JP2005289628A - Linear motor driven conveyor chain - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a linear motor driven conveyor chain having smaller and simpler construction to actualize the reduced size and saved space of a whole conveyor device. <P>SOLUTION: A secondary side movable piece of a linear motor mechanism is arranged inside the chain. A back iron as part of the secondary side movable piece consists of a travel guide body 110 as a chain structural element and a link body 120 having a U-shaped cross section opening to the outer periphery side of a conveyor line. A reaction plate 150 formed on the inner periphery side of the link body 120 and fixed to the horizontal bottom face is opposed to a primary side stator PS of the linear motor mechanism via a small gap. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a linear motor-driven conveyance chain used for an article conveyance device or the like.

In recent years, linear motor-driven transport chains have been developed for use in article transport devices. For example, for use in a tenter that holds both side edges of a sheet-like substrate and continuously moves at a predetermined speed. There is a linear motor-driven transport chain composed of a tenter chain in which the movable parts of the linear motor are continuously attached at appropriate intervals (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-6-57618 (first page, FIGS. 1-2)

  However, the conventional linear motor-driven transport chain has an additional linear motor mover attached to the chain body, which not only complicates the chain structure, but also the overall transport system. As a whole, the size of the transfer device increases, and the installation space increases.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the conventional problems, and can reduce the size and simplification of the transport chain, and can achieve a reduction in size and space saving of the entire transport device. Is to provide a transport chain.

  For the above-mentioned purpose, the linear motor drive type conveying chain of the present invention is such that the secondary side mover of the linear motor mechanism is arranged inside the chain, and a part of the secondary side mover is a chain component. It is.

  Here, the linear motor-driven transport chain of the present invention has a basic structure constituted by a travel guide body that travels on a chain orbit of a transport line and a link body that connects the travel guide bodies to each other in the longitudinal direction of the chain. It is provided and is incorporated into slat conveyors, scraper conveyors, bucket conveyors, pusher dog conveyors, and the like.

And a part of said secondary side needle | mover is comprised as a back iron in either the driving | running | working guide body and link body which are chain components.
Further, the remaining portion of the secondary side mover is configured as at least a part of the traveling guide body or the link body, and is disposed on the inner peripheral side of the chain orbit, for example, a U-shape. In the case of a traveling guide body having a cross section, an inverted U-shaped cross section is provided on the bottom surface on the inner circumferential side, or on the bottom surface on the inner circumferential side in the case of a link body having an inverted T-shaped cross section. In the case of the link body, it is preferably provided on the inner peripheral bottom surface or on the opposite inner surface, and in the case of the vertical plate-shaped link body, it is provided on the both side surfaces, respectively.

Further, as a material for the secondary side mover in the present invention, a single conductor such as aluminum or copper which is a nonmagnetic conductor, or a composite conductor combining such a single conductor and a ferromagnetic material such as iron is used. If this occurs, a linear motor mechanism called a “linear induction motor (LIM)” that induces eddy currents in the traveling magnetic field generated in the primary stator and generates thrust, and is magnetized when placed in a magnetic field. When a salient pole iron core such as iron is used as the magnetic body, “Linear reluctance motor (LRM)” that generates thrust on the secondary side by the attractive force of the traveling magnetic field generated on the primary side stator In addition, when a permanent magnet or a permanent magnet is used in combination with a ferromagnetic material such as iron, attraction generated between the primary side stator and the secondary field magnetic pole is used. Power By the repulsive force, is synchronized with the moving speed of the traveling magnetic field to move the secondary side, the linear motor mechanism referred to as "linear synchronous motor (LSM)".
In addition, when the secondary mover side of the linear motor mechanism referred to as the linear induction motor (LIM) or the linear synchronous motor (LSM) as described above is composed of a composite conductor, a magnetic path is formed in the ferromagnetic material. Therefore, a larger thrust can be obtained than when the secondary mover side is constituted by a single conductor.

