JP2010228838A - Automatic attachment/detachment coupler and method of controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic attachment/detachment coupler capable of automatically adjusting deviation of a connector shaft and attaining connection even when the connector shafts of a male connector and a female connector are largely deviated. <P>SOLUTION: In the coupler 1 having the male connector 2 and the female connector 3, an electro-magnet 6 is installed on the male connector 2 and the female connector 3, and the male connector 2 and the female connector 3 are attracted/connected by magnetic force of the electro-magnet 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a coupler for connecting a feed line of a portal crane used for container handling, for example, at a container terminal in a harbor or inland.

  At container terminals such as harbors and inland areas, containers between ships and trailers are handled by quay cranes and portal cranes.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of the container terminal 60. In the container terminal 60, the container 62 mounted on the container ship 61 is unloaded by the quay crane 65 and mounted on the trailer 63. The container 62 mounted on the trailer 63 is mounted on the container mounting block 66 of each lane 64 by a tire type portal crane (hereinafter referred to as RTT) 50.

  The RTT 50 has been switched from an energy supply by a diesel generator to a land power supply type due to environmental impacts and a problem of soaring fuel costs (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Power is supplied to the RTT 50 from a power supply facility installed in the container terminal 60 via a traveling power supply carriage 53. Here, the traveling power supply carriage 53 is configured to be movable in the traveling direction x following the RTT 50.

  In addition, the RTT 50 is configured to perform a lane change to move from a lane 64 with a small cargo handling amount to a lane with a large cargo handling amount to improve the cargo handling efficiency. At the time of the lane change, the RTT 50 moves to the end of the lane 64 and activates the installed in-house power generator, switches to power supply from the power storage device, or receives power from the traverse power supply carriage 54, It is configured to move in the direction y and move to the destination lane.

  At this time, at the end of the lane 64, it is necessary to release the coupler that electrically connects the RTT 50 and the traveling power supply carriage 53. Further, when the private power generation device or the power storage device is not used privately, a connecting operation for electrically connecting the RTT 50 and the traverse power supply carriage 54 is also required. This connection work is performed by a worker, and there is a problem that costs are high, and a current that flows is a high voltage, and thus there is a risk of an electric shock accident. Note that the voltage of electricity supplied to the RTT 50 is different depending on the country or region, but is, for example, 600 V or less in Japan, and is 3300 to 11000 V when no power transformers 53 and 54 are provided with a transformer.

  For this reason, there is a demand to automatically attach and detach the coupler of the power cable that connects the RTT 50 and the power supply carriages 53 and 54, and a device for an automatic detachable connector for large current has been disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 2). The connector described in Patent Document 2 aligns a large electrical device and a power supply side mounting portion by inserting a guide rod into a guide tube, and then automatically plugs a plug connected to a flexible conductor into a socket. It is configured to match. At this time, a slight positional shift relative to the socket of the plug is automatically corrected by the horizontal sliding of the plug. This connector is based on the premise that the large electric device to be docked and the axis of the power supply side mounting portion are accurately matched, and the pair of male and female connector shafts is also kept within ± several mm.

However, the relative position of the RTT (tire type portal crane) 50 and the power supply carriages 53 and 54 in the container terminal 60 is about ± 300 mm due to the shift of the travel position of the RTT 50 and the like. It becomes difficult to automatically attach and detach the coupler of the RTT 50 with this technique. In addition, even if the misalignment of the coupler in the plane direction,
Since a twist direction deviation may occur, the coupler cannot be connected unless this is adjusted.

JP 2007-223805 A No. 7-53258

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and its purpose is to automatically adjust the displacement of the connector shaft even when the connector shaft of the male connector and the female connector is greatly displaced. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic detachable coupler that can be connected. It is another object of the present invention to provide an automatic detachable coupler in which the connector shafts are matched, the positions of the male connector and the female connector in the rotational direction with respect to the connector shaft are automatically adjusted and connected.

  In order to achieve the above object, an automatic detachable coupler according to the present invention is a coupler having a male connector and a female connector, wherein an electromagnet is installed in the male connector and the female connector, and the male connector and the The female connector is configured to be sucked and connected.

