Charging apparatus for construction machine

1. A charging apparatus for a construction machine including an engine for rotating a pump, a generator to be rotated by a drive force of the engine, a low-voltage battery for storing power from the generator, and a high-voltage battery connected in parallel with the low-voltage battery with respect to the generator and adapted to store power from the generator, comprising:

a switching circuit which switches between a first state and a second state, the first state being a state where the power from the generator is not supplied to the high-voltage battery but is supplied to the low-voltage battery, the second state being a state where the power from the generator is supplied to the high-voltage battery;

a high-voltage conversion circuit provided between the switching circuit and the high-voltage battery which converts a low voltage into a high voltage; and

a controller which determines whether a charge capacity of the low-voltage battery has reached a threshold, outputs a signal to the switching circuit to switch to the first state when the charge capacity of the low-voltage battery is equal to or below the threshold, for supplying the power of the generator to the low-voltage battery while not supplying the power of the generator to the high-voltage battery, and outputs a signal to the switching circuit to switch to the second state when the charge capacity of the low-voltage battery has reached the threshold, for charging the high-voltage battery, the threshold being a value of the charge capacity of the low-voltage battery when the low-voltage battery is fully charged.

2. The charging apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller:

monitors the charge capacity of the low-voltage battery;

determines whether or not the charge capacity of the low-voltage battery has reached the threshold;

determines whether or not a charge capacity of the high-voltage battery is below a reference value; and

causes the switching circuit to switch by outputting a signal and charges the high-voltage battery with the power from the generator via the high-voltage conversion circuit when the charge capacity of the low-voltage battery is determined to have reached the threshold and the charge capacity of the high-voltage battery is determined to be below the reference value.

3. The charging apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the switching circuit includes:

a diode which is provided between the generator and the low-voltage battery and allows only the flow of a current from the generator to the low-voltage battery; and

a switch provided between an upstream side of the diode and the high-voltage conversion circuit.