Opportunity charging system for battery powered mining equipment

1 . An opportunity charging system for a battery-powered mobile mining machine operating within a mine, the mobile mining machine including a battery, said opportunity charging system comprising:

at least one rapid charging station for charging the battery on the mobile mining machine using inductive power transfer, said rapid charging station located in an area of the mine along a roadway traveled by the mobile mining machine, said rapid charging station including

at least one primary coil;

a support for supporting said primary coil adjacent to a roadway over which the mobile machine travels;

a power supply for energizing said primary coil; and

a controller;

the mobile machine including

at least one pickup coil, said support allowing the mobile machine to be driven to a position adjacent to said primary coil that permits said pick-up coil to be located in signal coupling relation with said primary coil; and

a remote battery charging interface for allowing a communication link to be established between the mobile machine and said rapid charging station, said controller of said rapid charging station at least initiating battery charging cycles in response to information transmitted over said communication link.

2 . The opportunity charging system according to claim 1 , wherein said controller initiates and controls the charging cycle, and wherein the time duration of charging cycle is based upon information transmitted to said rapid charging station from the mobile machine over said communication link.

3 . The opportunity charging system according to claim 2 , wherein the mobile machine includes monitoring devices for monitoring parameters of the battery, said remote battery charging interface transmitting information representing monitored values for the parameters to said rapid charging system, and wherein said controller responds to said parameter information to interrupt the charging cycle.

4 . The opportunity charging system according to claim 1 , wherein said rapid charging station includes an alignment module for providing relative alignment between said primary coil said pick-up coil.

5 . The opportunity charging system according to claim 4 , wherein said rapid charging station includes first and second primary coils and the mobile machine includes first and second pick-up coils, and wherein said alignment module is operable to align said first and second primary coils with said first and second pick-up coils, respectively.

6 . The opportunity charging system according to claim 4 , wherein said alignment module includes a plurality of sensors for producing output signals indicative of the location of the mobile machine relative to said rapid charging station; and wherein said controller uses the output signals for aligning said primary coil with respect to said pick-up coil.

7 . The opportunity charging system according to claim 1 , wherein said battery charging interface includes a first signal modem and said rapid charging station includes a second signal modem, allowing a wireless communication link to be established between the mobile machine and said rapid charging station.

8 . The opportunity charging system according to claim 1 , and including an indicating device at an operator control location of the mobile machine, said indicating device controlled by said controller for providing an indication that a charging cycle is in progress.

9 . An opportunity charging system for a battery-powered mobile mining machine operating within a mine, the mobile machine including a battery; said opportunity charging system comprising:

at least one rapid charging station for charging the battery on the mobile machine using inductive power transfer, said rapid charging station including

a primary coil;

a power supply for energizing said primary coil;

a support for supporting said primary coil in overlying relationship with at least a portion of a roadway over which the mobile machine travels;

a controller; and

an alignment module;

the mobile machine including

a pick-up coil mounted on an upper surface of the mobile machine, said support allowing the mobile machine to be driven to a position beneath said primary coil that permits said pick-up coil to be located in signal coupling relation with said primary coil; and

a remote battery charging interface allowing a communication link to be established between the mobile machine and said rapid charging station, wherein said controller of said rapid charging station at least initiates battery charging cycles in response to information transmitted over said communication link.

10 . The opportunity charging system according to claim 9 , wherein said controller initiates and controls the charging cycle, and wherein the time duration of charging cycle is based upon information transmitted to said rapid charging station from the mobile machine over said communication link.

11 . The opportunity charging system according to claim 9 , wherein the mobile machine includes monitoring devices for monitoring parameters of the battery, the mobile machine include a first signal modem and said rapid charging station including a second signal modem, allowing said communication link to be established between the mobile machine and said rapid charging station, and wherein signals coded to represent monitored values for the parameters are transmitted over said communication link from the mobile machine to said rapid charging station.

12 . The opportunity charging system according to claim 11 , wherein said controller responds to the coded signals to terminate the charging cycle in response to a value of at least one of said parameters.

13 . The opportunity charging system according to claim 9 , wherein said rapid charging station includes first and second primary coils and the mobile machine includes first and second pick-up coils, and wherein said alignment module is operable to align said first and second primary coils with said first and second pick-up coils, respectively.

14 . The opportunity charging system according to claim 9 , wherein said alignment module includes a plurality of sensors for producing output signals indicative of the location of the mobile machine relative to said rapid charging station; and wherein said controller uses the output signals for aligning said primary coil with respect to said pick-up coil.

15 . The opportunity charging system according to claim 14 , wherein said alignment module further includes a member for movably supporting said primary coil, said member supported for movement in three coordinates, and a plurality of position devices coupled to said member, said controller responsive to the output signals for generating drive signals for said positioning device to cause said positioning devices to move said member in at least one of said coordinates to align said primary coil relative to said pick-up coil.

16 . A method for providing opportunity charging of a battery of a battery-powered mobile mining machine operating within a mine, the mobile machine including a battery; said method comprising the steps of:

providing at least one rapid charging station for charging the battery on the mobile machine using inductive power transfer, wherein the charging station includes a primary coil and a power supply for supplying current to the primary coil;

supporting the primary coil in overlying relationship with at least a portion of a roadway over which the mobile machine travels;

providing a pick-up coil on the mining machine;

coupling the pick-up coil to terminals of the battery through a rectifier circuit;

driving the mining machine into the charging station to locate the pick-up coils in close proximity with the primary coil;

detecting the presence of the mining machine in the charging station;

automatically initiating a charging cycle in response to detection of a mining machine in the charging station;

monitoring at least one parameter of the battery; and

terminating the charging operation when the parameter reaches a predetermined value.

17 . The method according to claim 16 , and including the step of aligning the primary coil and the pick-up coil prior to initiating the charging cycle.

18 . The method according to claim 17 , wherein the step of aligning the primary coil and the pick-up coil includes displacing one of said coils relative to the other one of said coils.

19 . The method according to claim 17 , wherein the step of aligning the primary coil and said pick-up coil includes mounting said primary coil on a three-dimensional position control mechanism to allow said primary coil to be moved along three axes.

20 . The method according to claim 16 , including the steps of transmitting radio frequency signals communication link between the mobile machine and the rapid charging station, and using the radio frequency signals to initiate and terminate the charging cycle.