  In the above automatic detachable coupler, a plurality of the electromagnets are installed in the male connector and the female connector, and the plurality of electromagnets are arranged to form a magnetic pole pattern, and the magnetic poles of both the male connector and the female connector are formed. The pattern is connected at a corresponding position.

  In the above automatic detachable coupler, the male connector and the female connector are installed in a power cable, and the power cable has a plurality of electric wires.

  In order to achieve the above object, a method for connecting an automatic detachable coupler according to the present invention is the method for connecting a male connector and a female connector in which a plurality of electromagnets are installed and connected to a power cable composed of a plurality of wires. A magnetic pole pattern is formed by the plurality of electromagnets on the male connector and the female connector, and an axial alignment step in which the male connector and the female connector are brought close to each other by the magnetic force of a plurality of electromagnets, and the male connector and the female connector are aligned. It has the connection step which connects the said male connector and the said female connector in the corresponding position, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  In the above-described automatic detachable coupler connecting method, the connecting step includes an alignment step in which the magnetic pole pattern is made to correspond and the positions of a plurality of electric wires in the male connector and the female connector are made to correspond to each other, and the male connector and the female A coupler fixing step of fixing the connector with a fixing device, and an energization step of bringing the terminals of the male connector and the female connector into contact with each other are provided.

  According to the automatic detachable coupler according to the present invention, even when the displacement between the connector shafts of the male connector and the female connector is large, it can be automatically guided and connected by the magnetic force of the electromagnet. Note that at least one of the male connector and the female connector is configured to be freely movable under the influence of magnetic force.

  In addition, a plurality of electromagnets are installed in each connector to form N-pole and S-pole magnetic pole patterns, and the connectors can be connected at positions corresponding to both magnetic pole patterns. The direction of the rotation direction can also be connected. In particular, when the connector has a plurality of electric wires, for example, installed in a three-phase three-wire or three-phase four-wire power cable, the positions of the terminals of each electric wire can be accurately aligned and connected. Accidents such as short circuit and reverse rotation of the motor can be prevented.

  In addition, according to the control method of the automatic detachable coupler according to the present invention, the connection of the male connector and the female connector of the power cable can be reliably performed by matching the positions of the electric wires.

It is the figure which showed the automatic attachment or detachment coupler of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic diagram of the joint surface of an automatic detachable coupler. It is a schematic diagram of the joint surface of an automatic detachable coupler. It is the schematic at the time of applying an automatic attachment / detachment coupler to a portal crane. It is the figure which showed the alignment of the rotation direction of an automatic attachment or detachment coupler. It is the figure which showed the outline of the conventional container terminal.

  Hereinafter, an automatic detachable coupler according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an automatic detachable coupler 1 (hereinafter referred to as a coupler), and a power source that feeds the coupler 1 from a power supply side device 41 (for example, a power supply carriage) to a power reception side device 40 (for example, a tire type portal crane). A state where the cable 7 is used is shown.

  The male connector 2 includes a main body 4a connected to the power cable 7 and a frame 5a installed around the main body 4a. The male connector 2 is supported by a chain 43 from an arm 42 installed on the power receiving side device 40 so as to be movable. Yes. The arm 42 has a spring 44, and is installed in the power receiving side device 40 so as to be swingable by the spring 44. Note that the arrow SW indicates the swinging direction of the arm 42.

  The female connector 3 includes a main body 4b connected to the power cable 7 and a frame body 5b installed around the main body 4b. The main body 4b is supported by an elevating device 46 installed in the power supply side device 41 so as to be movable up and down. Has been. In addition, an electromagnet 6 is installed on each of the frames 5a and 5b, and the male connector 2 is configured to be guided and automatically contacted on the female connector 3 by the attractive force of the electromagnet 6.

  The coupler 1 may be installed with males and females reversed, and the main bodies 4a and 4b may be provided with key grooves and the like.

