JPH06101884B2 - Floating carrier - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a levitation type conveyance device suitable for conveying small articles, and more particularly to a levitation type conveyance device capable of achieving stable control of a magnetic levitation system. .

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

In recent years, as part of office automation and factory automation, slips, documents, cash, samples, and the like have been moved between a plurality of points in a building using a carrier device.

The conveying device used for such an application should not damage the environment of the office, and is required to have low noise without generation of dust or the like. For this reason, this type of transport device is configured to support the transport vehicle in a non-contact manner with respect to the guide rail. In order to support the carrier without contact, it is common to use air or magnetism. Among them, the method of magnetically supporting the carrier is excellent in following the guide rails and reducing noise. And is considered the most promising support system.

Among the levitation-type conveying devices using such a magnetic support system, the present applicant has previously proposed a magnetic support unit using a permanent magnet. According to this device, a so-called zero power control system is adopted, in which most of the magnetomotive force required to levitate the transport vehicle can be obtained by the magnetomotive force of the permanent magnet, so the exciting current of the electromagnet is reduced. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the capacity and size of the battery mounted on the transport vehicle.

By the way, in a normal office environment, there are many obstacles, so that the configuration of the transport path is often complicated. Therefore, it is desirable that the guide rail has a divided structure in consideration of the restrictions on the installation location. If the guide rail is divided in this way, the installation work can be simplified.

However, if the guide rail is divided, as shown in FIG. 10, the magnetic resistance of the magnetic circuit formed by the magnetic support unit 1, the air gap P and the guide rail 2 increases at the joint portion, and the magnetic unit and the guide unit. The magnetic attraction with the rail is reduced. For this reason, it is necessary to temporarily increase the exciting current of the electromagnet to increase the magnetic attractive force at the joint, but even if such measures are taken, the carrier will vibrate and the exciting current will be exceeded. There is a problem that the magnetic support unit and the guide rail are attracted to each other due to the excessive flow. Since the magnetic support unit includes a permanent magnet, if both are attracted, a large current is required to separate the attraction force by the exciting current of the electromagnet.

When such a problem occurs, not only the stability of the magnetic support control system is impaired, but also the advantage of the low power consumption, which is the greatest feature of the zero power control system, is impaired.

[Object of the Invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to always stabilize the magnetic levitation system and save energy without impairing the installability of the guide rail. An object of the present invention is to provide a levitation-type transfer device that is capable of maximizing the features of the zero power control system.

[Outline of Invention]

The present invention provides a guide rail in which a plurality of rail divided bodies each having at least a lower surface portion formed of a ferromagnetic material are sequentially connected to each other adjacent to each other in the laying direction, and the guide rail is movably arranged along the guide rail. And a guide rail, an electromagnet arranged so as to face the guide rail via a gap, a magnetic circuit constituted by the electromagnet, the guide rail and the gap, and a magnetic support unit together with the magnetic circuit. And a zero-power control means for controlling the exciting current of the electromagnet and stabilizing the magnetic circuit when the exciting current becomes zero. In the device, the magnetic support unit is configured to generate a magnetic flux flow along a plane orthogonal to a traveling direction of the transport vehicle. There.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the present invention, the rail divided body is provided so that the joint surface has the above relationship, and the magnetic flux generated by the magnetic support unit is made to follow the plane orthogonal to the traveling direction of the transport vehicle. Even when the vehicle passes through the joint portion of the guide rail, the magnetic circuit constituted by the magnetic support unit, the gap, and the guide rail is not interrupted by the joint portion, and the fluctuation of the magnetic resistance can be prevented. For this reason,
It is possible to avoid the risk of attraction between the magnetic support unit and the guide rail due to fluctuations in the magnetic attraction force between the magnetic support unit and the guide rail at the joint portion of the guide rail. Therefore, according to the present invention, the magnetic levitation system can be stabilized, and since the exciting current does not flow more than necessary, it is possible to save energy and maximize the characteristics of the zero power control method. be able to. Of course, since the guide rail has a divided structure, the installability is not impaired.

