Patent ID: 7338248

Claim:
A battery changing system to change the battery block of an industrial truck, comprising: a roller conveyor external to the industrial truck, at least a portion of which conveyor can be raised and lowered, and a drive device for moving the battery block on the roller conveyor, wherein the roller conveyor is configured to be placed underneath a battery compartment of an industrial truck that holds a battery block, wherein a floor surface of the battery compartment of the industrial truck is provided with at least one opening to receive at least one roller of the roller conveyor, wherein the battery block is movable all the way out of the battery compartment in a lateral direction of the truck by means of the roller conveyor, wherein the roller conveyor includes a first segment and at least one movable second segment, wherein the first segment comprises a pair of spaced apart first beams, each having a plurality of rollers, wherein the second segment comprises a second beam located between the first beams and having a plurality of rollers, with the second beam being longitudinally extendable and retractable with respect to the first beams, wherein a stop is located on the first segment to limit movement of a battery block, wherein a retaining device is located on the second beam and is configured to engage the truck to prevent relative movement between the roller conveyor and the truck during movement of the battery block, wherein the second beam has a width that is substantially equal to a width of a space between the first beams of the first segment and substantially equal to the width of one of the first beams for adequately supporting the battery block upon removal and replacement of the battery block relative to the battery compartment of the industrial truck, and wherein the drive device for moving the battery block includes a drive for one or more rollers of the roller conveyor.