JP2767922B2 - Linear capsule-type traveling device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a linear capsule-type traveling device for efficiently transporting goods at high speed using a pipeline.

[Conventional technology]

As a logistics system for transporting various goods such as parcels, garbage, etc.
Capsule / pipeline transportation systems using garbage are drawing attention. This system transports goods to a destination by running capsules in a pipeline laid between a plurality of points, such as between a distribution center and a distribution center.

As a prior art of such a capsule pipeline transportation system, a pneumatic capsule type traveling system has already been developed. In this system, a capsule in a pipe is caused to travel by an airflow from a large blower, and the material loaded on the capsule is transported to a destination together with the capsule.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, the conventional pneumatic capsule-type traveling system has the following disadvantages.

Since the capsule runs at high speed in the pipe, the seal material is easily worn, and the driving force of the capsule is easily reduced.

In the curved pipe portion of the pipe, the sealing property of the capsule is easily deteriorated, so that it is necessary to increase the curvature of the pipe, which is disadvantageous in designing the pipeline.

At the branch portion of the pipe, a switching driving device having a complicated structure must be provided because it is necessary to maintain air pressure.

In order to run the capsule, air must flow at high speed over the entire length of the pipeline, resulting in a large pressure loss. In addition, a large-scale power and equipment are required, such as a booster when transporting a long distance and a large blower.

The capsule cannot be fired continuously because of the large pressure drop when firing the capsule body.

When increasing the speed of the capsule, it is necessary to increase the flow rate to be equal to or higher than the speed of the set capsule 1, so that the pressure loss increases with the square of the flow rate. Therefore, the speed of the capsule is 20
It is difficult to increase the speed to 30 m / sec or more.

To return the capsule, blower stations are needed at both ends of the pipeline.

As described above, the conventional pneumatic capsule-type traveling system has the above-described drawbacks, so that materials can be transported at higher speed and more efficiently, and the construction cost such as equipment cost is lower. There is a strong desire for the development of a capsule pipeline transportation system, but such a system has not yet been proposed.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a linear capsule-type traveling device that can efficiently convey materials at high speed and that is inexpensive to construct.

[Means for solving the problem]

The present invention provides a pipe made of a non-magnetic material, a capsule that can run in the pipe via a wheel that contacts an inner peripheral surface of the pipe, a permanent magnet attached to an outer peripheral surface of the capsule, An electromagnet whose polarity can be converted, which is wound on the outer peripheral surface of the pipe at predetermined intervals over the entire length of the pipe, a polarity conversion mechanism for converting the polarity of the electromagnet, and an electromagnet of the pipe. And a sensor for detecting the position of the capsule, which is attached to each position, wherein the electromagnet winds two elliptical coils in the circumferential direction of the pipe at a constant interval from each other. ,
It is characterized in that the ends of the elliptical coils are connected to form a U-shape.

Next, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First
FIG. 1 is a side view showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a capsule 1 having a circular cross section is inserted into a pipe 2 having a circular cross section.

The capsule 1 is made of, for example, a capsule body of aluminum or SUS304. At the upstream end and the downstream end of the capsule 1, a permanent magnet 4 is annularly wound around the capsule 1 in the circumferential direction. For air bleeding, the permanent magnets 4 may be disposed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. On the upstream side and the downstream side of the capsule 1, a plurality (for example, about 10) of wheels 3 are provided at predetermined intervals in a circumferential direction of the capsule 1. The capsule 1 is able to travel inside the pipe 2 via wheels 3 that come into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the pipe 2. Although not shown, the capsule 1 has a lockable one hinged opening / closing door, in which an inner capsule magnetically shielded is mounted. The inner capsule can also be freely opened and closed, and luggage is loaded therein.

As the pipe 2, a nonmagnetic pipe made of aluminum, SUS304, FRP, or the like can be used.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing one embodiment of an electromagnet coil used in the present invention. On the outer peripheral surface of the pipe 2, a coil 5 of an electromagnet is wound in the circumferential direction of the pipe 2. The coil 5 is formed by winding two notched elliptical coils in the circumferential direction of the pipe 2 at regular intervals, and the end of one notched elliptical coil and the other notched elliptical coil. By connecting the ends of the notched coils, the ends of the cutout elliptical coils are formed in a U-shape (hereinafter referred to as a "horse-shoe shape"). The coils 5 of the electromagnet are attached at predetermined intervals over the entire length of the pipe 2. Thus, by forming the coil 5 of the electromagnet in a horseshoe shape, the pipe 2
A strong single magnetic field appears in the gap between the notched elliptical coils and acts on the permanent magnet 4 of the capsule 1. FIG.
It is a side view which shows other Example of the coil of the electromagnet used for this invention. On the outer peripheral surface of the pipe 2, two horseshoe-shaped coils 5 shown in FIG. 3 are wound in parallel. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, the pipe 2 is formed so that the ends of the U-shaped notched elliptical coils are not adjacent to each other.
To the opposite side of Thus, a stronger magnetic field can be represented by increasing the number of coils 5.

On the outside of the pipe 2, an electric wire 6 for supplying power to the coil 5 from a power supply (not shown) is provided in the vicinity of the pipe 2 over the entire length of the pipe 2. A control box 7 is connected to the electric wire 6 for each position of each coil 5. The control box 7 constitutes a polarity conversion mechanism for reversing the current supplied to the coil 5 and converting the polarity of the electromagnet. The control box 7 has a watertight structure and can be maintenance-free by using electronic components having no moving parts.

