Material Handling Vehicle Charging Systems and Methods With Position Compensation

A retrofit kit for charging a battery of a material handling vehicle, the retrofit kit comprising:

• a collector plate configured to electrically couple to the battery;
• a support bracket configured to couple to the material handling vehicle and to support the collector plate on the material handling vehicle;
• a first reflective strip configured to be secured to the material handling vehicle;
• a second reflective strip configured to be secured to the material handling vehicle;
• and
• a charging device including:
• a stand having a stationary portion and a moveable portion that is configured to move relative to the stationary portion;
• one or more actuators configured to move the moveable portion of the stand relative to the stationary portion;
• a charging plate configured to be supported on the moveable portion;
• and
• a sensing array configured to be supported on the moveable portion to detect a position of the charging plate relative to the collector plate, the sensing array including:
• a first retroreflective sensor to detect the first reflective strip to determine a first position of the charging plate relative to the collector plate along a first direction, and
• a second retroreflective sensor to detect the second reflective strip to determine a second position of the charging plate relative to the collector plate along a second direction that is different from the first direction;
• and
• a position controller configured to receive a signal from the sensing array and, based on the signal, to operate the one or more actuators to move the moveable portion of the stand from a stored position in which the charging plate is not aligned with the collector plate to a charging position in which the charging plate is aligned with the collector plate for charging.

A method for positioning a charging device for charging a battery of a material handling vehicle having a collector plate electrically coupled to the battery, the method comprising:

• receiving, using a position controller, a first signal from a first retroreflective sensor indicating a first distance between a charging plate and the collector plate along a first direction, the first retroreflective sensor and the charging plate being supported on a moveable portion of a stand that is configured to be moved relative to a stationary portion of the stand;
• operating, using the position controller, a first actuator to move the moveable portion along the first direction to align the first retroreflective sensor with a first reflective strip supported on the material handling vehicle ;
• receiving, using the position controller, a second signal from a second retroreflective sensor indicating a second distance between the charging plate and the collector plate along a second direction, the second retroreflective sensor being supported on the moveable portion;
• and
• operating, using the position controller, a second actuator to move the moveable portion along the second direction to align the second retroreflective sensor with a second reflective strip supported on the material handling vehicle.