  In FIG. 2, the schematic diagram of the connection surface of the male connector 2 and the female connector 3 is shown. The male connector 2 has a main body 4a connected to a three-phase four-wire power cable 7, and the main body 4a has terminals 8 of the respective wires indicated by R, S, T, and G. . Further, a frame 5a is installed around the main body 4a, and five electromagnets (21 to 25) are installed in the frame 5a, and a magnetic pole pattern is formed by N and S poles. Similarly, the female connector 3 also has a main body 4b and a frame 5b, and the five electromagnets (31 to 35) of the frame 5b also form a magnetic pole pattern.

Here, the magnetic pole patterns of the male connector 2 and the female connector 3 are configured to generate an attractive force, that is, the electromagnets 21 and 31, 22 and 32, 23 and 33, 24 and 34, 25 and 35 It corresponds to attract. That is, when the male connector 2 is moved in the connection movement direction L, it is configured to be connected to the female connector 3 at the correct position. With this configuration, the positions of the male connector 2 and the female connector 3 in the rotation direction M are automatically matched by the action of the electromagnet, so that the terminals 8 of the electric wires can be connected in order.

  The same effect can be obtained by using an electromagnet as a permanent magnet, but an electromagnet capable of controlling the strength of magnetic force and the magnetic pole is more desirable.

  FIG. 3 shows an example in which the number of installed electromagnets 6 is increased and different magnetic pole patterns are formed. For example, when the male connector 2 is moved closer to the female connector 3 (moved in the connection movement direction L), the male connector 2 is rotated to the correct position by the action of magnetic force and is connected to the female connector 3.

  Here, by increasing the number of electromagnets 6, it is possible to improve the positioning accuracy in the rotational direction. Further, when the magnetic force of the electromagnet 6 is strengthened, the attractive force between the male connector 2 and the female connector 3 is increased, so that the connection can be automatically established even when the connector shaft is largely displaced.

  FIG. 4 shows an example in which the coupler 1 is used when connecting the power cable of the RTT (tire type portal crane) 50 and the power supply carriages 53 and 54. The RTT 50 serving as the power receiving side device 40 includes the connecting wheels 52a and 52b of the traveling wheel 51 and the power feeding carts 53 and 54. The power feeding carts 53 and 54 serving as the power feeding side device 41 include the power feeding belt 55. is doing.

  Here, the power supply belt 55 is configured by passing a power supply cable 56 inside an articulated belt 57 formed by connecting a plurality of cylindrical bodies, and supplies high-voltage electricity supplied from the power supply facility of the container terminal 60 to the power supply carts 53 and 54. It is configured to supply to. The power supply carriages 53 and 54 are configured to convert the high voltage electricity supplied from the power supply belt 55 by a transformer and supply the high voltage electricity to the RTT 50 as low voltage electricity. In addition, high voltage electricity is about 3300-11000V, for example, and low voltage electricity is 600V or less, for example.

  Next, the control of the coupler 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. When the RTT 50 performs a lane change, the RTT 50 first approaches the traverse power supply carriage 54 shown in FIG. 4 and connects the connecting portion 50b. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 1, the male connector 2 approaches the female connector 3 due to the movement of the arm 42 and the swing of the chain 43 and the attractive force of the electromagnet 6 (axis alignment step). However, it rotates in the rotation direction M so that the magnetic pole patterns formed by the N poles and S poles of the plurality of electromagnets correspond (positioning step).

  After the connector shafts of the male connector 2 and the female connector 3 are aligned with the position in the rotational direction M, the male connector 2 and the female connector 3 are fixed by a lock latch (fixing device) 45 (coupler fixing step). The main body 4b is lifted by the lifting device 46, the terminals 8 of the connectors 2 and 3 are connected (connection step), and the automatic connection of the coupler 1 is controlled.

  In addition, the raising / lowering apparatus 46 should just have the mechanism which raises / lowers the main body 4b, and can utilize a cylinder apparatus, a pinion gear, etc. Further, the elevating device 46 and the lock latch 45 can be moved by sensing the completion of alignment by a sensor or the like in a crane operation room or the like, and by a crane operator's switch operation or automatic control.