  On the other hand, the primary side stator to be opposed to the secondary side mover of the linear motor mechanism in the present invention may be any one as long as it induces a thrust on the secondary side mover side by the moving magnetic field generated thereby. For example, a motor coil in which a coil (phase winding) is wound around a laminated silicon steel plate, or a coreless type motor coil in which a coil (phase winding) is molded with a nonmagnetic member is adopted. In particular, in the case of a coreless type motor coil, it may be arranged on both sides of the secondary side mover so that a magnetic path is formed between the coils.

  The linear motor drive type conveyance chain of the present invention has a linear motor mechanism secondary mover arranged inside the chain, and a part of the secondary side mover is a chain component, thereby reducing the size of the conveyance chain. Simplification, and the overall size and space saving of the transfer device can be achieved.

  Hereinafter, a linear motor driven transport chain 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a slat conveyor incorporating a linear motor-driven transport chain 100 according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the linear motor-driven transport chain 100 according to the first embodiment. 3 is a side view of the linear motor-driven transport chain 100 shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG.

First, the linear motor-driven transport chain 100 of this embodiment is incorporated in a slat conveyor in parallel as shown in FIG. 1, and the specific chain structure is shown in FIG. The travel guide body 110 that travels on the chain orbit of the chain and the link body 120 that connects the travel guide bodies 110 to each other in the longitudinal direction of the chain are connected by a connecting pin 130 so as to be bent.
The travel guide body 110 is attached with a slat S for placing the conveyed product W by bending the vertical portions of the pair of inverted T-shaped guide plates 111 and 111 facing each other along the conveyance line. The attachment 112 is provided.
Further, guide rollers 140 and 140 are loosely fitted to both ends of the connecting pin 130, and these guide rollers 140 and 140 are supported by two guide rails GR arranged in parallel along the transport line. ing.

Therefore, in the linear motor drive type conveyance chain 100 of the present embodiment, the secondary side movable element of the linear motor mechanism is arranged inside the chain, and a traveling guide body 110 in which a part of the secondary side movable element is a chain component. And a link body 120 having a U-shaped cross section that opens to the outer peripheral side of the transport line.
That is, a reaction plate 150 constituting the secondary side mover of the linear motor mechanism is fixed to the horizontal bottom surface formed on the inner peripheral side of the link body 120, and the gap between the two guide rails GR described above. Is arranged opposite to the primary stator PS of the linear motor mechanism provided at a position with a slight gap.
This primary side stator PS is composed of a comb-shaped iron core and windings made of electromagnetic steel plates, and several coils (phase windings) spatially displaced at a certain pole interval in the slot portion of the iron core. The windings constituting the coil are wound many times, and a traveling magnetic field that moves with time can be generated by passing an alternating current through such a coil.

On the other hand, the reaction plate 150 which is a part of the secondary side mover is made of a single conductor such as aluminum or copper which is a non-magnetic conductor, and when a traveling magnetic field is generated in the primary side stator PS described above, the reaction plate 150 An eddy current is induced on the surface of 150, and a linear motor mechanism called a “linear induction motor (LIM)” is generated in reaction plate 150, which generates a thrust according to the Fleming law.
The link body 120 is formed of a ferromagnetic material from a steel plate and is a back iron that promotes the thrust of linear drive. Therefore, the link body 120 and the reaction plate 150 are a secondary side made of a composite conductor. The mover is configured so that a large magnetic path is formed in the link body 120 made of a ferromagnetic material so that a large thrust can be obtained.

