IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,729,511
Granted Patent B2
US 12,729,511 · App. 18/889,689 · Granted Sep 8, 2026

Electric working machine

Inventors: Takuma Sai (Sakai, JP); Kiyoshi Matsui (Sakai, JP); Junki Ito (Sakai, JP)
Assignee: KUBOTA CORPORATION
E02F9/207B60L1/003E02F9/2004E02F9/2203E02F9/26F15B19/00H02P23/20B60L2200/40B60L2240/36B60L2240/421B60L2240/52B60L2250/00E02F9/2285E02F9/2292
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,729,511
App. No.
18/889,689
Granted
Sep 8, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

An electric working machine includes an electric motor to use electric power received from a battery via an inverter to drive a hydraulic pump to deliver hydraulic fluid to actuate a hydraulic device. A controller to control driving of the inverter and the electric motor is configured or programmed to gradually increase a rotation speed of the electric motor such that the rotation speed of the electric motor reaches a target rotation speed in a longer time when the electric motor is started in a state in which a temperature of hydraulic fluid detected by a fluid temperature detector is lower than or equal to a predetermined temperature than when the electric motor is started in a state in which the temperature of hydraulic fluid is higher than the predetermined temperature.

Claims (58)

1 . An electric working machine comprising:

a battery;

an electric motor;

an inverter to supply electric power from the battery to the electric motor to drive the electric motor;

a hydraulic pump to be actuated by power of the electric motor;

a hydraulic device to be actuated by a hydraulic pressure of a hydraulic fluid delivered from the hydraulic pump;

a fluid temperature detector to detect a temperature of the hydraulic fluid;

a rotation speed detector to detect a rotation speed of the electric motor;

a specifier to be operated to specify the rotation speed of the electric motor; and

a controller configured or programmed to control driving of the inverter and the electric motor; wherein

the controller is configured or programmed to:

gradually increase the rotation speed of the electric motor such that the rotation speed of the electric motor reaches a target rotation speed in a longer time when the electric motor is started in a state in which the temperature of the hydraulic fluid detected by the fluid temperature detector is lower than or equal to a predetermined temperature than when the electric motor is started in a state in which the temperature of the hydraulic fluid is higher than the predetermined temperature, and

when the electric motor is started in a state in which the temperature of the hydraulic fluid is lower than or equal to the predetermined temperature:

determine a delay time, the delay time being a time until the rotation speed of the electric motor is stabilized at the target rotation speed, the target rotation speed being the rotation speed specified by the specifier; and

gradually increase the rotation speed of the electric motor such that the rotation speed of the electric motor is stabilized at the target rotation speed after the delay time has elapsed from when the rotation speed of the electric motor starts to be increased.

2 . The electric working machine according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured or programmed to calculate the target rotation speed according to an operating position of the specifier.

3 . The electric working machine according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a storage to store in advance basic control data indicating a change in the rotation speed of the electric motor to stabilize the rotation speed of the electric motor at a predetermined basic target rotation speed over a predetermined basic delay time; wherein

the controller is configured or programmed to determine, as the delay time, a time until the rotation speed of the electric motor reaches the target rotation speed when the rotation speed of the electric motor is changed based on the basic control data.

4 . The electric working machine according to claim 3 , wherein

the basic control data is data including a curve indicating a correlation between the rotation speed of the electric motor and an elapsed time from an increase start time point of the rotation speed of the electric motor and includes a basic end point at which the elapsed time is the basic delay time and the rotation speed of the electric motor is the basic target rotation speed; and

the controller is configured or programmed to correct the basic control data such that the basic end point coincides with a target end point at which the elapsed time is the delay time and the rotation speed of the electric motor is the target rotation speed so as to create control data indicating a change in the rotation speed of the electric motor to stabilize the rotation speed of the electric motor at the target rotation speed over the delay time and to control the rotation speed of the electric motor based on the control data.

5 . The electric working machine according to claim 4 , wherein

the basic target rotation speed is set to a predetermined maximum rotation speed that is settable for the electric motor; and

the controller is configured or programmed to create the control data by correcting the basic control data to be reduced such that the basic end point coincides with the target end point.

