CZ37759U1 - A system for managing the charging and discharging of handling technology accumulators - Google Patents

Description

A system for managing the charging and discharging of handling technology accumulators

Field of technology

The technical solution refers to a system whose task is to manage the charging and discharging of the accumulators of handling equipment for the purpose of economic benefit.

Current state of the art

Currently, handling technology powered by electricity is known, for example battery forklifts, which must have sufficient battery capacity to work throughout the entire work shift. If the battery capacity in the handling equipment is insufficient, the operation using the handling equipment is equipped with spare batteries for replacement in the handling equipment machine to continue work, while the currently unused battery is connected to the charger. Outside of the work shift, the battery located in the handling equipment machine is connected to the charger.

Battery chargers are connected to the electrical distribution system for charging with electricity from suppliers, but it is increasingly common for the operator of battery handling equipment to have his own source of electricity, for example a photovoltaic power plant, a cogeneration unit, etc., which produces electricity for not only for battery chargers, but also for other electrical appliances in operation for the purpose of financial savings.

The disadvantage of the above-mentioned state of the art lies in the fact that the economic benefit is based only on the consumption of own electricity and also on the eventual sale of excess electricity, e.g. during the production peak (for photovoltaic power plants, these are time intervals with the most intense sunlight). However, usually during production peaks, the vast majority of photovoltaic power plant operators have this surplus of electricity for sale, which makes the sale of electricity disadvantageous.

The task of the technical solution is to create a system for managing the charging and discharging of handling equipment accumulators, which would work with handling equipment accumulators between work shifts as battery storage of electrical energy for storing electrical energy at low prices and for consumption or sale of electrical energy at high prices, for for the purpose of achieving an economic benefit.

The essence of the technical solution

The set task is solved by creating a system for controlling the charging and discharging of handling equipment accumulators according to the technical solution below.

The essence of the technical solution is that the system for controlling the charging and discharging of handling equipment accumulators consists of at least one handling equipment accumulator charger and at least one handling equipment accumulator electrically connected to the charger. The accumulator of the handling equipment connected to the charger is transformed into a battery storage of electrical energy for a short time during the period of inactivity of the handling equipment.

Furthermore, the essence of the technical solution lies in the fact that the developed system consists of at least one inverter for converting electrical energy parameters, which is electrically and communicationally connected to the charger, while the inverter is simultaneously electrically connected to the electrical distribution system. An inverter is essentially a controllable junction of electrical energy that is transported between battery storage and the electrical distribution system. This is advantageous because it is possible cheaply

- 1 CZ 37759 U1 to store electrical energy in accumulators, after which it can be sold back to the electrical distribution system at higher prices.

Furthermore, the essence of the technical solution consists in the fact that the system consists of a server for controlling the operation of the system, which is connected to the inverter through communication, while the server is equipped with a data storage, which stores the database of electricity prices, the database of working shifts of handling equipment and the control software module. In order to achieve the basic economic benefit of the system, the process of storing and releasing electrical energy must be controlled by the server using the control software module in such a way as not to compromise the work shifts of the handling equipment and to achieve the best possible ratio between the purchase and sale price of electrical energy.

In its elementary version, the developed system takes advantage of the period of inactivity of the handling equipment by starting to use its accumulators as battery storage to achieve the greatest possible difference between the price for the purchased electrical energy, whether it is subsequently sold back to the electrical distribution system at a better price, or purchased for low price for later consumption during work shifts of handling equipment.

In a more advanced embodiment of the developed system according to the technical solution, the server is communicatively connected to the control center of the electrical distribution system for providing aggregation services of power balance in the electrical distribution system. This more advanced version of the developed system brings an additional economic benefit, as the operator of the electric distribution system financially appreciates the possibility to compensate for critical situations in the transmission of electric power in order to comply with the prescribed standards of transmission and distribution of electric power. Crisis situations when electricity needs to be consumed or supplied, for example, are caused by a change in the weather, which can fundamentally change the performance of photovoltaic and wind power plants, which causes an increase in the volume of electricity in the electrical distribution system in an instant, or sudden drops that need to be compensated for immediately.

In another more advanced embodiment of the developed system according to the technical solution, the inverter is electrically connected to the electrical local system. This extension of the developed system will make it possible to store electrical energy for its consumption in the electrical local system for the island operation of the electrical local system in times of expensive electricity. The economic benefit of the technical solution is increased again in its more advanced design.