In this way, the linear motor-driven transport chain 100 according to the present embodiment is configured such that the reaction plate 150 serving as a part of the secondary side movable element is part of the link body 110 with respect to the primary side stator PS. Because it is arranged on the inner circumference side of the chain orbit, thrust can be obtained on the chain circumference orbit of the transfer line, so maintenance maintenance such as lubrication with low noise without using a driving sprocket, which is the main cause of meshing noise Since the shape of the secondary side mover can be designed regardless of the material of the slats, the degree of freedom in selecting the material of the slats can be expanded according to the transportation application, and between the forward and return routes of the transportation line. It is now possible to install the linear motor mechanism in a distributed manner on the inner circumference side of the chain orbit that was previously a dead space. The entire transport equipment can achieve space saving of the conveying area is miniaturized.
And since the back iron which becomes a part of the said secondary side needle | mover is comprised by the traveling guide body 110 and the link body 120 which are chain components, size reduction and simplification of a conveyance chain can be achieved.
Moreover, since the running speed can be controlled by frequency control of the current applied to the primary side stator, smooth speed control is possible. In addition, since the chain tension can be reduced, the effect is enormous, such as being suitable for long distances and heavy loads.

  Next, a linear motor driven transport chain 200 that is a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the linear motor-driven transport chain 200 of the second embodiment, FIG. 6 is a side view of the linear motor-driven transport chain 200 shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 7-7.

  The linear motor-driven transport chain 200 according to the second embodiment of the present invention differs from the linear motor-driven transport chain 100 according to the first embodiment described above only in the shape of the link body 220. Since the chain structure is the same, the other configurations are understood by replacing the 100th generation code in the first embodiment with the 200th generation.

Therefore, in the linear motor drive type conveyance chain 200 of the present embodiment, the secondary side movable element of the linear motor mechanism is arranged inside the chain, and a traveling guide body 210 in which a part of the secondary side movable element is a chain component. And a link body 220 having an inverted U-shaped cross section that opens to the inner peripheral side of the transport line.
That is, a reaction plate 250 that constitutes a secondary side mover of the linear motor mechanism is fixed to a horizontal bottom surface formed on the inner peripheral side of the link body 220, and although not shown, between two guide rails. Since the link body 220 itself is a back iron that promotes the thrust of the linear drive, the linear motor mechanism is arranged to face the primary stator PS of the linear motor mechanism with a slight gap. The primary stator PS of the motor mechanism can be installed between the pair of travel guide bodies 210, and the equipment configuration can be further downsized.

  Next, based on FIGS. 8 to 10, a linear motor driven transport chain 300 according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the linear motor-driven transport chain 300 of the third embodiment, FIG. 9 is a side view of the linear motor-driven transport chain 300 shown in FIG. 8, and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 10-10 of FIG.

A linear motor-driven transport chain 300 according to a third embodiment of the present invention includes a travel guide body 310 that travels on a chain orbit of a transport line and a link body 320 that connects the travel guide bodies 310 to each other in the chain longitudinal direction. Are connected to each other by a connecting pin 330 so as to be freely bent.
Here, the travel guide body 310 has a U-shaped cross section that opens to the outer peripheral side of the transport line, and the link body 320 is a link in which a sleeve 321 for inserting the connection pin 330 is extended to both sides and front and rear. It consists of a plate 322.
Further, guide rollers 340 and 340 are loosely fitted to both ends of the connecting pin 330 inserted through the sleeve 321 and the link plate 322, respectively, and these guide rollers 340 and 340 are arranged in parallel along the transport line. Are supported by two guide rails (not shown).

Therefore, in the linear motor drive type conveyance chain 300 of the present embodiment, the secondary side movable element of the linear motor mechanism is disposed inside the chain, and a traveling guide body 310 in which a part of the secondary side movable element is a chain component. And the link body 320 is the most characteristic feature.
That is, the reaction plate 350 constituting the secondary side mover of the linear motor mechanism is fixed to the horizontal bottom surface formed on the inner peripheral side of the link body 320 of this embodiment, and the two guide rails described above are fixed. The link body 320 itself is a back iron that promotes the thrust of the linear drive.
As in the first embodiment, the primary stator PS is composed of a comb-shaped iron core and windings made of an electromagnetic steel plate, and is spatially displaced at a certain pole interval in the slot portion of the iron core. The coil (phase winding) is wound several times, and an alternating current is passed through such a coil to generate a traveling magnetic field that moves with time.