6 . The electric working machine according to claim 4 , wherein

the controller is configured or programmed to, when gradually increasing the rotation speed of the electric motor to stabilize the rotation speed of the electric motor at the target rotation speed:

compare an actual rotation speed of the electric motor detected by the rotation speed detector with a control value for the rotation speed of the electric motor indicated by the control data at each of predetermined timings; and

control the rotation speed of the electric motor so as to bring the actual rotation speed closer to the control value.

7 . The electric working machine according to claim 4 , wherein

the controller is configured or programmed to:

determine a new target rotation speed according to an operating position of the specifier upon operation of the specifier when increasing the rotation speed of the electric motor in accordance with the control data;

change the delay time and the control data according to the new target rotation speed when the new target rotation speed is higher than an actual rotation speed of the electric motor detected by the rotation speed detector; and

control the rotation speed of the electric motor in accordance with the changed control data.

8 . The electric working machine according to claim 1 , wherein

the specifier is operable to specify a predetermined plurality of target rotation speeds;

the electric working machine further comprises a storage to store in advance, for each of the plurality of target rotation speeds, the corresponding delay time and control data indicating a change in the rotation speed of the electric motor to stabilize the rotation speed of the electric motor at the corresponding target rotation speed over the corresponding delay time; and

the controller is configured or programmed to control the rotation speed of the electric motor based on the control data corresponding to any target rotation speed of the target rotation speeds, the target rotation speed being specified by the specifier.

9 . The electric working machine according to claim 1 , wherein, among an immediately-after-start section, an intermediate section, and an immediately-before-end section obtained by dividing a section from an increase start time point of the rotation speed of the electric motor to the delay time, the controller is configured or programmed to increase the rotation speed of the electric motor in proportion to an elapsed time from the increase start time point during the intermediate section, and change the rotation speed of the electric motor more gently during the immediately-after-start section and the immediately-before-end section than during the intermediate section.

10 . The electric working machine according to claim 9 , further comprising:

a working device to be actuated by power of the hydraulic device; and

an operation interface to operate actuation of the working device; wherein

the controller is configured or programmed to prohibit the actuation of the working device by operation of the operation interface during the immediately-after-start section.

11 . The electric working machine according to claim 1 , further comprising a display to display a notification indicating that the electric motor is being started while the rotation speed of the electric motor is gradually increased by the controller.

12 . An electric working machine comprising:

a battery;

an electric motor;

an inverter to supply electric power from the battery to the electric motor to drive the electric motor;

a hydraulic pump to be actuated by power of the electric motor;

a hydraulic device to be actuated by a hydraulic pressure of a hydraulic fluid delivered from the hydraulic pump;

a fluid temperature detector to detect a temperature of the hydraulic fluid;

a rotation speed detector to detect a rotation speed of the electric motor;

a controller configured or programmed to control driving of the inverter and the electric motor; and

a storage to store control data indicating a change in the rotation speed of the electric motor to stabilize the rotation speed of the electric motor at a predetermined target rotation speed over a predetermined delay time; wherein

the controller is configured or programmed to gradually increase the rotation speed of the electric motor based on the control data stored in the storage such that the rotation speed of the electric motor reaches a target rotation speed in a longer time when the electric motor is started in a state in which the temperature of the hydraulic fluid detected by the fluid temperature detector is lower than or equal to a predetermined temperature than when the electric motor is started in a state in which the temperature of the hydraulic fluid is higher than the predetermined temperature.

13 . The electric working machine according to claim 12 , further comprising:

a specifier to be operated to specify the rotation speed of the electric motor; wherein

the controller is configured or programmed to determine, as the delay time, a time until the rotation speed of the electric motor reaches the predetermined target rotation speed which is specified by the specifier, and create the control data.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 23, 2024
From: SAI, TAKUMA; MATSUI, KIYOSHI; ITO, JUNKI
To: KUBOTA CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 068989/0923 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2022-060019 · Mar 31, 2022 · national
Continuity (2)
Continuation PCTJP2023008994 · Mar 9, 2023
Related Publication 20250012050A1 · Jan 9, 2025
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