  Thereafter, the RTT 50 releases the connection with the traveling power supply carriage 53 of FIG. 4 and is supplied with power from the traverse power supply carriage 54 to perform a lane change. For this reason, the power coupler can be attached / detached without human power, which has been performed by human power so far, and labor saving can be realized, and the risk of an electric shock accident associated with the coupler attaching / detaching work can be reduced.

  The coupler 1 can be disconnected by a switch operation from a crane operation room or the like. The coupler 1 that has received the connection cancellation instruction signal lowers the lifting device 46 and releases the lock latch 45. , Release the connection. The joining of the frame 5 may be released by an external force such as the movement of the RTT 50, but it is preferable that the energization of the electromagnet 6 is stopped and the attractive force between the electromagnets 6 is extinguished to release the joining.

  FIG. 5 shows how the male connector 2 rotates in the alignment step. The magnetic pole pattern of the electromagnet is configured as shown in FIG. 3, and the N pole region 10 is formed in the male connector 2 and the S pole region 11 is formed in the female connector 3.

  FIG. 5A shows a state in which a deviation in the rotation direction M occurs when the connector shafts H of the male connector 2 and the female connector 3 are aligned. The N pole region 10 and the S pole region 11 are corresponding magnetic poles, and since attractive force is generated, the male connector 2 side that is movably supported rotates in the rotation direction M, and after passing through the state of FIG. The region 10 and the S pole region 11 coincide with each other.

  Here, in FIG. 5, after the alignment of the connector shaft H is completed, the alignment in the rotation direction M is performed. However, the alignment and the alignment can be performed at the same time. The connection work time is reduced and control becomes easy.

  In the axis alignment step, for example, the electromagnets of the male connector 2 are all N poles, the electromagnets of the female connector 3 are all S poles, and the connector axes are aligned. The direction of energization of the electromagnets of the connectors 2 and 3 may be controlled to form magnetic pole patterns, respectively, and alignment of the connectors 2 and 3 in the rotational direction M may be performed. With this configuration, the attractive force of the electromagnet in the axis alignment step can be increased, which is effective when the connector shaft is particularly displaced.

  Here, the magnetic pole pattern employed in the alignment step is preferably the pattern shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, and this pattern determines the rotational direction M that minimizes the amount of rotation to be one, so that the position of the rotational direction M can be efficiently determined. Can be combined.

  The above description has been made regarding the attachment / detachment of the power supply coupler of the crane. However, the automatic attachment / detachment coupler 1 is not limited to use for the power supply coupler of the crane, and can be used for other power supply couplers that require automatic attachment / detachment.

1 coupler 2 male connector 3 female connector 4 body 4a body (male)
4b Body (female)
5 Frame 5a Frame (male)
5b Frame (female)
6 Electromagnet 7 Power cable 8 Electric wires 21-25 Electromagnets 31-35 Electromagnet

Claims (5)

  A coupler having a male connector and a female connector, wherein an electromagnet is installed in the male connector and the female connector, and the male connector and the female connector are attracted and connected by the magnetic force of the electromagnet. .   A plurality of the electromagnets are installed in the male connector and the female connector, and the plurality of electromagnets are arranged to form a magnetic pole pattern, and the magnetic pole patterns of both the male connector and the female connector are connected at corresponding positions. The coupler according to claim 1, wherein the coupler is configured as follows.   The coupler according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the male connector and the female connector are installed in a power cable, and the power cable includes a plurality of electric wires. In the connection method of the male connector and the female connector, each of which installed a plurality of electromagnets and connected to a power cable composed of a plurality of electric wires,
Axis alignment step of bringing the male connector and the female connector closer together and aligning the connector axis by the magnetic force of the plurality of electromagnets;
The male connector and the female connector have a connection step of forming a magnetic pole pattern with the plurality of electromagnets and connecting the male connector and the female connector at positions corresponding to the magnetic pole pattern. How to connect the coupler. The connecting step comprises:
Aligning the magnetic pole pattern and aligning the positions of the plurality of electric wires of the male connector and the female connector with each other;
A coupler fixing step of fixing the male connector and the female connector with a fixing device;
The coupler connection method according to claim 4, further comprising an energization step of bringing the male connector and the female terminal of the female connector into contact with each other.

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