JP2009189524A - Electrical mobile shelf system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electrical mobile shelf system having a large motive power obtained even from a low voltage commercial power, and having improved energy efficiency. <P>SOLUTION: The electrical mobile shelf system 100 includes: one or more mobile shelves 110 reciprocally moving on a rail 101; motors 111 each reciprocally moving the mobile shelf and used as a regenerative brake on braking; electricity storage means 112 being a power source of the motor 111; electrical charging means 113 for charging the electricity storage means; and control devices 114 each controlling the motor 111, electricity storage means 112, and electrical charging means 113. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric movable shelf, and more particularly, to an electric movable shelf that can exhibit a large driving force even with commercial power of 100V.

  There are known motorized mobile shelves that are driven by motors, such as mobile book shelves used in libraries and offices, and mobile racks used in warehouses.

  In general, the electric movable shelf has a short movement distance of about 1 to 2 m at most. This is because the purpose of moving the moving shelf is to form a work path between adjacent moving shelves. Therefore, the motor of each moving shelf repeats a short time start and a longer stop.

  On the other hand, the moving shelf is very heavy. Depending on the size of the moving shelf and the storage situation, it will be several tons to a dozen tons. However, there is rolling friction between the rail and the wheel, and the friction coefficient is very small. Therefore, little power is required when moving at a constant speed. A large amount of power is only needed in about 1-2 seconds accelerating the mobile shelf.

  Such an electric moving shelf requires a large driving force for a short time to move one moving shelf, and a plurality of units may move at the same time, so the instantaneous power becomes very large. . For this reason, normal commercial power of 100V is not sufficient, and power indoor wiring of 200V or more is required. Moreover, although it is necessary to wire to the terminal of many mobile shelves, since instantaneous electric power is large, it is necessary to wire a thick line and the cost of installing an electric mobile shelf becomes high. On the other hand, there is a problem that the utilization rate is very low.

  Further, when the movable shelf moves to the target position, it is stopped, and a brake is used for this. Conventional brakes are mainly friction brakes. This uses, for example, a brake drum and a brake shoe, converts kinetic energy into heat energy and dissipates it as heat, and is not energy efficient.

As a method other than the friction brake, there is a method using a power generation brake (for example, Patent Document 1). This stops power transmission to the electric motor, stops normal driving, shorts the terminal of the motor through the resistor, causes the kinetic energy to be dissipated by heating, and causes the motor to rotate, generating braking force. Will get. The performance of the braking force varies depending on the resistance value of the resistor. This power generation brake system is also the same as the friction brake and has low energy efficiency. In addition, although the braking ability is limited by the resistance value of the resistor, it is difficult to find the optimum resistance value of the resistor on the moving shelf where the mass changes, and the circuit becomes complicated.
JP 2003-102562 A

  The first object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems and provide an electric movable shelf that can obtain a large starting force even from low-voltage commercial power. A second object is to improve the energy efficiency of the electric movable shelf.

  In order to achieve the first object, an electric movable shelf of the present invention includes one or more movable shelves that can travel bidirectionally on a rail, a motor that causes the movable shelf to travel bidirectionally, It has a power storage means as a power source of the motor, a charging means for charging the power storage means, and a control device for controlling the motor, the power storage means, and the charging means. In this case, the charging means and the power storage means may be provided on each moving shelf.

  In order to achieve the second object, the motor is regeneratively braked during braking. The motor can be a DC motor.

  When moving the moving shelf, the motor is supplied with electric power from the power storage means. By storing sufficient power in the power storage means, high power for moving a heavy moving shelf can be obtained. Since the moving shelf has been stopped for a long time, the power storage means is charged from commercial power or the like through the charging means. Since it only needs to be charged for a long time, the power supply device and the charging means may have a small capacity and can be simplified.

  By regenerative braking, when stopping the moving shelf, the motor is switched to the generator, and the rotational resistance of the generator is used as the braking force. That is, the braking force is used for power generation, is stored in the power storage means via the control means, can be used for the next movement of the moving shelf, and energy efficiency can be greatly improved.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electric movable shelf 100 of the present invention. A plurality of movable shelves 110 are movably placed on the rails 101 laid on the floor of the building so as to be movable in the left-right direction in the figure. The number of rails 101 is usually two, but may be three or more as necessary. Each movable shelf 110 is provided with a motor 111, a power storage unit 112, a charging unit 113, and a control device 114 for controlling them. These are connected to a power source by an electric wire 105. A plug 106 is provided at the tip of the electric wire 105, and the plug 106 is connected to a power source by being inserted into a power outlet (not shown).