A magnetic sensor is attached to the pipe 2 at each position of each coil 5. The magnetic sensor is a first sensor 8 for making the polarity of the coil 5 of the electromagnet different from that of the permanent magnet 4.
a and 8b, and a second sensor 8c for making the polarity of the coil 5 of the electromagnet the same as that of the permanent magnet 4. The second sensor 8c is mounted at a middle position of the coil 5. On the other hand, the first sensor 8a is located a predetermined distance upstream (left side in FIG. 1) from the second sensor 8c, and the first sensor 8b is downstream from the second sensor 8c by a predetermined distance (shown in FIG. 1). (Right side).
Reference numeral 9 denotes a signal line connecting the control box 7 to the first sensor 8a, 8b and the second sensor 8c. Signal lines 9 of these sensors are connected to electrical switches such as thyristors or power transistors in the control box 7. The electric wire 6 is connected to the control box 7
It is connected to the coil 5 via an electrical switch such as a thyristor inside.

[Action]

Next, the traveling principle of the capsule 1 will be described. The capsule 1 runs from the left side to the right side shown in FIG. When the permanent magnet 4 attached to the capsule 1 passes through the first sensor 8a, the first sensor 8a detects this, and immediately thereafter, a current flows so that the electromagnet of the coil 5 has a different polarity from the permanent magnet 4. Thereby, the permanent magnet 4 is attracted by the electromagnet of the coil 5, and the capsule 1 moves in the traveling direction (first direction).
(Right side shown in the figure). Next, the permanent magnet 4
When passing through the sensor 8c, the second sensor 8c detects this. Immediately thereafter, the current flowing through the coil 5 is reversed, and the polarity of the electromagnet of the coil 5 is converted to the same polarity as the permanent magnet 4. Thereby, the permanent magnet 4 and the electromagnet of the coil 5 repel,
The capsule 1 is pushed out in the running direction. By repeating this process for each coil 5 sequentially, the capsule 1 runs continuously in the running direction in the pipe 2. On the other hand, the capsule 1 is in the opposite running direction (from right to left as shown in FIG. 1).
When moving to, use the first sensor 8b to
The sensor 8a is not used. In addition, every predetermined section (50-100m)
In the section where the capsule 1 does not pass, no current flows through the electromagnet.

The running speed of the capsule 1 can be controlled by controlling the frequency and current supplied to the coil 5. In addition, the current can be controlled in accordance with a running condition such as when the capsule 1 is fired or in accordance with the inclination angle of the pipe 2.

In the present invention, since only the wheels 3 of the capsule 1 contact the inner peripheral surface of the pipe 2 and the guide such as a rail is not used, the running of the capsule 1 is smooth and the running speed can be made considerably high. Yes, and the failure rate is extremely low.

〔The invention's effect〕

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following useful effects.

Since the horseshoe-shaped coil is used, the magnetic force of the electromagnet exerted on the capsule becomes stronger, and the capsule can travel efficiently.

By using a non-contact linear motor,
The contact portion between the pipe and the capsule is as small as the wheels only, and high speed operation is possible.

Efficiency is high because the capsule is directly driven by using electricity, and electricity can be easily supplied even in a long-distance section, so that long-distance transportation can be easily performed.

Since current flows only in the section where the capsule is running, current consumption is small and economical.

Since the position of the capsule can be detected and the speed can be controlled, automation is easy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a side view showing one embodiment of an electromagnet coil used in the present invention. FIG. 4 is a side view showing another embodiment. In the drawings, 1 ... capsule, 2 ... pipe, 3 ... wheel, 4 ... permanent magnet, 5 ... coil, 6 ... wire, 7 ... control box, 8a, 8b ... first sensor, 8c ... Second sensor, 9... Signal line.

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Toshiro Aiki 1-2-1, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Inside Nippon Kokan Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Bunichi Tochiyama 1-2-1, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Nippon Kokan Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-60-67326 (JP, A) JP-A-5-1221695 (JP, U) JP-A-49-101210 (JP, U) (58) Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B60L 13/02 H02K 41/025

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A pipe made of a non-magnetic material, a capsule that can run in the pipe via a wheel that contacts an inner peripheral surface of the pipe, a permanent magnet attached to an outer peripheral surface of the capsule, An electromagnet wound on the outer peripheral surface of the pipe at predetermined intervals over the entire length of the pipe, the polarity of which can be converted, a polarity conversion mechanism for converting the polarity of the electromagnet, and the electromagnet of the pipe And a sensor for detecting the position of the capsule, which is attached to each position of the capsule. The electromagnet winds two elliptical coils in the circumferential direction of the pipe at a constant interval from each other. A linear capsule-type traveling device characterized in that the ends of the elliptical coils are connected to each other to form a U-shape. 2. The electromagnet mounted on the same position as the electromagnet, wherein the first sensor is mounted on the upstream side of the electromagnet and has a polarity different from that of the permanent magnet. 2. The linear capsule-type traveling device according to claim 1, further comprising a second sensor for setting the polarity of the permanent magnet to be the same as that of the permanent magnet. 3. The linear capsule traveling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one or more electromagnets are wound at predetermined intervals. 4. The linear capsule traveling device according to claim 1, wherein said pipe is made of SUS304. 5. The linear capsule traveling device according to claim 1, wherein said pipe is made of FRP.