JP2009130957A - Multi-freedom electromagnetic actuator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve a multi-freedom electromagnetic actuator simple in the constitution of the actuator and easy in control. <P>SOLUTION: The actuator includes: a needle 10 with four divided magnetic materials 11 arranged in an xy plane along the circumferential direction in an xyz space having an x-axis, a y-axis and a z-axis which are orthogonal with one another, and four permanent magnets 12 inserted between the adjacent two magnetic bodies at equal pitches; and two stators 20 each of which is composed of the same magnetic material having six magnetic poles 22, and which are arranged along the z-axis. At each stator 20, the salient magnetic poles 22 are arranged at the internal peripheral face side of a circular stator outer frame at equal pitches, and tip faces of the magnetic poles 22 are made to oppose one another so as to have prescribed gaps from external peripheral faces of the stators 10. Coils 30 are wound to the magnetic poles 22, respectively, and a current fed to each coil 30 can independently be controlled. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator that enables multi-degree-of-freedom driving.

  In an industrial application field, a structure using a plurality of one-degree-of-freedom actuators is often used to realize driving with two or more degrees of freedom. Recently, actuator research that enables multi-degree-of-freedom driving has been actively conducted (for example, Non-Patent Document 1 or 2). In particular, the spherical actuator can be driven in all directions on a spherical surface with a single actuator, and research has been conducted as a driving device for a robot joint or eyeball (for example, Non-Patent Document 3 or 4).

On the other hand, along with the development of electronic computers, it has become possible at a practical level to grasp various characteristics of equipment by utilizing simulation in the design of electrical equipment. The inventors of the present application have also applied the design to an actuator having a complicated magnetic structure using the three-dimensional finite element method (for example, Non-Patent Document 5).
Tanaka, Torii, Ebihara, et al .: "Proposal and design of multi-degree-of-freedom spherical actuator", 11th MAGDA Conference, PS2-3, pp.169-172, 2002 Yuya Hasegawa, Katsuhiro Hirata, “Study on two-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator”, IEEJ Trans. IA, Vol.125, No.8, pp.519-523, 2005.05 M. Weck, T. Reinartz, G. Henneberger, “Design of a spherical motor with three degrees of freedom”, Proc. Of annual meeting of the CIRP, vol. 49, pp289-294, 2000 T.Yano et al., “Basic Characteristics of the Small Spherical Stepping Motor”, Proc. Of IEEE IROS, pp. 1980-1985, 2002 K. Hirata, T. Yamamoto, T. Yamaguchi, Y. Kawase and Y. Hasegawa, “Dynamic Analysis Method of Two-Dimensional Linear Oscillatory Actuator Employing Finite Element Method”, IEEE Transaction on Magnetics, VOL.43, No.4, pp.1441-1444, 2007.04

  However, the conventional spherical actuator has a large number of magnets (60 to 260 pieces) on the surface of the sphere as the mover, and further excites a coil of a large number of magnetic poles (200 to 400 pieces) provided on the stator. Thus, the structure can be driven in any direction. The basic driving method uses the operating principle of a synchronous type or stepping type motor. Therefore, complicated structure and control are required, and there are problems such as size, torque, and support of the mover.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to realize a multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator in which the structure and control of the actuator are simplified.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator according to the present invention is configured so that the mover is placed in each of the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis in an xyz space having x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis orthogonal to each other. A multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator that can be driven to rotate around an axis, and is divided into 4n pieces (n is a natural number) divided along the circumferential direction in the xy plane, and two adjacent magnetic bodies And a stator having 4n permanent magnets inserted at equal pitches between them, and two stators each having the same magnetic body having 6n magnetic poles and arranged along the z-axis. The stators are arranged on the inner peripheral surface side of the stator outer frame portion having a circumferential shape, and the protruding magnetic poles are arranged at an equal pitch, and the front end surfaces of the magnetic poles are It is opposed to the outer peripheral surface so as to have a predetermined gap. Each pole has coils respectively wound, and wherein the current supplied to each coil can be controlled independently.

  According to the above configuration, the actuator has two stators arranged along the z-axis, and each stator is composed of the same magnetic body having 6n magnetic poles. When two magnetic poles arranged along the axis are set as one set, there are 6n sets of magnetic poles in the actuator.

  Then, in a predetermined combination of the magnetic poles, if control is performed to excite one magnetic pole and the other magnetic pole of each set to different polarities, the magnetic field action with the magnetism in the mover causes the x-axis direction or the y-axis direction. A force for rotating the mover around the direction can be applied. That is, it is possible to perform control to rotate the mover in the x-axis direction or the y-axis direction.