On the other hand, the reaction plate 350 which is a part of the secondary side mover is made of a single conductor such as aluminum or copper which is a non-magnetic conductor. When a traveling magnetic field is generated in the primary side stator PS described above, the reaction plate 350 An eddy current is induced on the surface of 350, and a linear motor mechanism called a “linear induction motor (LIM)” in which a thrust based on the Fleming law is generated on the reaction plate 350 is exhibited.
The travel guide body 310 is formed of a ferromagnetic material from a steel plate and is a back iron that promotes the thrust of linear driving. Therefore, the travel guide body 310 and the reaction plate 350 are composed of a composite conductor. Since the secondary side movable element is constituted, a large magnetic path is formed in the traveling guide body 310 made of a ferromagnetic material so that a large thrust can be obtained.

In this way, the linear motor-driven transport chain 300 of the present embodiment can obtain a large thrust on the chain orbit of the transport line, as in the first and second embodiments described above. The inner circumference side of the chain orbit, which has been a dead space between the forward and return paths of the transfer line, with low noise and significantly reduced maintenance, such as lubrication, without the use of a driving sprocket, which is the main cause of meshing noise. In addition, the linear motor mechanism can be installed in a distributed manner, and the entire transport facility can be miniaturized to save space in the transport area.
Moreover, since the running speed can be controlled by controlling the frequency of the current applied to the primary stator, the effect is enormous, such as enabling smooth speed control.

  Next, based on FIG. 11 thru | or FIG. 13, the linear motor drive type conveyance chain 400 which is 4th Example of this invention is demonstrated. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a linear motor-driven transport chain 400 according to a fourth embodiment, FIG. 12 is a side view of the linear motor-driven transport chain 400 shown in FIG. 11, and FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 13-13.

A linear motor-driven transport chain 400 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention includes a travel guide body 410 that travels on a chain orbit of a transport line and a link body 420 that connects the travel guide bodies 410 to each other in the chain longitudinal direction. Are connected to each other by a connecting pin 430 so as to be bent.
Here, the traveling guide body 410 is attached with a slat or a top plate (not shown) by bending the vertical portions of a pair of inverted T-shaped guide plates 411 and 411 facing each other along the transport line. The link body 420 includes an attachment 412 configured as described above, and the link body 420 projects a sleeve 421 for inserting the connection pin 430 in both sides and front and rear, and is extended in a suspended state to the inner peripheral side of the chain orbit. It is made up of.
In addition, the linear motor drive conveyance chain 400 of the present embodiment is supported by two guide rails (not shown) arranged in parallel along the conveyance line on the back side of the attachment 412.

Therefore, the linear motor-driven transport chain 400 of the present embodiment is arranged with the secondary side mover of the linear motor mechanism inside the chain, similarly to the linear motor-driven transport chain 100 of the first embodiment described above, It is the most characteristic that a part of the secondary side movable element is constituted by a travel guide body 410 and a link body 420 which are chain constituent elements.
That is, the reaction plate 450 made of aluminum constituting the secondary side mover of the linear motor mechanism is fixed to both side surfaces of the link plate 422 suspended from the link body 420 of this embodiment, and the two guides described above are fixed. The linear motor mechanism provided between the rails is opposed to the primary side stator PS with a slight gap, and the link body 420 itself is a back iron that promotes the thrust of the linear drive. .
When a traveling magnetic field is generated in the primary stator PS, an eddy current is induced on the surface of the reaction plate 450, and a thrust based on the Fleming law is generated in the reaction plate 450. A linear motor called “linear induction motor (LIM)” Present mechanism.
In short, the primary side stator PS of the linear motor mechanism in the present embodiment employs what is called a coreless type motor coil in which a coil (phase winding) is molded with a non-magnetic member, and on both sides of the secondary side mover. It is arranged to form a magnetic path between the coils.