Example of Invention

Hereinafter, a levitation type conveyance device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, reference numeral 11 denotes a raceway frame having a U-shaped cross section and laid so as to avoid obstacles in an office space, for example. Two guide rails 12a and 12b are laid parallel to each other on the lower surface of the upper wall of the track frame 11, and emergency guides 13a and 13b having a U-shaped cross section are provided inside the side wall of the track frame 11, respectively. Are laid with the open sides facing each other. Below the guide rails 12a and 12b, a carrier vehicle 15 is arranged so as to be able to travel along the guide rails 12a and 12b. Further, in the portion between the guide rails 12a and 12b on the lower surface of the upper wall of the track frame 11, the stator 16 of the linear induction motor is separated along the guide rail by a predetermined distance.
Are arranged.

The guide rails 12a and 12b are formed by sticking a white vinyl tape 22 on the lower surface of the inverted U-shaped member 21 made of a ferromagnetic material, and have a divided structure to facilitate the installation work in the office. Has become. The seam portion A of each member 21 is a transport vehicle.
It is formed on a joint surface orthogonal to the traveling direction of 15 . Then, a predetermined joining process is performed by abutting the joining surfaces of adjacent ones.

Next, the structure of the carrier vehicle 15 will be described. That is, the flat base 2 is arranged so as to face the lower surfaces of the guide rails 12a and 12b.
5 are arranged. The base 25 is composed of two split plates 26a, 26b arranged in the traveling direction, and a connecting mechanism 27 for rotatably connecting the two split plates 26a, 26b in a plane orthogonal to the same traveling direction. There is. A total of four magnetic support units 31 are mounted on the four corners of the upper surface of the base 25 .
These magnetic support unit 31 is attached to the base 25 with bolts 32 and the pedestal 33 so as to be rotatable in the base 25 top surface. These magnetic support units 31, the optical gap sensor 34 for detecting the length of the gap between the lower surface of the unit 31 and the guide rails 12a, 12b is attached. Further, the connecting members 35a, 3 are provided on the lower surfaces of the respective dividing plates 26a, 26b.
Containers 37 and 38 for accommodating a conveyed product are attached via 5b, 36a and 36b, respectively. And these containers 37,38
Each of the four magnetic support units 31 is equipped with a control device 41, a constant voltage generation device 42, and a small-capacity power supply 43 for supplying electric power to these devices, a total of four. ing. Further, at the four corners of the lower surface of the base 25 , for supporting the transport vehicle 15 in the vertical direction by contacting the inner surfaces of the upper and lower walls of the emergency guides 13a and 13b when the magnetic force of the magnetic support unit 31 is lost. Four vertical wheels 45a,
The carrier 15 comes into contact with the inner surfaces of the side walls of the emergency guides 13a and 13b
Four lateral wheels 45b for supporting the vehicle in the left-right direction are attached respectively. The base 25 also serves as a conductor plate that is an operating element of the above-described linear induction motor, and is placed at a height facing the stator 16 with a slight gap during operation of the device. There is.

The magnetic support unit 31 has guide rails 12a and 12b at the upper end.
The two electromagnets 51 and 52 are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the transport vehicle 15 so as to face the lower end of the electromagnet 51 and the permanent magnet 53 interposed between the lower side surfaces of these electromagnets 51 and 52. It has a U shape as a whole. Each electromagnet 51 , 52 is composed of a yoke 55 made of a ferromagnetic material and a coil 56 wound around the yoke 55, and each coil 56 is formed by the electromagnets 51 , 52 . They are connected in series so that the magnetic fluxes are added to each other.