  If control is performed to excite adjacent pairs of magnetic poles to different polarities in other predetermined combinations of the magnetic poles, the mover is rotated about the z-axis direction by the magnetic field action with magnetism in the mover. Force can be applied. That is, it is possible to perform control to rotate the mover around the z-axis direction.

  As described above, in the actuator of the present invention, the number of magnets in the mover is 4n (minimum is 4), and the number of magnetic poles in the stator is 12n (minimum is 12). The structure and control of the actuator can be simplified.

  The multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator can be arranged such that the magnetic poles provided in each stator are alternately arranged when the actuator is viewed from the z-axis side.

  According to the above configuration, when rotation around each of the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis is performed, torque interference to the other axis is reduced when the movable part rotates on each axis, and driving Control becomes easy.

  As described above, the multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator according to the present invention moves the mover around each of the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis in the xyz space having the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis orthogonal to each other. A multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator that can be driven to rotate, and is divided between 4n (n is a natural number) divided magnetic bodies arranged along the circumferential direction in the xy plane, and between two adjacent magnetic bodies And a stator having 4n permanent magnets inserted at equal pitches, and two stators each made of the same magnetic material having 6n magnetic poles and arranged along the z-axis. The stator is arranged such that the protruding magnetic poles are arranged at an equal pitch on the inner peripheral surface side of the stator outer frame portion having a circumferential shape, and the tip surface of each magnetic pole is connected to the outer peripheral surface of the mover. It is opposed so as to have a predetermined gap. Respectively coils are wound, a current supplied to each coil can be controlled independently.

  Therefore, in the actuator of the present invention, the number of magnets in the mover can be 4n, and the number of magnetic poles in the stator can be 12n, which is significantly smaller than the conventional one, and the structure and control of the actuator can be simplified. There is an effect that can be.

  An embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to the drawings.

  First, the basic structure of a multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator (hereinafter referred to as the present actuator) according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, the actuator is illustrated in an xyz space having an x axis, a y axis, and a z axis orthogonal to each other. The multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator according to the present invention is formed as a kind of spherical actuator capable of rotating the mover around each of the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the actuator includes a mover 10 and a stator 20. The mover 10 includes four permanent magnetic bodies 11 that are divided along the circumferential direction in the xy plane and four permanent magnets inserted at equal pitches (90 ° intervals) between the two adjacent magnetic bodies 11. And a magnet 12 (for example, Br = 1.4T). Each of the stators 20 is made of the same magnetic material having six magnetic poles 22, and two stators 20 are arranged along the z-axis. Therefore, in the present actuator, a total of 12 magnetic poles 22 exist. That is, the magnetic poles 22 are arranged at a regular pitch (60 ° interval) as protruding magnetic poles on the inner peripheral surface side of the stator outer frame portion having a circumferential shape. The tip surface of the magnetic pole 22 faces the outer peripheral surface of the mover 10. Opposing surfaces of the mover 10 and the stator 20 are cut into spherical surfaces and supported so as to have a predetermined gap (for example, 0.5 mm).

  Coils 30 are wound around these magnetic poles 22 and are excited by supplying current to the coils 30. The current supplied to each coil 30 can be controlled independently, and the amount of excitation in each of the 12 magnetic poles 22 can also be controlled independently.

  Next, the operating principle of this actuator will be described. Here, the permanent magnet 12 disposed on the mover 10 is magnetized in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG.

  First, the operation principle of the rotational movement around the x axis will be described. FIG. 3A shows a cross section perpendicular to the x-axis shown in FIG. Here, four magnetic poles 22 exist in the cross section A. Further, the magnetic body 11 facing the four magnetic poles 22 exhibits S pole magnetism depending on the magnetization direction of the permanent magnet 12.

  Now, when the coil is excited so that the stator magnetic pole shown in FIG. 3A appears, the mover 10 can obtain torque in the direction of the arrow in the figure. When the coil current is reversed, the mover 10 obtains torque in the direction opposite to that shown in FIG. The amount of torque in the rotation around the x-axis can be controlled by adjusting the amount of current to the coil wound around the magnetic pole existing in the cross section A.

  Next, the rotational movement around the y-axis will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3B shows a cross section obtained by rotating the cross section A by 60 ° around the z axis, that is, the cross section B or the cross section C. Here, also in the cross section B and the cross section C, the four magnetic poles 22 exist in the cross section. Further, the magnetic body 11 facing the four magnetic poles 22 exhibits N-pole magnetism depending on the magnetization direction of the permanent magnet 12.