In another more advanced embodiment of the developed system according to the technical solution, at least one inverter is electrically connected to at least one local source of electrical energy, while the server is communicatively connected to the local source of electrical energy. This more advanced version of the developed system expands the economic benefit by being able to store its own produced electrical energy, which can then be used for island operation or sold to the electrical distribution system.

If the local source of electricity is a photovoltaic power plant or a wind power plant or a cogeneration unit, then a weather database is stored on the server's data storage to record the data containing the relationship between the weather and the electricity generation for the prediction of the electricity generation and the operation planning of the developed system.

In the most advanced version of the developed system according to the technical solution, a statistical prediction software module is stored on the server's data storage, which uses statistical methods to create a forecast of the system's operation scenario to achieve the highest possible economic benefit.

The advantages of the technical solution include the fact that it takes an innovative view of the accumulators of the handling technology, which it uses in the times between work shifts as battery storage for the trading of electrical energy to achieve an economic benefit, as well as for cooperation with the operators of electrical distribution systems to balance crisis situations in order to achieve

- 2 CZ 37759 U1 of economic benefit and further for the operation of the electric local system in island mode to achieve economic benefit.

Clarification of drawings

The mentioned technical solution will be explained in more detail in the following illustrations, where:

Fig. 1 shows a simplified diagram of the system according to the technical solution.

An example of the implementation of a technical solution

It is understood that the following described and shown specific cases of implementation of the technical solution are presented for illustration, not as a limitation of the technical solution to the examples given. Those skilled in the art will find or be able to ascertain, using routine experimentation, a greater or lesser number of equivalents to the specific implementations of the technical solution described herein.

Fig. 1 shows the scheme of the developed system in the most advanced variant, but the system can also be operated in a basic version, or at a level of sophistication between the basic and the most advanced version. Through routine work, an expert can choose the most suitable level of sophistication of the developed system for his needs.

The cornerstone of the developed system is the accumulator 1 handling technique. This is a battery 1 capable of storing electrical energy using a chemical reaction, e.g. a lithium ion battery. The use of other types of commercially available accumulators 1 is possible. The main task of accumulator 1 is to provide electrical energy to handling equipment machines, e.g. forklifts, during the work shift. Figure 1 shows six accumulators 1.

Accumulators 1 are recharged using charger 2. Charger 2 is an electrical device that changes the parameters of electrical energy entering charger 2 to parameters suitable for charging accumulators 1. It can also do the opposite, so change the parameters of electrical energy from accumulators 1 to parameters of electrical energy supplied to the charger 2. Another permissible option is that the charger 2 allows the electric energy from the accumulators 1 to flow through it, after which the parameters of the electric energy from the accumulators 1 are only adjusted in the inverter 3. One charger 2 can serve several accumulators 1 at the same time, while Fig. 1 shows the connection of three accumulators 1 to one charger 2. Chargers 2 are commercially available electrical equipment, the expert can choose the charger 2 according to his preferences and experience.

Another cornerstone of the developed system is inverter 3 whose task is to change the parameters of the electrical energy passing through it according to specific requirements, at the same time inverter 3 controls the flow of electrical energy. The inverter 3 is connected to the chargers 2 by electrical wires. The inverter 3 can cooperate with the chargers 2 to change the parameters of the electricity flowing through the electrical installation falling under the system. Fig. 1 shows the use of one inverter 3 in the developed system, but an expert can use them depending on the total number of chargers 2 and other components of the developed system use two or more. Inverters 3 are commercially available electrical equipment, an expert can choose inverters 3 according to his preferences and experience.

The inverter 3 is electrically connected to the electrical distribution system 4 of the electricity trader, so that the purchased electrical energy by the inverter 3 is distributed among the chargers 2, or the stored electrical energy from the accumulators 1 is returned via the inverter 3 to the electrical distribution system 4 for sale.

- 3 CZ 37759 U1

An electrical local system 7 is also electrically connected to the inverter 3, under which the expert basically imagines the electrical installation of the object in which the electrical energy consumers are located. E.g. electrical installation of an office building, industrial hall, commercial area, etc. This will make it possible to cover at least partially the consumption of electrical energy using accumulators 1.

