where a support angle 333 is used to attach to the charging stand (not shown). A guard panel 335 and side panel 337 are attached to the vertical guard mount 329 and side guard mount 331 to form a box or enclosure used to house the counterweight 321 and its components.
Thus, embodiments of the present invention are directed to battery cabling counterbalance device for use in charging the battery of an electric vehicle such as a fork-lift or loader includes a base portion having a bumper forming a docking section. A battery charger and charging cable are attached to the base portion. A charging arm having a proximal and distal end is used and includes a counterweight attached at the proximal end and the charging cable extends from the distal end. A dampener, such as a hydraulic piston, works to control movement of the charging arm so that the charging arm moves in an arc about a fulcrum so the charging cable can be connected to an electric vehicle when at the charging station.
In the foregoing specification, specific embodiments of the present invention have been described. However, one of ordinary skill in the art appreciates that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims below. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of present invention. The benefits, advantages, and solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential features or elements of any or all the claims. The invention is defined solely by the appended claims including any amendments made during the pendency of this application and all equivalents of those claims as issued.