  In this way, the linear motor-driven transport chain 400 of this embodiment obtains thrust on the chain orbit of the transport line, as in the first, second, and third embodiments described above. Therefore, without using a driving sprocket, which is the main cause of the meshing noise, maintenance work such as lubrication is remarkably reduced, and the chain orbit that has been a dead space between the forward and return paths of the transfer line has been achieved. It becomes possible to disperse and install the linear motor mechanism on the inner peripheral side of the motor, and to reduce the size of the entire transport facility and achieve space saving of the transport area. Moreover, since the running speed can be controlled by controlling the frequency of the current applied to the primary stator, the effect is enormous, such as enabling smooth speed control.

  Next, a linear motor driven transport chain 500 that is a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a linear motor-driven transport chain 500 of the fifth embodiment, FIG. 15 is a side view of the linear motor-driven transport chain 500 shown in FIG. 14, and FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 16-16 of FIG.

  The linear motor-driven transport chain 500 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention differs from the linear motor-driven transport chain 400 according to the fourth embodiment described above only in the shape of the link body 520. Since the chain structure is the same, other configurations are understood by replacing the 400th generation code in the fourth embodiment with the 500th generation.

Therefore, in the linear motor drive type conveyance chain 500 of the present embodiment, the secondary side movable element of the linear motor mechanism is arranged inside the chain, and a traveling guide body 510 in which a part of the secondary side movable element is a chain component. And the link body 520 is the most characteristic.
That is, the link body 520 of the present embodiment has a reverse T-shaped cross-section link that is extended in a suspended state on the inner peripheral side of the chain orbit while projecting the sleeve 521 for inserting the connecting pin 530 on both sides and front and rear. It consists of a plate 522.
An aluminum reaction plate 550 constituting the secondary side mover of the linear motor mechanism is fixed to the horizontal bottom surface formed on the inner peripheral side of the link plate 522, and the two guide rails described above are fixed. Is arranged opposite the primary side stator PS of the linear motor mechanism provided therebetween with a slight gap.
The link body 520 is formed of a ferromagnetic material from a steel plate and is a back iron that promotes the thrust of linear drive. Therefore, the link body 520 and the reaction plate 550 are secondary conductors made of a composite conductor. Since the side movable element is configured, a large magnetic path is formed in the link body 520 made of a ferromagnetic material, and a large thrust can be obtained.

  Next, based on FIGS. 17-19, the linear motor drive type conveyance chain 600 which is 6th Example of this invention is demonstrated. FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing a linear motor-driven transport chain 600 of the sixth embodiment, FIG. 18 is a side view of the linear motor-driven transport chain 600 shown in FIG. 17, and FIG. FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 19-19.

  Compared with the linear motor-driven transport chain 200 of the second embodiment described above, the linear motor-driven transport chain 600 according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention has only the attachment position of the reaction plate serving as the secondary side mover. Since the basic chain structure is the same, the other configurations are understood by replacing the 200th generation code in the second embodiment with the 600th generation.

Therefore, in the linear motor drive type conveyance chain 600 of the present embodiment, the secondary side movable element of the linear motor mechanism is arranged inside the chain, and a traveling guide body 610 in which a part of the secondary side movable element is a chain component. And a link body 620 having an inverted U-shaped cross section that opens to the inner peripheral side of the transport line.
That is, a reaction plate 650 constituting the secondary side mover of the linear motor mechanism is fixed to the inner side surface formed on the inner peripheral side of the link body 620, and is provided between the two guide rails described above. The linear motor mechanism is disposed to face the primary side stator PS with a slight gap, and the link body 620 itself is a back iron that promotes the thrust of the linear drive.
The reaction plate 650 has a slight gap between both side surfaces of the primary side stator PS called a coreless motor coil in which a coil (phase winding) provided on the inner peripheral side of the link body 620 is molded with a nonmagnetic member. Since the primary stator PS of the linear motor mechanism can be installed between the pair of travel guide bodies 610, the equipment configuration can be further downsized, etc. The effect is enormous.