Fig. 1 further shows that a local power source 8 is electrically connected to the inverter 3. This local source 8 of electrical energy can be a photovoltaic power plant installed on the roof of the building or on nearby land, it can also be a cogeneration unit that simultaneously produces heat for water heating and heating and electricity, or it can be a wind power plant. Local sources of 8 electrical energy can be combined with each other in the developed system.

Server 5 is responsible for managing the operation of the individual components of the developed system. Server 5 is either a real hardware machine - a server computer, a programmable logic controller (PLC), or it can be operated as a virtual machine in the cloud environment of a computing power provider. Server 5 is equipped with a data storage, on which there is always a database of electricity prices, a database of working shifts of handling equipment and a control software module, and in the most advanced variant of the developed system, a statistical prediction software module and a weather database are also located on the data storage.

The server 5 automatically compares the work shift times of the handling technique with the electricity price data, after which it controls the operation of the developed system accordingly to achieve the best possible economic benefit of the developed system. Server 5 can also, on the basis of archived data and further, e.g. on the basis of weather forecasts, predict the future situation in the order of hours to days, for which the developed system will prepare (e.g. delay the charging of accumulators with purchased electricity) in order to achieve the best economic benefit.

The control software module of the server 5 contains a superordinate instruction so that the accumulators 1 are always charged before the start of the handling equipment shift, regardless of the price of electricity. This prevents the server 5 from negatively affecting the work shift of the handling equipment by way of economic benefit.

Also, the server 5 is connected by communication with the control center 6 of the electrical distribution system 4, from which it receives information about a crisis situation, which it can help the distributor to solve, e.g. by storing excess electrical energy or releasing stored electrical energy, outside of the planned program, for which the distributor will usually provide a reward that is reflected in the economic benefit of the developed system.

The databases of server 5 are updated using data from the components of the developed system and also from external sources, e.g. from the information systems of the electricity distributor, or from the information sources of meteorological services, and also from the operator of handling equipment planning its operation.

As part of its development, the developed system has been successfully deployed in a logistics center that uses eighty forklift trucks with battery 1 with a capacity of 40 kWh. During non-work shifts of handling equipment, the developed system serves a battery storage with a total capacity of 3.2 MWh, which is already the capacity with which the electricity distributor can solve crisis situations in the electrical distribution system.

In addition, with a difference in the price of electricity, e.g. 2 CZK per 1 kWh, the developed system will create savings in delayed charging of accumulators 1 by a simple calculation of 80 (number of accumulators 1) x 40 (capacity of accumulators 1 in kWh) x 2 (price difference in CZK) up to 6,400 CZK. If the stored energy is from one's own source of electricity, the financial savings are even more significant. E.g. a photovoltaic power plant with a total output of 100 kWh in intense sunlight is installed on the roofs of the logistics center.

- 4 CZ 37759 U1

Industrial applicability

The system for controlling the charging and discharging of handling technology accumulators, created according to the technical solution, will find application in industry, transport and energy.

Claims (6)

PROTECTION CLAIMS 1. System for controlling the charging and discharging of accumulators (1) of handling equipment, characterized by the fact that it consists of at least one charger (2) of accumulators of handling equipment, at least one accumulator (1) of handling equipment electrically connected to the charger (2), at least one by an inverter (3) for converting the parameters of electrical energy, which is electrically and communicationally connected to the charger (2), while the inverter (3) is simultaneously electrically connected to the electrical distribution system (4), and further, the system consists of a server (5) for control the operation of the system, which is connected to the inverter (3) by communication, while the server (5) is equipped with a data storage, which stores the database of electricity prices, the database of working shifts of handling equipment and the control software module. 2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the server (5) is connected by communication to the control center (6) of the electrical distribution system (4). 3. The system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the inverter (3) is electrically connected to the electrical local system (7). 4. The system according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that at least one inverter (3) is electrically connected to at least one local source (8) of electrical energy, while the server (5) is communicatively connected to the local source (8) electrical energy. 5. The system according to claim 4, characterized in that the local source (8) of electrical energy is a photovoltaic power plant or a wind power plant or a cogeneration unit, while the weather database is stored on the data storage of the server (5). 6. The system according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that a statistical prediction software module is stored on the data storage of the server (5).