  Now, when the coil is excited so that the stator magnetic pole shown in FIG. 3B appears, the mover 10 can obtain torque in the direction of the arrow in the figure. When the coil current is reversed, the mover 10 obtains torque in the direction opposite to that shown in FIG. That is, if a torque having the same magnitude is applied to both the cross section B and the cross section C by the same action, the resultant force acting on the mover becomes a rotational torque around the y axis. The amount of torque in the rotation around the y-axis can be controlled by adjusting the amount of current to the coil wound around the magnetic pole existing in the cross section B or C.

  Finally, the operation principle of the rotation around the z-axis will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3C shows a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the z-axis. Now, when the coil is excited so that the stator magnetic pole shown in FIG. 3C appears, the mover 10 can obtain torque in the direction of the arrow in the figure. If the same magnetic pole is generated for each of the two stators arranged along the z axis, no torque is generated on the axes other than the z axis. When the coil current is reversed, the mover 10 obtains torque in the opposite direction. The amount of torque in the rotation around the z-axis can be controlled by adjusting the amount of current to the coil wound around the magnetic pole.

  Next, in order to clarify the torque characteristics of this actuator, a magnetic field analysis was performed using a three-dimensional finite element method, and the analysis results will be described.

  FIG. 4 shows a three-dimensional element division diagram of the present actuator excluding the air region and the coil. The number of nodes in FIG. 4 is about 16000, and the number of elements is about 95,000. 5 to 7 show the static torque characteristics around the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis obtained by using the three-dimensional finite element method.

  For rotation around the x axis, a total magnetomotive force of 50A is applied to each of the four coils, 200A total, for rotation around the y axis, total magnetomotive force of 50A is applied to each of the eight coils, and to 400A for rotation around the z axis, the magnetomotive force is applied to the eight coils. Apply a total of 400A in 50A increments. As an example of the magnetic flux density distribution, a magnetic flux density contour diagram when the mover is at the origin is shown in FIG.

  5 to 7, it can be seen that the rotation around each axis is stable at the origin because the detent torque is zero and the stiffness is negative at the origin when no current is applied. It was also found that the detent torque around the x-axis was almost linear, whereas the detent torque around the y-axis was almost zero, and the z-axis did not maintain linearity when the rotation angle was 2 ° or more. . In addition, when the current is applied, the torque curve shifts substantially parallel to the cogging curve when rotating around the x and y axes, but the current torque increases as the rotation angle of the mover increases around the z axis. I understood. Further, it can be seen from FIG. 8 that the maximum magnetic flux density at the tip of the excited stator magnetic pole is 2T, which is close to magnetic saturation.

  The average torque constant from 0 ° to 5 ° is 6.28E-05 (N · m / A) around the x-axis, 5.32E-05 (N · m / A) around the y-axis, and around the z-axis. 4.26E-05 (N · m / A) was obtained. Since the detent torque is large in this model, it can be seen that it is necessary to further increase the magnetomotive force in order to obtain a large rotation angle.

  In the above description, a basic structure of a multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator having a plurality of rotating shafts was proposed, the operation principle was shown, and its torque characteristics were clarified using a three-dimensional finite element method. As a result, it was shown that necessary torque was obtained for each rotating shaft, and the usefulness of this actuator could be shown.

  In the analysis conditions and results of the finite element method in the above description, the model used is not necessarily the best condition, and the torque is further improved by optimally determining the dimensions of the mover / stator magnetic poles.・ Achieving wider rotation angle can also be expected.

  The spherical actuator according to the present invention is not limited to the structural example described above, and has other various modifications.

  For example, in the spherical actuator shown in FIG. 1, the number of divisions of the magnetic body and permanent magnet in the mover is 4, and the number of magnetic poles in the stator is 12 (6 for each of the 2 stators). Is not limited to this, and in principle, the same operation can be achieved even when the number of divisions of the magnetic body and permanent magnet in the mover is 4n and the number of magnetic poles in the stator is 12n. According to the principle, the multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator of the present invention can be realized.

  Further, for example, in the spherical actuator shown in FIG. 1, the six magnetic poles 22 provided in each stator 20 are arranged so as to overlap each other when the actuator is viewed from the z-axis side (FIG. 9 ( a)). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and when the actuator is viewed from the z-axis side, the magnetic poles 22 provided in the stators 20 may be arranged alternately (FIG. 9 ( b)).