Further, the control device 41 is configured, for example, as shown in FIG. In this figure, arrows indicate signal paths and bar lines indicate power paths. This controller 41
Includes a sensor unit 61 for detecting a change in motion of the magnetomotive force or magnetic resistance or transport vehicle 15 in the magnetic circuit formed by the magnetic support units 31 mounted on the transport vehicle 15, the signal from the sensor unit 61 The calculation circuit 62 calculates the electric power to be supplied to the coil 56 on the basis of it, and the power amplifier 63 which supplies the electric power to the coil 56 on the basis of the signal from the calculation circuit 62. Control the four magnetic support units 41 respectively. Sensor section 61
Is a modulation circuit 64 that modulates the signal of the optical gap sensor 34 described above to suppress the influence of external noise, and the coil.
It is composed of a current detector 65 that detects the current value of 56. The arithmetic circuit 62, on the one hand, introduces the signal from the optical gap sensor 34 via a modulator circuit 64 and a subtractor 66
The value of the gap length Z ₀ is subtracted by, and the output of the subtractor 66 is introduced directly or via the differentiator 67 to the feedback gain compensators 68 and 69 respectively, and on the other hand, the signal from the current detector 65 is supplied. It is introduced to the feedback gain compensator 70, further introduced from the current detector 65 and compared with the O signal by the subtractor 71, and then the integral compensator 72.
The signal compensated in (3) is compared with the addition output by the adder 73 of the three feedback gain compensators 68 to 70 in the subtractor 74, and the deviation is output to the power amplifier 63.

Further, the constant voltage generator 42 is interposed between the power supply 43 and the controller 41, and constantly supplies a constant current to the modulation circuit 64, the arithmetic circuit 62 and the optical gap sensor 34. The constant voltage generator 42 is for removing the influence of the voltage drop caused by the load fluctuation of the power supply 43 on the control device 41. The constant voltage generator 42 has a reference voltage generator 75 and an output signal of the reference voltage generator 75. On the basis of this, a current amplifier 76 is provided which constantly supplies a required current to the control device 41 at a constant voltage.

Next, the operation of the levitation type transporting apparatus according to this embodiment configured as described above will be described.

Emergency guides 13a, 13b when the device is stopped
The vertical wheels 45a of the transport vehicle 15 on the inner surface of either the upper or lower wall of the
Are in contact. When the device is started in this state, the control device 41 causes the electromagnets 51 and 52 to generate a magnetic flux in the same direction or in the opposite direction to the magnetic flux generated by the permanent magnet 53, and causes the magnetic support unit 31 and the guide rails 12a and 12b to operate. The current flowing through the exciting coil 56 is controlled in order to maintain a predetermined air gap length. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), the permanent magnet 53-the yoke 55-the void P-the guide rails 12a, (12b).
A magnetic circuit including a path of the void P, the yoke 55, and the permanent magnet 53 is formed. The magnetic flux Φ formed in this magnetic circuit is generated along a plane orthogonal to the traveling direction of the transport vehicle 15 , as shown in FIG. The gap length is 15
The length is set so that the weight of the supported body and the magnetic attraction force between the magnetic support unit 31 and the guide rail 12a (12b) due to the magnetomotive force of the permanent magnet 53 are just balanced. Control device
41 controls the exciting current of the electromagnets 51 and 52 to maintain this gap length. As a result, so-called zero power control is performed.

Now, assuming that the transport vehicle 15 is directly below the stator 16 of the linear induction motor, when the stator 16 is energized, the base 25 receives an electromagnetic force from the stator 16, so that the transport vehicle 15 is in a magnetic levitation state. Then, the vehicle starts traveling along the guide rails 12a and 12b.
If the stator 16 is arranged again until the carrier vehicle 15 is completely stationary due to the influence of air resistance or the like, the carrier vehicle 15 is urged again and continues to move along the guide rails 12a and 12b. This movement continues to the desired point. Thus, the transport vehicle 15 can be moved to the destination point in a non-contact state.

Further, according to this embodiment, even when the transport vehicle 15 passes through the joint portion A of the guide rails 12a and 12b in the process of movement,
As is clear from FIG. 5 (b), since the joint surface and the direction in which the magnetic flux Φ is generated coincide with each other, the magnetic flux Φ does not cross the seam A. Therefore, the change in magnetic resistance can be suppressed,
It is possible to stabilize the control performance when passing through the joint portion. Then, it is possible to avoid the risk that the magnetic attraction force between the magnetic support unit and the guide rail changes and both are attracted.

Further, in the apparatus of this embodiment, when the flatness of the guide rails 12a, 12b is out of order, or the position of the center of gravity of the transport vehicle 15 is changed, the magnetic support units 31 are absorbed in proportion to the weight to be supported. It is necessary to secure a gap for generating a force in the permanent magnet 53 between each magnetic support unit 31 and the guide rails 12a and 12b. In this case, the division plate 26a rotates about the coupling mechanism 27 with respect to the division plate 26b, and each magnetic support unit 31 acts so as to maintain an appropriate gap length.

