Battery guide pins for a battery receiving space of a materials handling vehicle, and materials handling vehicles incorporating the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12391107-B2
Application number	US-202217814585-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 25, 2022
Priority date	Oct 22, 2021
Publication date	Aug 19, 2025
Grant date	Aug 19, 2025

Abstract

A materials handling vehicle including a battery receiving space, and a removable battery assembly, wherein: the battery receiving space includes opposing pairs of battery guide pins, each opposing pair arranged on opposite sides of the battery receiving space, and each opposing pair includes a latching pin and a guiding pin; the removable battery assembly includes a battery locking mechanism; the battery locking mechanism includes spring-loaded locking pins that are spring-biased in extended positions and are movable from the extended positions to respective retracted positions; the latching pin of each opposing pair of battery guide pins includes a recess forming a battery latch that is positioned to receive a leading portion of one of the spring-loaded locking pins in the extended position.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A materials handling vehicle comprising a materials handling mechanism, a drive mechanism, a battery receiving space, and a removable battery assembly, wherein:
the materials handling mechanism is configured to engage goods in a warehouse environment and cooperates with the drive mechanism, under power from the removable battery assembly, to move goods along an inventory transit surface in the warehouse environment;
the removable battery assembly and the battery receiving space cooperate to define a battery insertion and removal axis along which the removable battery assembly is inserted into and removed from the battery receiving space;
the battery receiving space comprises a battery guide pin arranged on each opposite side of the battery receiving space;
the removable battery assembly comprises a battery body comprising lateral battery faces, each comprising a longitudinal guide structure that is oriented along the battery insertion and removal axis and is sized to accommodate the battery guide pins as the removable battery assembly is inserted into and removed from the battery receiving space; and
the removable battery assembly further comprises a pair of guide pin stabilizers on each of the lateral battery faces, each pair of guide pin stabilizers forms a restricted-width guide pin gap along a longitudinal guide structure on each of the lateral battery faces for receiving a corresponding one of the battery guide pins, the longitudinal guide structure of the lateral battery faces are configured as guide channels, each guide pin stabilizer reducing an effective width of the guide channel.

2. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1 , wherein each pair of guide pin stabilizers is formed from a deformable and resilient material.

3. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1 , wherein each pair of guide pin stabilizers is formed as a unitary, one piece polyurethane structure.

4. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1 , wherein each pair of guide pin stabilizers is configured to deform in a lateral direction perpendicular to the battery insertion and removal axis when a battery guide pin enters the restricted-width guide pin gap.

5. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1 , wherein each pair of guide pin stabilizers has a Shore A hardness between 50 Shore A and 90 Shore A.

6. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1 , wherein each pair of guide pin stabilizers has a Shore A hardness between 60 Shore A and 80 Shore A.

7. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising a fastener, wherein the fastener extends through each pair of guide pin stabilizers and threadedly engages the lateral battery face of the battery body.

8. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1 , wherein each pair of guide pin stabilizers comprises an alignment feature received within a corresponding slot formed in one of the lateral battery faces, to prevent rotation of each pair of guide pin stabilizers relative to the lateral battery faces.

9. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1 , wherein:
the battery guide pins extend into the guide channels with the removable battery assembly seated in the battery receiving space.

10. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1 , wherein:
the guide pin stabilizers reside at a guiding pin parking position along the longitudinal guide structure on each of the lateral battery faces, with the removable battery assembly seated in the battery receiving space; and
the restricted-width guide pin gap formed by each pair of guide pin stabilizers at least partially overlaps the guiding pin parking position along the longitudinal guide structure on each of the lateral battery faces.

11. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the battery guide pins have respective diameters that are greater than a width of the restricted-width guide pin gap.

12. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the guide pin stabilizers are configured to at least partially yield in a lateral yielding direction perpendicular to the battery insertion and removal axis, and to maintain a degree of lateral resilience, when a guide pin enters the restricted-width guide pin gap.

13. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1 , wherein:
each pair of guide pin stabilizers extends partially into or partially over one of the guide channels to reduce the effective width of the guide channel.

14. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1 , wherein:
each pair of guide pin stabilizers comprises a truncated portion.

15. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1 , wherein:
the battery receiving space comprises opposing pairs of battery guide pins, each opposing pair arranged on opposite sides of the battery receiving space, and each opposing pair comprising a latching pin and a guiding pin;
the removable battery assembly comprises a battery body and a battery locking mechanism;
the battery locking mechanism comprises spring-loaded locking pins that are spring-biased in extended positions and are movable relative to the battery body from the extended positions to respective retracted positions along a latch engagement and disengagement axis;
the latching pin of each opposing pair of battery guide pins comprises a recess forming a battery latch that is positioned to receive a leading portion of one of the spring-loaded locking pins in the extended position, with the removable battery assembly seated in the battery receiving space.

16. A materials handling vehicle comprising a materials handling mechanism, a drive mechanism, a battery receiving space, and a removable battery assembly, wherein:
the materials handling mechanism is configured to engage goods in a warehouse environment and cooperates with the drive mechanism, under power from the removable battery assembly, to move goods along an inventory transit surface in the warehouse environment;
the removable battery assembly and the battery receiving space cooperate to define a battery insertion and removal axis along which the removable battery assembly is inserted into and removed from the battery receiving space;
the battery receiving space comprises opposing pairs of battery guide pins, each opposing pair arranged on opposite sides of the battery receiving space, and each opposing pair comprising a latching pin and a guiding pin;
the removable battery assembly comprises a battery body and a battery locking mechanism;
the battery body comprises lateral battery faces, each comprising a longitudinal guide structure that is oriented along the battery insertion and removal axis and is sized to accommodate the opposing pairs of battery guide pins as the removable battery assembly is inserted into and removed from the battery receiving space;
the battery locking mechanism comprises spring-loaded locking pins that are spring-biased in extended positions and are movable relative to the battery body from the extended positions to respective retracted positions along a latch engagement and disengagement axis; and
the latching pin of each opposing pair of battery guide pins comprises a recess forming a battery latch that is positioned to receive a leading portion of one of the spring-loaded locking pins in the extended position, with the removable battery assembly seated in the battery receiving space.

17. The materials handling vehicle of claim 16 , wherein:
the latching pin of each opposing pair of battery guide pins comprises a chamfered engagement face; and
the spring-loaded locking pins of the battery locking mechanism each comprise a complementary chamfered engagement face that is or

Assignees

• Crown Equip Corp

Inventors

• MüLLER ROLAND
• Ma Martin
• Yang Jack
• Chen Andy
• Xia Bruce
• Sun Luying

Classifications

• B60L50/64

  Constructional details of batteries specially adapted for electric vehicles · CPC title

• H01M50/249

  specially adapted for aircraft or vehicles, e.g. cars or trains (constructional details of batteries specially adapted for electric vehicles B60L50/64) · CPC title

• H01M2220/20

  Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane · CPC title

• B60L53/80

  Exchanging energy storage elements, e.g. removable batteries · CPC title

• H01M50/256

  Carrying devices, e.g. belts · CPC title