  The configuration of FIG. 9B has an advantage that the torque characteristics of the x-axis and y-axis are the same. That is, in the configuration shown in FIG. 1, four (two sets) coil excitation is performed in the x-axis rotation, and eight (four sets) coil excitation is performed in the y-axis rotation. In both the x-axis rotation and the y-axis rotation, the mover 10 can be driven by performing exactly the same excitation on the six coils. Specifically, in FIG. 9B, the x-axis rotation drive can be realized by performing coil excitation of the A group of magnetic poles, and the y-axis rotation drive can be realized by performing coil excitation of the B group magnetic poles. it can.

  10 to 12 show the static torque characteristics about the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis obtained by using the three-dimensional finite element method in the actuator having the configuration shown in FIG. 9B. .

  FIG. 10 shows a case where x-axis rotation driving is performed, where (a) is a static torque characteristic around the x axis, (b) is a static torque characteristic around the y axis, and (c) is a static torque around the z axis. Torque characteristics are shown. FIG. 11 shows a case where the y-axis rotation drive is performed, where (a) is a static torque characteristic around the y-axis, (b) is a static torque characteristic around the x-axis, and (c) is a static torque around the z-axis. Torque characteristics are shown. FIG. 12 shows a case where z-axis rotation driving is performed, where (a) is a static torque characteristic around the z-axis, (b) is a static torque characteristic around the x-axis, and (c) is around the y-axis. The static torque characteristics are shown.

  10 to 12, it can be seen that when the movable part rotates on each axis, there is almost no torque interference with the other axis. As described above, there is an advantage that the control becomes easier if the torque interference with the other shaft is reduced.

  A multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator with a simple structure and control enables spherical omnidirectional driving, and can be applied to applications such as robot joints and eyeball driving devices.

1, showing an embodiment of the present invention, is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the magnetization direction of the permanent magnet in the said multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator. (A) is sectional drawing which shows the drive principle in the case of rotating a needle | mover around an x-axis, (b) is sectional drawing which shows the drive principle in the case of rotating a needle | mover around a y-axis, (c ) Is a plan view showing a driving principle when the mover is rotated around the z-axis. FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional element division diagram of the multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator for obtaining the static torque characteristics of the multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator using a three-dimensional finite element method. It is a graph which shows the static torque characteristic about the x-axis of the said multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator calculated | required using the said three-dimensional finite element method. It is a graph which shows the static torque characteristic about the y-axis of the said multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator calculated | required using the said three-dimensional finite element method. It is a graph which shows the static torque characteristic about the z-axis of the said multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator calculated | required using the said three-dimensional finite element method. In the multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator, the magnetic flux density contour diagram when the mover is at the origin. (A) is a top view which shows the magnetic pole arrangement | positioning of the actuator shown in FIG. 1, (b) is a top view which shows the example of magnetic pole arrangement | positioning different from (a). FIG. 9B is a diagram showing the static torque characteristics obtained when the x-axis rotational drive is performed, which is obtained by using the three-dimensional finite element method, in the multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator of FIG. (B) shows the static torque characteristic around the y axis, and (c) shows the static torque characteristic around the z axis. FIG. 9B is a diagram showing the static torque characteristics obtained when the multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator of FIG. 9B is driven using the three-dimensional finite element method when the y-axis rotational drive is performed, and FIG. (B) shows the static torque characteristic around the x axis, and (c) shows the static torque characteristic around the z axis. FIG. 9B is a diagram showing a static torque characteristic obtained when the z-axis rotation drive is performed in the multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator of FIG. (B) shows the static torque characteristic around the x axis, and (c) shows the static torque characteristic around the y axis.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Movable element 11 Magnetic body 12 Permanent magnet 20 Stator 22 Magnetic pole 30 Coil

Claims (2)

A multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator capable of rotationally driving a mover about each of an x-axis, a y-axis, and a z-axis in an xyz space having x, y, and z axes orthogonal to each other,
4n (n is a natural number) divided magnetic bodies arranged along the circumferential direction in the xy plane, and 4n permanent magnets inserted at equal pitches between two adjacent magnetic bodies A mover with
Each composed of the same magnetic body having 6n magnetic poles, and two stators arranged along the z-axis,
Each of the stators has the protruding magnetic poles arranged at an equal pitch on the inner peripheral surface side of a circumferential outer stator frame portion, and the tip surface of each of the magnetic poles and the outer peripheral surface of the mover Are opposed to have a gap,
The multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator, wherein a coil is wound around each of the magnetic poles, and a current supplied to each coil can be controlled independently.   2. The multi-degree-of-freedom electromagnetic actuator according to claim 1, wherein when viewed from the z-axis side, the magnetic poles provided in the stators are alternately arranged.