According to this device, since the two electromagnets 51, 52 of the magnetic support unit 31 are arranged in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the transport vehicle 15 , compared with the case where they are arranged in the traveling direction, the electromagnets 51, 52 are arranged in the vertical direction. There is also an effect of facilitating passage of the protruding curved portion.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

For example, in the above embodiment, the base 25 is composed of two disassembling bodies 26a and 26b rotatable about a rotation axis parallel to the traveling direction thereof, but the direction, number and position of the rotation axis are not specified. Not something. Various changes can be made as shown in FIGS. 6 to 9 depending on the shapes and arrangements of the transported object, the power supply, the control device, the magnetic support unit, the guide rails, and the like. Figure 6 is an example in which connection of rotatable split plates 26a, and 26b in the direction of the axis perpendicular to the coupling passage mechanism 27 with respect to the traveling direction of the transport vehicle 15, FIG. 7 is advanced guided vehicles 15 This is an example in which the connecting mechanism 27 is provided around an axis slightly inclined with respect to the direction. In addition, FIG. 8 shows six magnetic support units 31 ,
Further, FIG. 9 shows an example in which eight magnetic support units 31 are used, respectively, and both are divided plates 26a, 26b which are divided in the traveling direction.
Are rotatably connected in a horizontal plane, and each of the above dividing plates 26a, 26b is divided into two or three,
The divided body is rotatably connected in a vertical plane.

Further, in the above embodiment, the inverted U-shaped guide rails 12a, 12b are provided.
However, for example, a wide guide rail that spans two magnetic support units adjacent to each other in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction may be used, or a strip-shaped guide rail may be used.

In addition, the shapes of the container and other components can be variously changed without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a levitation type transporting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a side view in which the apparatus is partially cut away. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a control device of the apparatus, FIG. 5 is a view for explaining the operation of the apparatus, and FIGS. 6 to 9 are levitating according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 10A and 10B are views for explaining a conventional transfer device, and FIG. 10 is a view for explaining a conventional floating transfer device. 1,31 …… Magnetic support unit, 2,12a, 12b …… Guide rail, 11 …… Track frame, 13a, 13b …… Emergency guide, 15 ……
Carrier, 16 ... Stator of linear induction motor, 25 ... Base, 26a, 26b ... Dividing plate, 27 ... Coupling mechanism, 34 ... Gap sensor, 37, 38 ... Container, 41 ... Control Device, 42 ……
Constant voltage generator, 43 ... Power supply, 51, 52 ... Electromagnet, 53 ...
… Permanent magnet, 55 …… Yoke, 56 …… Coil, A …… Seam,
P ... void.

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-50-97007 (JP, A) JP-A-52-91215 (JP, A) JP-A-59-123458 (JP, A) Jitsuko 58-16939 (JP , Y1)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A guide rail in which a plurality of rail divided bodies at least a lower surface portion of which is made of a ferromagnetic material are sequentially connected to each other adjacent to each other in the laying direction, and the guide rail is arranged so as to run along the guide rail. The guided vehicle, an electromagnet arranged so as to face the guide rail via a gap, a magnetic circuit formed by the electromagnet, the guide rail and the gap, and magnetically supported together with the magnetic circuit. Levitation comprising: a permanent magnet that forms a unit and is mounted on the transport vehicle; and zero power control means that controls the exciting current of the electromagnet and stabilizes the magnetic circuit when the exciting current is zero. In the automatic transfer device, the magnetic support unit is configured to generate a magnetic flux flow along a plane orthogonal to the traveling direction of the transfer vehicle. Levitation conveyor apparatus according to claim. 2. The levitation type carrier according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic support unit is attached to the carrier vehicle in a rotatable state in a plane parallel to the guide rail. apparatus. 3. The levitation type carrier device according to claim 1, wherein the carrier vehicle is divided into a plurality of parts and is rotatably connected to each other.