  The motor 111 is connected to the power storage means 112 and is driven using electricity stored in the power storage means 112. Then, by switching the pole connected to the motor 111, it can be switched freely between forward rotation and reverse rotation, and the movable shelf 110 is moved to the right or left in the figure. For example, if the right direction is the forward direction, the left direction is the reverse direction. The power storage unit 112 uses a battery or a capacitor and is connected to the charging unit 113. The charging means 113 is connected to an AC power source which is a 100V commercial power source. The charging unit 113 converts alternating current into direct current, and then charges the power storage unit 112. Although not shown, the control device 114 includes a push button switch that moves the moving shelf 110 in the right direction and a push button switch that moves in the left direction, and rotates the motor 111 forward and backward. While the switch is being pressed, the moving shelf 110 moves to the right or left, but when the finger that presses the switch is released, the brake is applied and the moving shelf 110 stops. Further, if necessary, the control device 114 can be provided with a switch for adjusting acceleration and deceleration.

  The motor 111 in the present invention is desirably regenerative braking. The specific configuration of the control is the same as that of a normal regenerative brake. Push the right or left push button with your finger to move the moving shelf 110 and release the push button switch before reaching the predetermined position. Then, the motor 111 is switched to a generator, and a load of power generation is applied to the movable shelf 110, which acts as a braking force, and stops the movable shelf 110 at a predetermined position. The energy generated when the movable shelf 110 stops is converted into electric power by the motor 111. The electricity generated by the motor 111 is stored in the power storage means 112 via the control device 114. The power storage unit 112 may charge the difference between the discharged power and the regenerated power while the moving shelf 110 is stopped.

  By setting the power storage means 112 to an appropriate capacity, all of the large current power required for the motor 111 to move the moving shelf 110 can be supplied from the power storage means 112. The power storage means 112 is charged from a commercial power supply while the motor 111 is stopped. Since the stop time is much longer than the operation time, the current for charging the power storage means 112 can be small, and the charging means 113 may have a small capacity. As the power source, a commercial power source of 100V is sufficient. Further, since the driving power for the movable shelf 110 is supplied by the power storage means 112, the electric wires 105 wired from the commercial power source to each movable shelf 110 may be thin.

  The power consumed by the entire mobile shelf 110 is also averaged, and the load on the power receiving equipment can be greatly reduced. Since the power storage means 112 is provided in each of the plurality of moving shelves 110, even if the plurality of moving shelves 110 move at the same time, it is possible to cope with the problem.

  Since the electric wire 105 used for wiring from the power source to each moving shelf 110 may be a thin electric wire as described above, the electric work is simplified and the merit in practice is great. The power supply system having the power storage means is very compact due to the regenerative function and has low noise, and there is almost no influence of noise on the AC line.

  The power storage means 112 can be used as an emergency power source in the event of a power failure, and can be used not only for moving a moving shelf but also as an emergency light power source.

  When a DC motor is used as the motor 111, the motor can be made smaller and lighter than the AC motor.

By using the motor 111 as a regenerative brake, the kinetic energy of the moving shelf can be collected in the power storage means 112, and a significant power saving can be achieved. In addition to saving electricity, it also reduces installation space and reduces greenhouse gas (CO ₂ ) emissions.

  In the above embodiment, the DC motor 111 is regeneratively controlled, but may be configured to be stopped by a general friction brake. Even in such a case, it is possible to receive a large amount of power necessary for the movement of the moving shelf 110 from the power storage unit 112, and it is possible to reduce the power supply device and the power receiving facility. Also, thin wires can be used for wiring from the power source to each moving shelf 110, and electrical work can be simplified.

  In the above embodiment, the charging unit 113 and the power storage unit 112 are provided in each moving shelf 110. However, the charging unit 113 may be integrated into one unit to supply power to the power storage unit 112 of each moving shelf 110. The power storage unit 112 may be fixed on the floor, and electricity may be supplied to the motor 111 of each moving shelf 110 from this. In this case, it is desirable to increase the capacity of the power storage means 112 so that the plurality of movable shelves 110 can be moved simultaneously. Further, an AC motor can be used as the motor 111.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the electrically-driven movable shelf of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Electric moving shelf 101 Rail 105 Electric wire 106 Plug 110 Moving shelf 111 Motor 112 Power storage means 113 Charging means 114 Control apparatus

Claims (4)

  One or more movable shelves that can travel bidirectionally on the rail, a motor that causes the movable shelves to travel bidirectionally, a power storage means that is a power source of the motor, a charging means that charges the power storage means, And a control device for controlling the motor, the power storage means, and the charging means.   2. The electric moving shelf according to claim 1, wherein the charging unit and the power storage unit are provided in each moving shelf.   3. The electric movable shelf according to claim 1, wherein the motor is used as a regenerative brake during braking.   The electric movable shelf according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the motor is a DC motor.

Images