  In the first to sixth examples described above, the embodiment incorporated in the slat conveyor is shown. However, other scraper conveyors, bucket conveyors, pusher dog conveyors, etc. may be incorporated. Can do.

  In the first to sixth embodiments described above, a part of the secondary side mover of the linear motor mechanism used as the chain drive source is composed of a single conductor such as aluminum or copper which is a nonmagnetic conductor. The reaction plate 150, 250, 350, 450, 550, 650 is used to generate a traveling magnetic field in the primary side stator PS, thereby inducing eddy currents on the surface of the reaction plate and generating thrust. Although a linear motor mechanism called “motor (LIM)” is configured, other embodiments may be used.

  For example, when a salient pole iron core, such as iron, is used as the magnetic body that is magnetized when placed in a magnetic field, instead of the reaction plates 150, 250, 350, 450, 550, 650, as the secondary mover A linear motor mechanism called a “linear reluctance motor (LRM)” that generates thrust on the secondary side by the attractive force of the traveling magnetic field generated on the primary side stator can be configured.

  Similarly, instead of the reaction plates 150, 250, 350, 450, 550, and 650, the secondary side mover is a permanent magnet, and the reaction proceeds by the interaction between the primary side stator and the secondary field magnetic pole. It is also possible to achieve a constant speed conveyance by configuring a linear motor mechanism called “linear synchronous motor (LSM)” that moves the secondary side in synchronization with the moving speed of the magnetic field.

Sectional drawing of the slat conveyor incorporating the linear motor drive type conveyance chain 100 which is 1st Example of this invention 1 is a perspective view showing a linear motor driven transport chain 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The side view of the linear motor drive type conveyance chain 100 shown in FIG. Sectional drawing in the 4-4 line | wire of FIG. The perspective view which shows the linear motor drive type conveyance chain 200 which is 2nd Example of this invention. FIG. 6 is a side view of the linear motor driven transport chain 200 shown in FIG. 5. Sectional drawing in the 7-7 line | wire of FIG. The perspective view which shows the linear motor drive type conveyance chain 300 which is 3rd Example of this invention. The side view of the linear motor drive type conveyance chain 300 shown in FIG. Sectional drawing in the 10-10 line | wire of FIG. The perspective view which shows the linear motor drive type conveyance chain 400 which is 4th Example of this invention. FIG. 12 is a side view of the linear motor driven transport chain 400 shown in FIG. 11. Sectional drawing in the 13-13 line | wire of FIG. The perspective view which shows the linear motor drive type conveyance chain 500 which is 5th Example of this invention. The side view of the linear motor drive type conveyance chain 500 shown in FIG. Sectional drawing in the 16-16 line | wire of FIG. The perspective view which shows the linear motor drive type conveyance chain 600 which is 6th Example of this invention. FIG. 18 is a side view of the linear motor-driven conveyance chain 600 shown in FIG. 17. Sectional drawing in the 19-19 line | wire of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600 ... linear motor drive type transport chain 110, 210, 310, 410, 510, 610 ... travel guide body 111, 211, 411, 511, 611 ... guide Plate 112,212,412 ... Attachment 120,220,320,420,520,620 ... Link body 321,421,521 ... Sleeve 322,422,522 ... Link plate 130,230,330 , 430, 530, 630... Connecting pins 140, 240, 340, 540, 640... Guide rollers 150, 250, 350, 450, 550, 650... Reaction plate W.・ Slat PS ... Primary side stator GR ... Guy Rail

Claims (1)

A linear motor driven transport chain, wherein a secondary side mover of a linear motor mechanism is disposed inside a chain, and a part of the secondary side mover is a chain component.

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